Cable TV
Hinduja Group’s HITS to be available on Thaicom 7
MUMBAI: Thaicom, one of Asia’s leading satellite operators, announced that its Thaicom 7 satellite is fully booked following an order from Grant Investrade Ltd (GIL).
GIL. a subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures Ltd, confirmed the order for the C-band transponders on the satellite, which it will use to provide digital cable TV services through its Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) system.
The HITS service, branded Nxt Digital, will help the distribution fraternity smoothly transition to digital and allow customers to choose channels through a satellite multiplex across India.
“It is one of India’s national missions to roll out Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) of broadcasting all over the country and we believe ‘Nxt Digital’ is a significant step towards this goal,” said GIL, MD Tony D’Silva. “Thaicom is a trusted and experienced satellite provider which has played a vital role in this initiative and the substantial number of satellite transponders we have at the time of launch will continue to grow as we expand our portfolio.”
“We are proud to be able to contribute to India’s broadcast and media development and thank our Indian partners for their trust in us. This latest deal is particularly exciting for Thaicom as it marks an important milestone for us, not only in regards to Thaicom 7 now being 100 percent booked, but also in bringing our platform for content distribution to India which sets us in good stead for the launch of Thaicom 8,” said Thaicom CEO Paiboon Panuwattanawong.
Castle Media has been appointed as the technology program manager for Nxt Digital. It has been tasked with the design-to-delivery of the HITS service including setting up a state-of-the-art next generation broadcast facility and a robust back-end facility for SMS, CRM, Billing, CAS and other mission critical components and services.
“Thaicom 7 being a recently launched satellite exhibits strong parameters to facilitate a high-quality digital HITS service in India. We’ll continue to work closely with Thaicom to upscale our transponder requirements as our business grows over the next few years, on the back of a strong push by the government to make India a digital nation,” Castle Media ED Vynsley Fernandes added in parting.
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.
