Cable TV
News broadcasters to form association
NEW DELHI: After the Indian Broadcast Federation (IBF – representing broadcasters) and the Indian Media Group (IMG – representing Indian media companies), Indian news broadcasters are forming their own “pressure group”.
The proposed body is likely to be called the News Broadcasters Association of India. It will comprise only Indian-promoted news ventures. The likes of BBC and CNN have their own set of problems and issues and, hence, would not be part of this new proposed body that is likely to be registered soon.
The agenda that the body has broadly laid out is to address specific news-related issues and take them up with the government. Everybody remains a member of the IBF, but as the IBF cannot take up specific issues, TV news networks have formed their own association.
The first meeting of the grouping was held last week in Delhi in TV Today office. No office-bearers have been elected as yet though.
Admitted a news broadcaster, “We felt our specific needs and issues need to be addressed without confusing them with general (broadcasting) matters. That’s what the intention is behind setting up the News Broadcasters Association of India.”
An example of the kind of issues that news broadcasters might take up include the draft of the Broadcast Bill, recently prepared by a sub-panel of a 30-member committee overseen by I&B secretary SK Arora, which hints at stringent content regulation, particularly for news channels. If okayed by lawmakers in its present state, it could well be the end of sting operations and coverage of issues where high profile politicians and personalities are involved.
Sample this part: “TV channels must not use material relating to a person’s personal or private affairs or which invades an individual’s privacy unless there is an identifiable public interest reason for the material to be broadcast.” Who decides what constitutes an individual’s privacy? The government or the regulator? What this means of course is that it’s all up for interpretation.
It is this scope for interpretation that has news broadcasters seriously concerned. More so since the onus of proving identifiable public interest lies with the TV channel and not the other way round.
The interests of the print media are addressed and protected by the Indian Newspaper Association. That is the role the News Broadcasters Association of India hopes to fulfil as far as the electronic media is concerned.
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.
