Cable TV
InCablenet settles with One Alliance; gets signal
Mumbai: More than a fortnight after it witnessed a gradual blackout by the leading pay channels – ESPN-Star Sports, Sony, Zee and Star – the Hinduja-run InCablenet witnessed the reswitching on of the signals of the One Alliance bouquet late on the night of 20 May.
Says a happy though tired executive vice president Hinduja TMT and director IndusInd Media Communications Ashok Mansukhani: “InCablenet and One Alliance have mutually resolved their pending issues…InCablenet is very happy to have One Alliance back on its network.”
SET-Discovery India president Shantonu Aditya had highlighted the issues that had forced it to switch off InCablenet on 29 April. He had said: “There are two reasons – non-settlement of the outstanding dues of Rs 20 million for the month of March and non-renewal of the agreement contract which expired on 31 March 2003. Actually, we have been giving them signals in good faith for an entire month in the absence of a proper contract.”
If as understood from Mansukhani’s statement, then it’s apparent that InCablenet has made good the Rs 20 million dues and agreed to the renewal of the expired contract. Aditya was not available for comment at the time of writing.
InCablenet had reportedly yet to resolve its issues with the other pay channels such as ESPN Star Sports, Star Plus and Zee TV. And the network continued to be without the official encrypted feed of these channels. While some InCablenet subscriber homes were reportedly carrying unidentified feeds for these channels, others were carrying a feed with W
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.
