Cable TV
India to add 95 million digital TV homes by 2020: Digital TV Research
MUMBAI: As India moves towards digitising phase III and phase IV areas, the number of digital TV homes in the country is set to double by 2020. According to a recent report launched by Digital TV Research, India will add 95 million digital TV homes between 2014 and 2020 to double its total.
According to the report, based on forecasts for 138 countries, the number of digital TV homes will increase by more than one billion between 2010 and 2020 to 1.65 billion – or up by 180 per cent. The total will climb by 134 million homes in 2015 alone.
Source: Digital TV Research Ltd
The ‘Digital TV World Household Forecasts’ report further points that the global digital TV penetration will reach 97.6 per cent of television households by end-2020, up from 40.5 per cent at end-2010 and 67.2 per cent at end-2014.
By 2020, 93 countries will be completely digital compared to only 17 at the end of 2014. About 124 countries will have more than 90 per cent digital penetration by 2020.
The number of digital TV households in Asia Pacific is slated to increase by 400 million between 2014 and 2020, with 93 million to be added in 2015 alone. The region will supply two-thirds of the 608 million digital TV household additions between 2014 and 2020. Sub-Saharan Africa will more than double its base over the same period, with Latin America nearly doubling its total.
Source: Digital TV Research Ltd
China will boast of 454 million digital homes by end-2020 – or 27 per cent of the global total – up by 169 million reported in 2014. Moreover, the report says that India is poised to overtake the US and claim the second place in 2015.
On the other hand, Brazil will take fourth place and Russia will be on the fifth spot by 2020. Indonesia, which stood at the 23rd position in 2014, will take a giant leap to settle at the sixth place, by adding 43 million digital TV households.
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.
