News Broadcasting
Sun to start test marketing transition to pay
MUMBAI: South Indian language Sun Network is aiming to start test marketing its transition towards pay TV services in Andhra Pradesh. This was revealed by network chairman Kalanithi Maran to the Financial Express. Maran added that the test marketing would be followed by a campaign wherein digital IRDs would made available nationally, so that “every cable operator has our decoder”.
He said the decision to go pay was based on the fact that viewers were paying for channels they did not want to see. “They certainly would not mind paying for channels they want to see,” he pointed out. “But if we find our subscriber base is dwindling by even five per cent, we will not go ahead with the plan.”
Maran’s cautious stance apart, indications are that the entire Sun Network will be going pay by next year. First up will be its two Telugu language channels Gemini and Teja, both of which are expected to go pay latest by October.
Maran’s Sun Network owns a bouquet of nine regional language channels in southern India. The entire bouquet will go pay by early next year, officials have been quoted as saying, with one channel going the pay way every 30 to 45 days.
As far as the Sun’s Telugu channels are concerned, the plan is to charge a subscription of Rs 10 per household for both Gemini and Teja. While ratings agencies claim Gemini has a 41 per cent viewership and Teja has an eight per cent viewership in the rest of Andhra Pradesh, in Hyderabad their share is 40 per cent and five per cent respectively. Gemini has emerged as one of the strongest channels in the south, with nearly 19 to 20 of its shows figuring in the top 100 shows across all channels in the country.
The network is currently appointing distributors for its channels in Andhra Pradesh and is confident it will find takers for its pay model from cable ops in the state. Apart from its nine satellite channels, Sun also has its own Sumangali Cable Vision to fall back on for effective distribution. Given that there are nearly seven million C&S households in AP and Gemini reaches nearly 100 per cent of these, the network should gross close to Rs 850 million from Gemini and Teja’s subscription revenues alone this fiscal, say observers.
According to Maran, more regional language channels (other than what he already had) were not really the way to go as a test market exercise by the network for a Bengali channel showed it was unviable. “A Hindi channel is the next logical step but because there are so many players in this space, we will wait and watch for the right opportunity instead of jumping in recklessly.”
Maran called digital compression and digitilisation as one of the biggest benefits to have come industry’s way in recent times.
He added that there was no need to go in for an IPO as it had enough internal funds to keep going, and the markets were not conducive.
Maran said that his group was in favour of CAS. “Our channels occupy the No 1 spot in every market they are present.”
News Broadcasting
WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
