Cable TV
Udaya – Karnataka cable fraternity tussle continues
BANGALORE: Claims and counter claims continue to overcast the Karnataka airwaves over the issue of Udaya network making Udaya TV, Udaya News and Ushe TV pay channels.
While Udaya claims that all the three channels are on throughout Karnataka, the Karnataka State Cable TV Operators Association (KSCOA) says around 60 per cent of the State has blocked Udaya.
Talks between Udaya network and Karnataka cable operators on 9 August had failed as the Karnataka State Cable TV Operators Association’s proposal to Udaya to keep Udaya News and Ushe TV as pay channels and Udaya TV a free-to-air channel was turned down.
Udaya TV vice-president Vijay Kumar claims that the cable operators have been informed about the network’s plans to go pay about one and half years ago. But KSCOA spokesperson Ponnacha argues that the promise was to keep Udaya TV free-to-air channel while making the other two – Ushe TV and Udaya News – pay.
Ponnacha reminds that there has been a freeze on the cable subscription fees since December 2003, by a TRAI notification. According to him, Udaya had no reply to this issue during the failed talks between cable TV operators.
On the Udaya ban issue, Kumar affirms, “We are on throughout Karnataka – every district is receiving our signal and few regions are not receiving Udaya mainly, because, our decoder boxes have not reached them. Some cable operators in a few areas only are not covering Udaya.” Kumar claimed that some of these cable operators had been facing strong opposition from subscribers on the issue.
The director of a Multi System Operator (MSO) in East Karnataka revealed he had restarted Udaya to avoid subscribers’ ire, “However if blanking out Udaya is done throughout Karnataka, we will definitely co-operate with the Association,” he added.
Asks another cable operator, “The association called us to Bangalore, requesting us to blank out Udaya. But when no MSO has stopped the signal in Bangalore, why then block Udaya outside Bangalore?” He added that he’d cooperate if the decision to ban Udaya was implemented by all the operators.
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.
