Cable TV
What’s troubling HITS man Tony D’Silva?
MUMBAI: When the Hindujas announced their intentions to set up their Headend in the sky (HITS) platform to service cable dark phase III and phase IV– years ago, the project’s head – cable TV veteran Tony D’Silva – was highly excited. HITS would allow the company – Grant Investrade Ltd (GIL) – to beam out the 800 or so Indian TV channels to homes in towns and villages where setting up new or upgrading to expensive digital head ends was not viable or feasible.
There were regulatory hurdles initially but the venture finally got off the ground last year much in advance of the DAS Phase III deadline of 31 December 2015. Tony went around marketing the project with great gusto, reaching out to cable ops in the hinterlands, got the Hindujas, the owners, to invest.
There was interest from cable operators in almost all the areas that the product was demonstrated. The project looked very much viable as it gave cable operators a steady source of income without having to invest much in hardware and just servicing their existing subscribers.
Then came the spate of cases in the courts of various states, and Phase III came to a grinding halt (it is now pending the decision from the Delhi high court which is expected in the next week). Analogue signals were not switched off in many parts of the country and Tony was in a bit of a fix. As are many other chieftains in MSOs like DEN and Hathway, which have reported very bloodied and battered results in Q1 2017.
And Tony is a troubled man. Not just for that reason. He says he expects the court to rule justly in favour of digitization of the cable TV sector. However, he is not clear how many more court cases will be filed to stymie Phase III and Phase IV.
Tony’s woes are mainly because he has been unable to strike viable content deals with some broadcasters.
“It’s very unfair,” he states. “Some of the major broadcasters are asking the digital package price from me, but they continue to be okay with analogue pricing from cable operators in the very same phase III areas. How will I be able to offer them a digital package price to them when they are getting the same channels at analogue rates? Why will cable operators accept my superior quality digital offering? Why will an MSO and LCO agree to pay for digital services when they are also paying for analogue- that is double the price. These are questions broadcasters need to understand.”
Another point that Tony would like to make is that broadcasters had refrained from charging any special digital rates in phase I and II areas until the cutoff dates. “We are a pure digital platform; but we are looking at serving in the now-analogue areas more,” he says.
Tony would like to make an appeal to broadcasters and the regulator to stop charging digital package rates from him and analogue package rates from cable ops. “We are the new kid on the block and we are really aiding the spread of cable TV digitization in very difficult to reach areas of the country. I would beseech the community to give us a fair content deal at analogue rates until the analogue switch off commences. We are very open to pay digital rates once digital is switched on.”
He goes on to point out that HITS is definitely going to help the pay TV broadcast sector get revenues in their coffers which are hitherto difficult-to-access as digitization gains in strength. “But allow us to run a feasible business first,” he says.
Hopefully, broadcasters and the regulators will see reason in his plea.
Meanwhile, the HITs platform is continuing with its game plan of merging GIL with IMCL – the hitherto cable TV MSO arm of the group. The company has informed the ministry of information & broadcasting about its merger intentions and has also approached the High court about the same.
Then, over the past year or so, IMCL or Incable, has shut down or exited or bought joint ventures MSO headends where they had very little control over the operations. “We are down to about two and a half million paying cable TV customers and most of them are on a wholesale pre-paid model, so we are doing fine there,” says Tony. “The next few months are going to be very crucial. I am hopeful of things getting better,” he adds with a note of optimism.
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.
