Cable TV
Rane diktat: MSOs see STBs as answer
MUMBAI: Maharashtra revenue minister Narayan Rane is threatening to take action against cable operators who underreport their subscriber figures. The way out: a survey to expose the actual cable TV subscribers in Mumbai or even a hike in entertainment tax.
Rane may have good reason to do so, although detractors point this out as an action aimed at Shiv Sena, the party from where he launched his political career but left recently amidst stiff rivalry with supremo Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav.
Mumbai including Thane city and Navi Mumbai have around 3,000 cable operators servicing approximately 3 million homes. The declaration of cable connections, according to government officials, is 500,000. The state government charges Rs 30 a subscriber. “The cable operators have been cheating the government for a long time. The time has come to act. The state government is generating about Rs 800 million through entertainment tax from cable operators. And I am sure that with the alternate system, the revenue would go up at least four times,” Rane told one of the leading newspapers in Mumbai.
The alternate system Rane is hinting at is direct-to-home (DTH) service. The cable industry, however, rejects this as an unrealistic option. The multi system operators (MSOs), in fact, see the introduction of set-top boxes (STBs) as the answer to all the evils of underreporting.
“Let the government mandate STBs for pay-TV viewing. That will take care of gross under-declarations. The government will have a transparent system and entertainment tax collections will augment,” says the head of a leading MSO in Mumbai.
Local cable operators, however, are worried about Rane’s possible drive at forcing operators to increase declarations. “If the government seriously clamps down on operators, subscribers will have to pay higher cable TV prices. The current rates are possible because underreporting is factored in. The monthly rates could shoot up to Rs 500,” says Federation of Cable Operators Association president Ravi Singh.
A worse implication could be if the government decides to hike entertainment tax for cable operators. “This would be unfair as those who have a higher declaration of their actual connections will have to suffer more,” says Singh.
Singh, however, is willing to discuss the issue of underreporting with Rane and the state government. His association, along with CODA (Cable Operators and Distributors Association), is planning to meet Rane. “We will seek an appointment with Rane We can discuss what kind of cooperation we can extend to sort out the issue,” says Singh.
CODA president Anil Parab believes action can follow only after Rane has made his proposals clear. “We do not know what his proposals are and how he is planning to increase the declarations. It is only then that we will decide on what action to take,” he says.
A section of the industry has welcomed Rane’s drive to increase declarations. “If the government succeeds, it will be best for the industry. The broadcasters, though, will gain the most,” says Jagjit Kohli, a veteran in the cable TV industry.
A survey of the actual connections of the cable operators, however, is an uphill task. Earlier governments have also lacked political will to head for a transparency system. The idea of hiring a private bidder to take charge of declarations has also been toyed with but without success. “That wouldn’t have been a good system as other elements would have come into play. Many in the industry would have felt that the private bidder wouldn’t be fair as it would be in his interest to extract the maximum profit. If the government does this on its own, it will be a different ball game. The government, however, has to figure out how it can get this survey done and how it can be implemented,” says Kohli.
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.
