Cable Tv industry in India is undergoing a heavy restructuring and Digitisation is one of the main reasons behind this. Hathway Cable and Datacom has been doing well in terms of growth and innovations. The new year has brought some good news for the MSO as it has been valuated in excess of $1billion mark making it the first Indian MSO to cross $1Bn mark in terms of corporate valuation.
The total valuation of the company including the market cap stood at Rs. 5581 crore and Debt at a modest Rs. 806 crore. Hathway Cable MD and CEO Mr. Jagdish Kumar Pillai said “This achievement has got more to do with the potential of the Indian cable TV market, and not just with what Hathway does”
He further attributed the growth to the digitisation and the way it has opened up new avenues of growth not only for MSOs(Multi System Operator) but also the LMO(Last Mile Operators). Pillai expects foreign investments to increase investments in the Indian cable Tv scenario as it has attained a good level of uniformity, thanks to the digitisation. He also said that Hathway is being given an corporate overhaul and is bringing professionals to run the show.
Hathway is now focussing on the monetisation of the investments it had made in the initial phases of digitisation wherein 7 million set top boxes were deployed. The Internet side has also been a strong revenue generator for Hathway. They have already upgraded the platform to DOCSIS 3.0 which will help them in increasing their foothold.
The Hathway story will attract the investors and the TV distribution initiative will spark further interest. It will also help the Media Houses to realize the nature of their viewership and obviously the numbers of the same.
