Kannada GEC space gets new contender

This will be STAR network's second channel in the market, competing with about five other channels in the general entertainment space.

The Kannada television space is all set to have a new channel, Suvarna Plus from STAR Network, which already owns a channel in the space. Like its sibling Suvarna, Suvarna Plus is also a Kannada general entertainment channel (GEC).

'Masthi Swalpa Jaasthi', the tagline of Suvarna Plus, captures a basic tendency of humans to get 'A bit more' in everything and it promises the viewer of 'something extra' in terms of entertainment, claims the channel.

The network claims that although both Suvarna and Suvarna Plus will operate in the same market and cater to the same viewer base, they are positioned differently: Suvarna's key offering is fiction shows where it has positioned itself as a companion to the viewers. Suvarna Plus will act as a stress buster and will be a complete entertainer. Suvarna Plus is will have family entertainment content, rather than skewing the content to suit females, and is expected to offer a programming mix of comedy, non-fiction, movies and music.

Suvarna was launched in 2007 and has been among the top three channels for a long time now. Suvarna Plus has been launched for content which acts as a stress buster, the content offering will be movies, comedy fiction shows, reality shows, chat shows, film-based shows and music. The channel will also offer content targeting youth with shows like Campus Connect.

K Madhavan, MD, Asianet Communications, says, "Karnataka has been a key market for us, we are buoyant and see huge potential in the Kannada television space. Suvarna has been offering wholesome family entertainment to Kannada homes and is the leader in prime time. With the launch of Suvarna Plus, we intend to increase our dominance in the Kannada GEC market".