Cable TV
Indian media Rs. 837 bn by 2010: Ficci
DELHI: The Indian entertainment and media (E&M) industry is poised to grow at 19 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach Rs 837.4 billion by 2010 from Rs. 353 billion (Rs 35,300 crore), according to a new study.
The television segment is slated to grow from its present size of Rs 148 billion to Rs 427 billion by 2010, according to a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry ( FICCI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report titled Indian Entertainment and Media Industry — Unravelling the potential.
The radio sector is projected to grow four times to Rs.12,000 million by 2010, while filmed entertainment is slated to reach Rs 153 billion during.
The print medium, according to the study is poised to grow from the present size of Rs 109 billion to Rs 195 billion.
Economic growth, rising income levels, consumerism, coupled with technological advancements and policy initiatives taken by the Indian government, which are encouraging the inflow of investment, will prove to be the key drivers for the entertainment and media industry.
The industry has been forecast to outperform the economic growth in each year till 2010.
Two factors that will contribute to the growth of the industry are low media penetration in lower socio-economic classes and low ad spends a statement quoted Deepak Kapoor, executive director of PwC and leader for the organisations Entertainment & Media Practice in India, as saying.
Today media penetration is poor in lower socio-economic classes, but efforts to increase it even slightly are likely to deliver much higher results, simply due to the absolute numbers being large, he added.
Strong economic growth, rising consumer spending and regulatory corrections are drawing foreign investments in most segments of the E&M industry, especially the print media.
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.
