Cable TV
MTV US & MSN team for reality show created by students
MUMBAI: US broadcaster MTV’s 24-hour college network mtvU in collaboration with MSN and Boston University (BU), will unveil Roller Palace.
This is a comedy pilot entirely created and produced by students of BU’s Film and Television Department and the School of Theatre Arts at the College of Fine Arts.
The pilot is the culmination of a union between mtvU, MSN and BU and marks the completion of a nearly 15 month journey. In January 2005, students in BU’s Advanced Television Writing course began pitching ideas and scripts to Professor Paul Schneider, a television director of shows such as Beverly Hills 90210 and Jag.
At the end of the semester, the best sitcom ideas were presented to celebrity judges including E! Networks president and CEO Ted Harbert, NBC comedy development head Cheryl Dolans, and Fox television president Gary Newman. When Roller Palace was selected as the consensus choice, the show’s creators set off to develop, write, cast, produce and star in the original sitcom pilot.
Roller Palace is about a pampered Manhattan debutante whose father has just been jailed for insider trading and whose mother is planning to marry her high school sweetheart — a New Jersey hot dog stand proprietor. The turn of
events flips the spoiled daughter’s life upside down, leaving her stuck as a roller skating waitress on the Jersey Shore.
Production of the pilot was made possible by MSN, which also lent back-end tech support throughout the production process. BU students used MSN technology, including MSN Messenger, while casting, developing, shooting and editing the pilot, and organically integrated the MSN brand into the final project. Professor Paul Schneider commented, “The student crew on Roller Palace had a priceless opportunity to create a television pilot from scratch — a demanding project that had all the challenges, complications and crises they will encounter in the professional world.”
MSN branded content group manager Kathy Fiander “We are committed to helping college students and young people realise their dreams, and it’s been a pleasure working with mtvU and BU to facilitate this innovative educational opportunity. We congratulate the BU students on their achievement and also feel they did a great job of capturing how MSN Messenger can help users stay connected to those that matter most.”
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.
