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
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
