Cable TV
Hinduja’s NXT Digital enters Fastway-dominated Punjab
MUMBAI: It was announced with much fanfare, which simmered down. Now the Hinduja group promoted HITS platform NXT Digital has once again started making news. The group has stated that it is going to be pushing its headend in the sky (HITS) service in Punjab and Chandigarh.
NXT Digital allows local cable operators to upgrade to digital cable TV serices at a mimimal expense. Speaking to the media Hinduja Media Group CEO Ashok Mansukhani on Friday said: “We have the state-of-the-art technology for digital TV viewing and our network in Punjab would ensure the viewers get uninterrupted world-class viewing experience at economical price in the market.”
The entry of NXT Digital into Punjab will bring it head to head competition with Rs 500 crore turnover Fastway which has 2.45 million subscribers in Punjab, out of a national total of 4.2 million, of which 3.2 million are active. The other states in which Fastway has a presence is in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu&Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Haryana.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Hinduja Media Group senior vice president Narinderpal Singh, claimed that NXT Digital has the active co-operation of the Congress state government which would welcome the existing and new cable operators to join them.
Fastway, on the other hand, allegedly was closely linked to the previous Punjab government under the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
But that monopoly has been getting marginally eroded.
Fastway MD Gurdeep Singh had acknowledged in an earlier media interview that the MSO has 5,290 cable operators (as compated to 6,500 cable operators from a total of 8,000 earlier) associated with it in Punjab and 159 in Chandigarh.
“Some of the earlier ones have merged with others or gone to another multi-system operator, Hinduja Cable, which is a new player in Punjab. Then, some cable operators are aligned with other groups such as Bhullar Cable in Amritsar,” he had said.
Will that marginal erosion becoming a landslide? For that, watch this space.
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.
