Cable TV
TV18 to provide VC funding to convergence companies, earmarks Rs 500 million
MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl-promoted Television Eighteen is jumping into the convergence arena. The company plans to invest Rs 500 million in this space, identifying small-sized ventures which need funding support.
TV18 will function more as a venture capitalist, making investments into these companies at an early stage. “We realise there are opportunities in the convergence area of internet, TV, and broadband. Small companies engaged in this field are springing up. We plan to support them and make judicious investments spread over a string of companies. We have taken an enabling resolution to make investments in this space up to a maximum of Rs 500 million,” says a senior company executive.
TV18 is setting up a Media Venture Capital Trust (MVCT) through which it will make these investments. The MVCT shall be suitably structured as a tax efficient investment vehicle for undertaking these investments and will offer co-investment opportunities to the promoters of the company and other identified reputed investors.
The investments will be primarily in high growth companies. “TV18 will seek to invest, directly or indirectly minority stakes in these companies through repayment guaranteed / collateralized instruments convertible into equity, with an option to increase up to majority stake at a later date, wherever possible, subject to necessary provisions and approvals,” the company informed the BSE.
Outside these investments, TV18 will continue to acquire vertical portals. The company, which has internet ventures being consolidated into a wholly owned subsidiary, acquired in April a 50 per cent stake in the Indian arm of Jobstreet.com. Eariler in the year, it had invested in Yatra Online where other investors included Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital and Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) – Promod Haque’s leading venture capital firm.
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.
