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Kalaignar launches news channel; comedy, kids channel next
The group already beams a GEC called Kalaignar TV and a music channel called Isai Aruvi
DMK-backed Kalaignar TV, the general entertainment channel (GEC) has rolled out a 24 hours news channel. The new Tamil news channel is called Kalaignar Seithigal.
Brand Kalaignar made its debut in Tamil Nadu in 2007 with Kalaignar TV. Six months later, it rolled out Isai Aruvi, a music channel. It plans to add two more channels to its bouquet in the coming months, a comedy channel called Sirippoli and a children’s channel called Chitram.
Since its launch in 2007, Kalaignar TV has moved up to occupy the second rank among Tamil GECs. According to the TAM data for CS4+ Tamil Nadu (October 26- November 22), Sun TV was leading in the GEC space, with a channel share of 64 per cent. Kalaignar TV occupied the second spot with a channel share of 14 per cent. Both Vijay TV and Jaya TV occupied the third position with a channel share of 7 per cent each.
A senior official at Kalaignar TV says, “Down south, most of the political parties are associated with one television network or the other. Kalaignar TV already operates a GEC and a music channel, both of which are doing well. So, it makes sense to make our presence felt in the news genre, too.”
Kalaignar Seithigal will focus largely on regional news, but it will also offer national and international news in good measure. The channel will beam half hourly news bulletins and programmes all through the day. Non-news shows will be in the form of interviews with politicians, sports stars and movie stars.
Incidentally, Kalaignar TV also carries half-hour news bulletins three times a day. The channel heads have decided to continue with the news bulletins so that its GEC viewers, too, are kept acquainted with the happenings around them.
The official adds, “Our news channel will make all efforts to report news fairly. It will be a source of unbiased news. As a policy, we are not averse to carrying advertising by other political parties. Both our existing channels, Kalaignar TV and Isai Aruvi, attract both national and local advertisers. We have decided to say no to religious advertising in any form because we will not air any kind of religious or devotional content on the channel.”