Cable TV
State governments get active on cable tax collection
MUMBAI: Cable operators have plenty to be concerned about.
First, the introduction of the Conditional Access System Bill continues to hang fire. Now, state governments like Gujarat and Maharashtra are getting in on the act of launching drives to count cable headnds to ensure that cable ops do not evade tax through under declared connectivity. In Surat, out of the over 43,887 houses surveyed, 27,517 homes have cable connections.
A Times of India report indiactes that if these initial figures are any indication, the actual number of connections could be in the region of 300,000. However only 132,000 connections have been registered and so the move could more than double the revenue for the government. This holds true for the rural areas of the state as well, says the report.
The survey which commenced earlier this month, involves over 200 enumerators. Additional collector J B Vora has been quoted as saying that over Rs two million have been received by the district collectorate as entertainment tax so far this month following the drive and the number of registered connections has increased by over 19,000, For each connection, an operator has to pay six rupees as tax every month to the entertainment department.
In Maharashtra, the state government has begun the process to auction rights for collecting entertainment tax on cable television. According to a report from the India Abroad News Service, the government has published the draft rules on auctioning the rights to collect entertainment tax on cable television networks in the latest issue of its gazette. Conservative estimates indicate that while there are two million cable subscribers in Mumbai alone, operators have declared only about 400,000.
In Kolkata meanwhile, the government has deployed unemployed youth to count cable headends. For each count made, the youth is paid one rupee.
The success of these exedercises is expected to benefit the broadcast fraternity who will be able to negotiate better connectivity declarations for their channels from the cable ops.
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.
