Cable TV
Obit: Remembering InCable’s Ram T Hingorani
MUMBAI: “Hi I am Ram Hingorani,” said the squeaky but very amiable voice. I looked around and saw this short bespectacled man dressed in a safari suit, with his hair slicked back. “I am here to show you around and I am with the media business of the Hindujas.”
The time was the mid to late nineties and I was at the Hinduja office in Worli, Mumbai, just diagonally opposite the Haji Ali Dargah and next to the NSCI to meet up with the group of young men that had set up InCable – the Hinduja foray into the cable TV business.
He was kind, gracious and over welcoming to a fault, Ram. He then went on to tell me how he had worked at The Times Of India for almost 30 years, retiring if I am right as a general manager or something like that. He then told me about being involved with the Ambanis in the nineties and the acquisition and relaunch of the quickly aborted Observer of Politics and Business and the Sunday Observer. He finally hopped onto the Hinduja group which had expanded into India by acquiring Gulf Oil, Ashok Leyland, apart from other companies.
He talked about the group moving into the business of media by introducing newspapers, magazines, TV stations, cable TV networks, among other initiatives.
The Hindujas had formed Induslnd Media & Communications company, which in turn would float four subsidiaries – In Cablenet, In Vision, In Movies and In Print. In Print was slated to publish magazines for specific niche markets, beginning with What’s In, a city entertainment and leisure guide which hit the stands and was distributed to its cable TV subscribers. RTH was in charge of In Print, which ran for a few years and then was phased out.
He was the Hinduja man as they shopped around for their media ambitions reaching out to the existing media houses along with Sudheendra Kulkarni, the then vice-president of the Hinduja group’s media wing.
Of all the ventures only one has survived the turbulent media times: the cable TV venture and part of the credit for that must go to RTH as he used to be called. He often played foil to the four musketeers as they were labeled– Yogesh Radhakrishnan, Jagjit Singh Kohli, Yogesh Shah, and Ram Punjabi –by working as a mediator between the Hindujas and them, easing out thorny issues.
Along with them, he expanded InCable into 14 cities over 10 years. With the network set up, he moved out, new executives replaced him and he went back to the Ambanis’ Reliance Communications in a bid to set up a triple play venture using the existing infrastructure of independent cable TV operators.
RTH then retired in 2008 and lived a relatively sedate life – though he mixed around with the cable TV trade from time to time handing out advice – until he passed away on 24 May 2018.
The industry came out singing his praises. Said Ashok Mansukhani who currently runs InCable: “He was a giant of a man. He also helped ‘corporatise cable’ and was very hands-on in a world of armchair CEOs.”
Added Dubai based president & CEO Mediastream FZE (an independent channel and content distribution company) Rohinton Kapadia: “RTH was always positive even in the face of severe situations at critical times in our cable business. Having worked closely with him for many years I found him to be an inspiration for all of us and an invigorating leader at InCable. We all looked up to him as more of a father figure than our boss.”
Like the rest of the cable TV trade, Indiantelevision.com sends out condolences to his family. And may his soul rest in peace.
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.
