Cable TV
US to have new ‘Idol-like’ TV show for instrumentalists
MUMBAI: The American Youth Symphony (AYS), a non-profit organisation in the forefront of music education and awareness, will be producing a reality television talent competition for instrumental musicians called America’s Hot Musician.
The program will air its first 12 episode season in early 2007 in about 200 markets via a coordinated cable network/paid programming schedule, according to AYS executive director Susan Veres.
AYS, whose Plight of American Music Initiative has been promoted in publications such as American Teacher and has been taken up in hundreds of schools nationwide, is developing this television program amid what it calls a “stealth crisis” within the MTV/Hip Hop Generation.
“The crisis involves the pervasiveness of sampling and rapping, which has deterred interest in instrumental performance and patronage by young people,” said AYS artistic director Gregory Charles Royal.
Royal, who is the creative producer of the show, was a trombonist in the Grammy Award-winning Duke Ellington Orchestra , the Broadway hit Five Guys Named Moe, and in the horn sections of many top artists including Gladys Knight, The Temptations and The Four Tops.
The show is similar to American Idol in its target demographic, format and entertainment component but will feature instrumental musicians who audition on camera in cities across America. They will compete for a chance to record a solo album.
The judging panel will include a couple of luminaries that will be announced at a press conference set for June 2006. Registration for contestants will begin 20 March through the America’s Hot Musician website. There will be an $8 registration fee for entrants to help offset the non-profit organisation’s costs.
Veres says, “We feel this program is so important to help bridge the gap between instrumental performance and the young demographic which might lead to a more wide spread interest in instrumental performance and patronage.”
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.
