Cable TV
MSO Alliance launches ad campaign on monthly billing
MUMBAI: Soon consumers will find bills coming to them for using cable TV service. And the message will be reaching them loud and clear through a print campaign that was launched today in the New Delhi edition of The Times of India and Navbharat Times. The print campaign which aims at educating consumers of monthly billing reads: “Attention Digital Cable TV subscribers- Now pay as per your selected channel pack. Get a cable TV bill from your MSO every month starting December 2013.”
The campaign is an initiative of the multi-system operator (MSO) Alliance that comprises national players: DEN Networks, Hathway Cable & Datacom, Siti Digital Cable Television and InCableNet. The MSO Alliance also has announced that the subscribers who have got a set top box (STB), submitted the ‘Know-Your-Client’ details and channel package selection, will get a bill for their cable TV service every month. The first bill will be generated for the month of November. The new facility has been introduced in keeping with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) regulation on starting gross billing from December.
“This move is important as it will ensure that there are no additional or random charges levied on the subscribers. Our viewers will thus pay only for what they watch and they must insist on a bill from their local cable operator or MSO at the time of monthly payment,” said MSO Alliance secretary and DEN Networks CEO S.N Sharma.
As per the TRAI regulations, subscribers will get 15 days from the date of the bill to make their payment. In case the subscriber fails to make the payment after the expiry of the due date of payment, the MSO or the affiliate LCO has the right to charge interest on the outstanding amount.
The Union Government and the TRAI had rolled out a four-phased plan for digitisation of cable TV across India early last year. Phases I & II of this process covering Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and 38 other major cities have already been completed. According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, over 26 million STBs were installed in these cities, over 70 per cent of which were by digital cable companies.
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.
