Cable TV
WWIL acquires 51 per cent in Delhi MSO for CAS
MUMBAI: Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL) is expanding its footprint in Delhi. The demerged cable company of Zee Group has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Satellite Channels, a multi-system operator (MSO) who was operating in the Cas (conditional access system) notified area of Delhi, for an undisclosed amount.
WWIL has also signed up with Spectranet and Sanjay Cable Network. All these MSOs were disqualified for Cas as they were found not ready by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for making the switchover to addressable system by 31 December.
“We have bought 51 per cent in Satellite Channels and have signed up with Spectranet and Sanjay Cable Network,” WWIL CEO Jagjit Kohli tells Indiantelevision.com.
Earlier, WWIL had acquired control over 5 Star which operates in Andheri, a western suburb of Mumbai. Kohli claims to have added 250,000 subscribers in recent months through aggressive acquisitions. WWIL is offering to cable operators a valuation of Rs 2,000-3,000 per subscriber where it will hold 51 per cent stake.
“However, our focus now is to roll out the digital boxes. We will be soon introducing various packages,” Kohli says.
WWIL will introduce a combo package where consumers who buy STBs on outright purchase and take annual subscription will be offered an attractive subsidy, Kohli says. This scheme will make available 100 TV channels. “We will be offering under this at least 20 pay channels. We will be subsiding the boxes,” he adds, while declining to spell out the pricing structure of the package.
WWIL’s initial fund requirement is Rs 5 billion and the company plans to invest Rs 7.14 billion over two years. “We have already lined up a debt of Rs 2.15 billion,” Kohli says.
WWIL is likely to list by mid-January or early February, he adds.
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.
