Cable TV
Home Cable Network approaches TRAI against Star Sports
MUMBAI: Delhi-based multi-system operator (MSO) Home Cable Network, which has for long been facing issues with Star Sports channels, has now written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) seeking its intervention in the resolution of the matter, which first arose in November 2013, after the interconnection agreement between the MSO and Star Sports expired on 31 October, 2013.
Home Cable Network, in its letter to TRAI, has said that since expiry of the agreement with Star Sports, it has found abnormalities in the rates charged by the broadcaster. “We have been making representations to Star Sports executives, informing them that the rates charged on a per subscriber basis are not at par with the rates being charged by the network to various other MSOs. Due to this, our business is getting adversely affected,” reads the letter, a copy of which is in the possession of indiantelevision.com.
“We have always been asked by Star Sports representatives to either sign on the exaggerated subscriber base with CPS rates or sign up on RIO rates which again are five to ten times higher as compared to the rates offered by them to favoured MSOs,” the letter further states.
The move comes after the 10 February release of the TRAI regulation on content aggregators. “It was in this regulation that TRAI itself noticed irregularities in interconnection agreements. The regulation was an eye-opener, wherein MSOs like us were informed that the rates being charged from non-vertically integrated DPOs were in some cases higher by 62 per cent as compared to vertically integrated DPOs.
The TRAI also brought to our notice that the rates charged by broadcasters to smaller, non-vertically integrated DPOs were higher by about 85 per cent as compared to vertically integrated DPOs,” said Home Cable Network managing director Vikki Choudhry.
He informed that Home Cable Network has approached TRAI under clause 5.11 of the “Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) Regulations, 2012” to facilitate the “process of entering into an agreement between Home Cable and Star Sports with just and equitable terms and conditions which help in creating a level playing field between the competing MSOs.
The MSO has given a period of seven to ten days to TRAI to respond to its letter. “After the expiry of this tenure, we will approach The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against Star Sports,” Choudhry said.
In the case against Star Sports channels, Home Cable Network plans to make TRAI respondent number one and Star Sports respondent number two. “If TRAI is unable to create level playing fields, MSOs will start making the regulator a party in the disputes with the broadcaster,” Choudhry concluded.
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.
