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Kalaignar TV focus is on Tamil Nadu
R.K. Radhakrishnan
Sharad Kumar CHENNAI: The latest entrant to the Tamil free-to-air television channel scene, Kalaignar TV, will keep its focus firmly on Tamil Nadu, said Sharad Kumar, its Managing Director. “Currently, the focus will be on Tamil. My next task is to get the music channel up, which I hope will happen in 30 days,” he said.
Kalaignar will launch two more channels – one exclusively for news and another for music. Test runs for the music channel will begin three weeks from now. He said he hoped to launch the News channel on January 15. “After this, it depends on what direction the leader gives,” he said when asked if Kalaignar TV would be launching channels in other languages.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi took an active interest in the channel and was posted of developments every day. “He does give his suggestions but never at any point of time does he impose anything. Mr. Kumar said Mr. Karunanidhi always asked him to ‘come out with something good.’ Mr. Kumar controls the technology part of the operations.Ramanarayanan and Amrithum take care of the editorial part.
Mr. Kumar, who had earlier been with Sun TV, was into the construction business when the Kalaignar TV offer came. He says that he agreed to it immediately because it was a tremendous challenge to get up a quality channel in a short span of time.
Having stabilised the channel in a very short time with his trademark mix of entertainment, current affairs, shows and movies, Mr. Kumar, the moving force behind the channel, said he believed that “general entertainment works the best.” He kept to that pattern and launched 14 daily ‘soaps,’ and each one of them is from an established film personality or production house. “We had a good rapport with a lots of people…They came forward to meet the deadline,” he said.
Mr. Kumar said that there were only 70 days, from the day the decision was taken to launch the channel to the actual test transmission. Apart from getting tie-ups with producers and programme houses on software there was also the question of getting the hardware ready. Equipment deliveries took time and since technology changed for the better all the time, companies also replaced their shelves with newer versions of entertainment equipment. Also, bulk orders took time for the companies to fulfil. “Fortunately, vendors were very supportive and the obstacles were surmounted. By day 100, the channel was launched,” he said. “It was a logistical nightmare.” Normally, a channel could take about a year to launch.
Kalaignar TV has not taken a decision on providing a direct-to-home service, he said and added that there was no talk so far on the matter. For now, the TV had made available its signals to DTH providers Tata Sky and Dish; had signed an MoU with Reliance and is in talks with Videocon. The only one left out is DD Bharati. Going abroad is “on the cards” so that Tamils there too could watch the channel. “We have started dialogues with Singapore, Malaysia, U.K. Once we stabilise here…it is easy to talk [to them].”
Source : The Hindu
R.K. Radhakrishnan
Sharad Kumar CHENNAI: The latest entrant to the Tamil free-to-air television channel scene, Kalaignar TV, will keep its focus firmly on Tamil Nadu, said Sharad Kumar, its Managing Director. “Currently, the focus will be on Tamil. My next task is to get the music channel up, which I hope will happen in 30 days,” he said.
Kalaignar will launch two more channels – one exclusively for news and another for music. Test runs for the music channel will begin three weeks from now. He said he hoped to launch the News channel on January 15. “After this, it depends on what direction the leader gives,” he said when asked if Kalaignar TV would be launching channels in other languages.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi took an active interest in the channel and was posted of developments every day. “He does give his suggestions but never at any point of time does he impose anything. Mr. Kumar said Mr. Karunanidhi always asked him to ‘come out with something good.’ Mr. Kumar controls the technology part of the operations.Ramanarayanan and Amrithum take care of the editorial part.
Mr. Kumar, who had earlier been with Sun TV, was into the construction business when the Kalaignar TV offer came. He says that he agreed to it immediately because it was a tremendous challenge to get up a quality channel in a short span of time.
Having stabilised the channel in a very short time with his trademark mix of entertainment, current affairs, shows and movies, Mr. Kumar, the moving force behind the channel, said he believed that “general entertainment works the best.” He kept to that pattern and launched 14 daily ‘soaps,’ and each one of them is from an established film personality or production house. “We had a good rapport with a lots of people…They came forward to meet the deadline,” he said.
Mr. Kumar said that there were only 70 days, from the day the decision was taken to launch the channel to the actual test transmission. Apart from getting tie-ups with producers and programme houses on software there was also the question of getting the hardware ready. Equipment deliveries took time and since technology changed for the better all the time, companies also replaced their shelves with newer versions of entertainment equipment. Also, bulk orders took time for the companies to fulfil. “Fortunately, vendors were very supportive and the obstacles were surmounted. By day 100, the channel was launched,” he said. “It was a logistical nightmare.” Normally, a channel could take about a year to launch.
Kalaignar TV has not taken a decision on providing a direct-to-home service, he said and added that there was no talk so far on the matter. For now, the TV had made available its signals to DTH providers Tata Sky and Dish; had signed an MoU with Reliance and is in talks with Videocon. The only one left out is DD Bharati. Going abroad is “on the cards” so that Tamils there too could watch the channel. “We have started dialogues with Singapore, Malaysia, U.K. Once we stabilise here…it is easy to talk [to them].”
Source : The Hindu
