Cable TV
Hathway looks to operate from three headends in Mumbai in the long term
Broadband may be a while coming to Indian shores but the big MSOs are all readying the backend for it. Rajan Raheja-promoted Hathway Cable & Datacom, which recently moved its main operational centre to a state-of-the-art headend in the central Mumbai suburb of Parel, plans to consolidate all its headends into three main ones over the next two years.
Hathway earlier had 14 headends controlling operations, mainly in south Mumbai and along the western suburbs. With the Parel headend going onstream, two control rooms in Worli and Mahim have been disbanded, Praveen Shrikande, CTO, Hathway says. According to Shrikande, the whole process will take two to three years.
Due to the geographical layout of Mumbai (it is a linear city), it is not possible for Hathway go the way of Bangalore, where it has consolidated with a fiber optic backbone into one headend. Earlier Bangalore had five headends.
The headend is the data centre for all Internet operations in Mumbai for Hathway. All points are hooked up from here through five CMTSs (cable modem termination system). Depending on the scheme under which a client has joined up, Hathway offers 64-512 kbps bandwidth Navroz P Behramfram, head – technical support, says. Hathway supplies modems as per client requirements but all models are DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Services Interface Specifications) compatible, Behramfram says.
Explaining the operational set-up, Behramfram says satellite signals (for their 92 channel feed) are captured through nine dishes using L band or intermediate frequency (IF) distribution to receiver / decoders. Each decoder transmits a single channel AV and each channel is modulated and then mixed using the principle of frequency domain multiplexing. The objective here is to combine all the individual channel feeds. At the end of it all, a single optic fiber cable carries the feed out from the headend.
Behramfram says the system that has been set up is structured in such a way that it is easy to trace which signal is going where and therefore in case of any problems, pinpointing the source is not difficult.
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.
