Malayala Manorama plans to foray into general entertainment

The Malayala Manorama Group which has concentrated solely on print media so far, is slowly expanding its domain into other media segments as well. The group is currently contemplating its entry into the Malayalam general entertainment channel (GEC) space in Kerala.

Verghese Chandy, general manager, marketing, Malayala Manorama Group, says, “It might be a little early at the moment, to talk about any plans to launch a GEC from the Malayala Manorama stable. But we are seriously considering our entry into this segment in the future. It might take a long time to set up a proper structure, but this is the next logical step for our group to keep up with the expansion mode.”

The Kerala market offers a wide variety of Malayalam entertainment channels to the local audience. The market is already cluttered with a large number of regional GECs. The prominent names in the market include Asianet, Surya TV, Jeevan TV, Kairali, Amrita TV and recently launched youth channel, WE TV.

Commenting on the competition in the GEC space, Chandy remarks, “With our kind of experience in media industry, hopefully we’ll be able to do a good job in this space.”

Malayala Manorama, was established in the year 1890. The daily currently has a circulation of 15,40,451 as per Jan-Jun 2007 ABC figures and a readership of 86.62 lakh as per Round 2, IRS 2007.