Cable TV
Hathway launches campaign for new channel packages
MUMBAI: Multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom is out on a mission: to educate cable TV subscribers about their new power – ‘The power to choose.’ And to spread this message the MSO has come out with three TVCs, print ads and radio jingles.
The campaign will use multiple media to inform and educate consumers about the different packages that the MSO has created. The move comes in the wake of broadcaster Star India’s decision to enter into only Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) deals with MSOs.
The five packages for Maharashtra that have been rolled out by Hathway include:
· Basic Pack priced at Rs 158: This will have the best of all the free to air channels.
· Starter priced at Rs 230: This will have best of Hindi entertainment and a variety of kids, music, infotainment, lifestyle, spiritual, regional, radio and games.
· Popular priced at Rs 289: This will have channels from Starter pack + sports (all cricket, best of English news and a variety of other genres).
· Premium priced at Rs 349: This will have channels from Popular pack + bets of English entertainment and a variety of other genres + free top up of any one Sun language package.
· Premium Plus priced at Rs 419: This will have channels from Premium pack + sports (football, all English Entertainment, news, best of all genres + free top up of any two Sun language package.
Conceptualised and created by Gasoline, while one of the TVCs has life reference, the other two are animated. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Gasoline founder and chief creative officer Anil Kakar says, “The brief given to us was that the MSO wanted the power of choice to be in the hands of consumers.”
The campaign highlights the five different packages as well as the a la carte prices being offered by Hathway.
Incidentally, the work on the campaign started in October, which is the same time when Star announced its plan to enter into RIO deals. “While the client wanted life reference, we wanted to bring in animated characters. The reason being that while the message is hard selling, animation makes it light,” informs Kakar.
The ad film draws an analogy from contexts wherein a consumer makes a choice. For instance, the first film opens on a lady buying a soap in a soap store. The salesman is seen pushing various soap brands on offer. The lady quips, ‘You aren’t trying to sell the whole store, are you?’ and smiles. Cut to a CG section wherein we see a host of channel logos and a voiceover, which says, ‘We choose everything in life, why not television channels?’
The strategy is to communicate the cost-effectiveness of a Hathway package subscription. The campaign extends with a couple of animation films, which demonstrate how a subscription is reasonably priced vis-a-vis other things in life. In the first film, we see a young character in a cafe going through his mobile bills, only to find his café bill more expensive, thus communicating the fact that a monthly subscription to a Hathway channel package is still cheaper than two cups of coffee and a sandwich.
The radio spot extends the idea further with a groom who is choosing a bride and in another, a waiter rattling off the menu in a rapid-fire sequence. The radio jingles have been co-produced by 94.3 Radio One.
The print ad is topical and captivating. It reads: ‘You have chosen your Prime Minister. You have chosen your Chief Minister. Now choose your Hathway channel package.’
While the TVC will be aired on the Hathway channels, radio ads will be played in Kolkata, South Indian states (except Chennai), Mumbai and Delhi and the print ad will also be published all over India in the mainline newspapers.
“The campaign has been designed to ease the life of cable operators, who are facing issues in informing consumers about the packages and its pricing,” concludes Kakar.
Cable TV
Hathway Cable appoints Gurjeev Singh Kapoor as CEO
Leadership change comes as cable TV faces shrinking subscriber base and modest earnings pressure
MUMBAI: Hathway Cable and Datacom has tapped industry veteran Gurjeev Singh Kapoor as chief executive officer, marking a leadership pivot at a time when India’s cable television business is under mounting strain.
Kapoor will take over from Tavinderjit Singh Panesar, who is set to retire in August after a long innings with the company. Panesar, chief executive since 2023, has held multiple leadership roles at Hathway, including his latest stint beginning in 2022.
Kapoor brings more than three decades of experience in media and entertainment. He most recently led distribution at The Walt Disney Company’s Star India business, now part of JioStar. His career spans television distribution and affiliate partnerships, with stints at Sony Pictures Networks India, Discovery Communications and Zee Entertainment.
Panesar, with over three decades in the industry, has worked across strategic planning, distribution and business development in media, broadcasting and manufacturing. His past associations include ESPN Star Sports, Star India, Apollo Tyres and JK Industries.
The transition lands as the cable sector grapples with structural disruption. Traditional operators are losing ground to streaming platforms, while telecom and broadband players tighten the squeeze with bundled offerings.
An EY report estimates India’s pay-TV base could shrink by a further 30 to 40 million households by 2030, taking the total down to 71 to 81 million. The slide follows a loss of nearly 40 million homes between 2018 and 2024, a contraction that has already wiped out more than 37,000 jobs in the local cable operator ecosystem.
Hathway’s numbers reflect the strain. The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 93 crore for FY25, down from Rs 99 crore a year earlier. Revenue inched up to Rs 2,040 crore from Rs 1,981 crore. As of December 2025, it had about 4.7 million cable TV subscribers and roughly 1.02 million broadband users.
Kapoor steps in with a familiar brief but a shrinking playbook. In a market where viewers are cutting cords faster than companies can reinvent them, the new chief executive inherits a business fighting to stay plugged in.
