Cable TV
Zee TV to launch ‘Business Baazigar’ by month-end
MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra will make his debut appearance on television in the network’s big budget reality business talent hunt show Business Baazigar.
The one-hour show will launch in the last week of March as a weekly.
Chandra will be seen playing the role of a no-nonsense judge to perfection, as the show promises to give Zee TV lots of scope for reality-oriented programming.
According to market estimations, Zee TV has spent in the range of Rs 100 to 120 million for the first season of Business Baazigar. The season will have 24 episodes, from which 15 episodes have completed the post-production phase. One winner will be chosen at the end of the season.
Chandra and Passionfunds CEO Mahesh Murthy, along with a new guest judge each week, will judge the contestants through personal interviews. MTV veejay Cyrus Sahukar will anchor the show.
Business Baazigar will enter the marketing and promotion phase next week, with the channel officially announcing the launch. The show has been slotted in the weekday band.
Zee has already devoted a lot of time on this pet project of Chandra’s. The media house first announced the big ticket property in the second half of 2004. The channel had even roped in Aditya Birla Group as the title sponsor of the show well in advance. The show, which was initially produced by 24 FPS, is now being handled by Zee’s in-house team.
Business Baazigar is a search for people with smart business ideas. The show proposes to give these people the money they require to start a business based on their ideas. This money, which is essentially in the form of venture funding, will run into millions, and different winners will get different amounts depending on their business idea.
The entry of Business Baazigar will see Zee TV parading as many as three reality-oriented programmes in the weekday line up. The channel already airs the game show Kam Ya Zyaada Monday to Wednesday. It will telecast the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 offspring Sa Re Ga Ma Pa: Ek Main Aur Ek Tu on Thursday and Friday, starting 16 March.
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.
