At a time when India is celebrating 30 years of satellite TV services this year, two of the stalwarts who started it all – Subhash Chandra and his brother Jawahar Goel – have been reduced to a footnote. While Chandra has managed to salvage Zee Entertainment through a smart deal with Sony Pictures, Goel has not been so lucky with Dish TV. Last week, Goel announced that he will step down from the board of Dish TV after a major fallout with the largest shareholder in the company, Yes Bank. Goel tried to doggedly battle it out in the courts to stall his inevitable loss of control of Dish TV, but the lender seized authority over the satellite television firm in lieu of the nearly ₹4,200 crore debt.
After an 18-year stint, Goel tendered his resignation as the Chairman of the board and will not be continuing as the Managing Director as well.
Just like his brother Subhash Chandra, who was a pioneer of commercial entertainment television, Jawahar Goel also disrupted TV distribution by launching Dish, India’s first DTH service. Nearly two decades on, the company is a mere shadow of its former glory – reporting losses quarter on quarter. While the Essel Group has lost its final flame in the media business, Goel’s future remains uncertain.