Cable TV
Hathway’s digital cable service to hit the market by October end
MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom is preparing for a digital cable television rollout by October-end with 140 channels in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
This will entail an additional expense of about Rs 70 million , outside the Rs 1 billion investment incurred for the conditional access system (CAS). Under the CAS preparation, Hathway had readied for a 40-channel headend.
The digital set-top boxes (STBs) will be sold at Rs 3,150 plus local sales tax. There will be no rental scheme, at least initially. In Chennai, where CAS is mandatory for viewing of pay channels, Hathway offers consumers both a monthly rental and an outright purchase scheme for its STBs.
“We are pushing for voluntary CAS. We aim at penetrating 8 per cent of our cable TV subscribers in the three metros within one year. We have subscribers in upmarket areas in these cities who may switch from analogue to our digital service,” says Hathway Cable & Datacom chief executive officer K Jayaraman.
Hathway has 185,000 STBs but has only managed to deploy 6,000-7,000 boxes in Chennai. The company hopes digital quality picture, additional channels, stereophonic sound and an electronic programming guide (EPG) will lure consumers to switch over. Under the analogue service, Hathway offers 70-80 channels. The monthly cable TV subscription fee will be the same for both the analogue and digital services.
Though Hathway will offer 140 channels under its digital cable TV service, the STBs are capable of receiving 500 channels. Hathway is also exploring the possibility of tying up with niche content channels.
Hathway has procured the equipment and the whole set up is currently being erected, says Jayaraman. “Commissioning engineers from Scientific Atlanta have already reached and trial runs will start from 15 October,” he adds.
Hathway is working out incentive schemes for its franchise operators to deploy the digital STBs. “We are finalising on the terms. We will offer our local operators and joint venture partners an incentive per box deployed,” says Jayaraman.
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.
