Cable TV
Hong Kong clubs under Casbaa piracy scrutiny
MUMBAI: The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa), today took new steps to stamp out pay-TV piracy in Hong Kong, issuing “cease and desist letters” to a number of bars and clubs in Hong Kong screening pay-TV services without legal pay-TV subscriptions.
Following a High Court ruling and support from the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) this new action aims to combat Pay-TV signal piracy across the SAR. If these venues fail to immediately discontinue screening pay-TV programming without obtaining legitimate subscriptions to licensed pay-TV services they are liable to further legal proceedings in the High Court of Hong Kong.
The cease and desist letters were issued in parallel with the launch of a “pay-TV piracy awareness” campaign, under which Casbaa will issue letters to 300 bars and clubs in Hong Kong putting them on notice of what constitutes the legal and illegal screening of pay-TV services.
Under Hong Kong law bars and clubs may only display pay-TV channels, such as ESPN or Star Sports, under an appropriate subscription from a Hong Kong licensed pay-TV operator such as Hong Kong Cable Television
Limited (i-Cable). Other pay-TV operators such as UBC of Thailand, Multichoice of South Africa and Dream of the Philippines are not authorised to offer subscriptions in Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, besides Hong Kong Cable Television (i-Cable), the licensed pay TV operators are PCCW (NOW), Yes TV and Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting (ExTV), all of whom are members of Casbaa.Law firms Herbert Smith and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have been retained by Casbaa to advise on these matters.
Last year, Casbaa, together with various copyright owners, was involved in successful pay-TV signal piracy actions against suppliers of equipment that enabled the unlawful reception of pay TV programmes within Hong Kong (Satellite Television Asian Region Ltd & Others v Alpha Communications Technology Ltd & Others).
Pay-TV channels named in the 2003 court actions included CNN, Discovery Networks Asia, National Geographic Channels, Cartoon Network, ESPN Star Sports and STAR Group. CASBAA also represents the likes of MTV Asia, HBO Asia, BBC World, Walt Disney Television, Sony Pictures Television, TVB International, Nickelodeon, CNBC and Bloomberg Television.
Earlier this month John Tsang, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, gave a commitment that the regulator, OFTA, would be making weekly visits to “black spots” where unauthorised pay-TV decoders are on sale and that these visits would be followed up with appropriate action.
Simon Twiston Davies, the CEO of CASBAA, applauded Tsang’s comments and said the pay-TV piracy awareness letters and cease and desist letters to the bars and clubs are part of a wider campaign to raise awareness of pay-TV piracy in Hong Kong and across the region.
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.
