UF Media forays into TV with music and lifestyle channel

UF Media, a South India-based company, has forayed into television with a lifestyle and music channel, UFX. It will be launched as a multi-lingual channel that will cater to Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu audiences. UFX's target audience is in the age group of 15-35 years, belonging to SEC A.

While English will be the medium of communication, music and content will be in the four southern languages, as well as in Hindi. International music, Bollywood music and South music will be given equal importance on the channel.

Talking about the positioning of the channel, Usman Faheed, managing director, UFX, says that the channel will be youthful, energetic and full of fun. "We offer no sermons, no lectures. That there will never be a dull moment is our solemn promise," he claims.

The channel is in soft launch stage, and is currently putting the distribution in place. The full-fledged launch is expected by the end of June. The channel will be launched across cable and satellite homes in the country in the second phase.

Currently, the South has music channels such as Isaiyaruvi, Jaya Max, Raj Music, Sun Music and SS Music.

Shiran Mather, channel and programming head, says that UFX has very differentiated packaging and programming. "There is a vacuum for English music in India. The channels that exist play Hindi or regional music. We will play different genres of music, with English being the medium of communication," he says.

UF Media is also looking at launching a 24-hour news channel in the South. The company publishes a Tamil daily, Tamil Sudar, in 14 editions. It also plans to foray into the English magazines segment soon.