Cable TV
NTO 2.0: MSOs asks Trai to reject new RIOs published by broadcasters
Mumbai: The Tamil Nadu Digital Cable TV Operators Association has sent a legal notice to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) asking it to reject the new reference interconnection offers (RIO) published by broadcasters. The Association has also sought Trai’s intervention in asking broadcasters to reduce channel prices as it “will cause irreparable loss to the entire industry”.
Major broadcasters including Disney Star India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, Sony Pictures Networks India, and TV18 Broadcast Ltd, had published their new RIOs over the weekend starting from 15 October (Dussehra) with the new a-la-carte pay channel and bouquet pricing that adheres to Trai’s new tariff order (NTO) 2.0.
The broadcasters had hiked the prices of their driver channels and pulled them from all their bouquets as Trai’s NTO 2.0 provisions mandated an MRP cap of Rs 12 for any pay channel to be included in a bouquet. The broadcasters are currently battling the Trai order in the Supreme Court stating that some of its provisions are arbitrary and outside the purview of the regulator. The final hearing is on 30 November.
In its notice to Trai, the Association has stated that “major broadcasters have issued their RIOs where it can be calculated that majorly subscribed channels by the consumers will be inflated by 100 per cent to 200 per cent.”
It added, “It is pertinent to mention here that during the situation when over-the-top service providers are trying to make their services more affordable to increase their subscriber base, the service providers of this industry will have to increase their rates substantially which will certainly cause loss of subscriber base of the local cable operators (LCOs) and multi-system operators (MSO).”
These “excessive prices” will undoubtedly hurt the subscriber base of cable operators whose subscribers come from the rural areas of the country where income levels are comparatively lower. The MSO mentioned that any regulation/direction/order implemented by Trai should lead to the growth and development of service providers and consumers.
“It is the contention of the Tamil Nadu Digital Cable TV Operators Association that the RIO published by Disney Star India has an illegal clause that requires MSOs to “continue the channels on the old LCNs and they cannot change it”. If new RIO is being asked to be implemented, then all its terms are liable to be renegotiated and the broadcaster cannot favourably keep the clauses of the old RIOs,” it said.
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.
