Cable TV
Hathway reduces broadband entry price
MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom has lowered down the entry price of its broadband services and waived off rental cost on cable modems as part of its move to draw in new subscribers.
Subscribers under the “Liteway” tariff plan will have to pay Rs. 275 per month with a download limit of 125 mbps. Hathway’s lowest tariff was Rs. 500 a month. “It is one of the most competitive products in the market today. This will help us expand our market base,” says Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO K Jayaraman.
Hathway has also launched an unlimited usage plan known as “Thruway” at Rs. 500 a month. The service will be available at 64 kbps. Under an earlier plan, Hathway offers a download limit of 1 gbps at 256 kbps. While the speed has been reduced, the cap on the download limit has been removed. “It has always been our endeavour to make Internet affordable for the masses and encourage usage of Internet services,” says Jayaraman.
Subscribers will now not have to pay monthly rentals on cable modems. Earlier, they had a monthly rental option of Rs. 100. The cable modems, though, will continue to be provided on a returnable deposit of Rs. 1000.
Hathway has also slashed by half its registration fee to Rs. 500 across all schemes. The additional downloads will cost less at 90 paise per mb, in contrast to Rs. 2 or Rs. 1.50 depending on the plan the subscriber had opted for.
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.
