Sun Network flexes muscles; to launch KTV channel on October 22

KTV channel is the latest to join the Sun Network, which comprises Sun TV, Sun News, Surya TV, Udaya, Udaya News, Ushe TV, Teja TV, Gemini TV and SCV channels

A recent full-page colour ad in a leading national daily has made media watchers sit up and take notice. To begin with, a full-page ad in these times of doom and gloom itself is amazing, but even more surprising is the news it carries - that of the launch of a new TV channel.

KTV channel is the latest to join the "nine Sun signs''. It joins the Sun Network of nine channels comprising Sun TV, Sun News, Surya TV, Udaya, Udaya News, Ushe TV, Teja TV, Gemini TV and SCV channels.

But is there place for more? "We want to reestablish our leadership and take the No 1 and No 2 slots. The others can decide where they want to be after that. In fact, we had been thinking in terms of another entertainment channel in Tamil for quite some time because we are not able to do justice to entertainment as a genre on Sun TV. KTV has been in the pipeline for some months now,'' clarifies W Hansraj Saxena, vice-president, programming, Sun TV.

However, people close to channel observe that the launch of KTV has been speeded up due to the hoopla raised by Vijay TV during its relaunch as part of the STAR Network. Sources, who have observed recent events in Chennai closely, say as Vijay TV threw up its trump card with the launch its new serial Marumagal (meaning daughter-in-law) starring famous cine actor Khushboo, Sun TV preponed the launch of KTV.

Not surprising. In fact, Vijay TV went to the extent of roping in Eventus, the event management division of Fountainhead advertising agency, to create excitement around Marumagal, which is being seen as the key driver for the channel's ratings now. The whole idea behind Marumagal's launch was backed by the channel's internal research that showed 80 per cent of women make it a point to visit temples on Fridays in the south. The agency went into temples and reached out to women by handing out Kumkum (bindis, a very common practice among homes in the south) along with a card asking them to welcome the new bride into their homes. Apart from this, the channel touched base with women at department stores, exhibitions and theatres across six cities in Tamil Nadu. The agency plans to take out a massive float that will be supported by a door-to-door campaign aimed at encouraging trial viewership. The agency's brief was to get ‘confirmed viewership' of at least 50,000.

HTA, meanwhile, has bagged the advertising account for KTV. But there was no pitch for this account. "We had worked with Sun on a project earlier and this helped us bag this account. KTV was initially being conceived as a movie channel, but we prevailed upon the client to consider a broader platform for it. Hence it is being positioned as an entertainment-cum-movie channel," said U Jayraj Rau, vice-president and client services director, HTA, Chennai. The creative for the launch campaign revolves around masks. "Every person interested in movies, at some point, likes to think of himself/herself as a movie star, and we have used ordinary people wearing masks resembling top stars. We would be distributing these masks among people to generate interest in the channel," he added.

Indeed. The Sun Network will not cut corners in publicising the launch of KTV. According to Saxena of Sun TV, the launch budget is a mind-boggling Rs 7 crore. The group is leaning heavily on the print media for ‘immediacy'. It hopes to come out with six more full-page ads in leading dailies such as Dina Malar, Dina Thanthi etc and hopes to leverage the network's bouquet of channels to drive home the message. It plans to use the outdoor media in a big way and has already booked 75 prominent hoarding across Chennai. There are also plans to have giant-sized cutouts to attract attention. Such activities will be spread across seven major cities in Tamil Nadu. Local dailies, that have sizeable Tamil readership in Bangalore and Hyderabad, as well as magazines, such as Kumudam and Ananda Vigadan, would be brought in at a later stage.

Media circles in Chennai have been working overtime trying to crack the letter ‘K' in KTV channel. "Some say K means Kalanithi Maran; others believe it could mean Kaliangar Karunanidhi; then there are those who say it stands for Kollywood. But it means no such thing. HTA coined a term ‘Kondattam' (which roughly means celebrations) to describe the character of the channel. But the channel is simply KTV," says Saxena of Sun TV, who happens to be a close aide of Kalanithi Maran.

KTV would be inaugurated with blockbuster Tamil movies such as Citizen, Paariyappa and Jeans. Plans have also been firmed up to air English movies dubbed in Tamil such as Terminator II, Total Recall, Armor of Gods etc. The channel has already bagged the rights to dub these movies in Tamil and telecast them.

Not surprising as Sun TV has the largest collection of movie titles in its library - about 2,400 films, though according to sources, the real number is pegged at over 6,000 titles. Apart from this, the network has also announced its decision to get into film production. "We control 98 per cent of the films released in the market and we have tied up to get the latest blockbusters for the next four years as well,'' says Saxena. To begin with KTV will screen one movie every day from Monday through Friday, and another four movies over the weekend. The channel, once it finds its feet, would move on to other platforms such as live shows, chat shows and events.

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