Kala Murali, a resident of Chennai, lives in a joint family of eight members. Every day, she cooks lunch early along with her sister-in-law so that she can settle down to the few hours she can truly call her own. Together they watch Tamil serials Thamarai and Pon Oonjal on Sun TV. “They are gripping, women-centric serials, where the woman is the protagonist,” Murali said. Then later in the day, she and her husband watch more series on Sun TV, especially Nadhaswaram. “This is a daily ritual.”
For most homemakers, and indeed many others, in Tamil Nadu, Sun TV forms the staple entertainment diet. Women and men sit down together in front of television after dinner to soak in the high drama, emotions and familial strife their favourite characters face. The channel is a ritualistic constant in their routines, and has been for a while.
This unswerving loyalty is what has put Sun Group, the owner of Sun TV, at the top of the programming popularity charts in Tamil Nadu. Ratings data given by both TAM Media Research and Broadcast Audience Research Council – two audience measurement companies – put Sun TV in the lead in the Tamil general entertainment space. The success story repeats across state lines. Sun Group’s Udaya TV is the leader in the Kannada market and Gemini in the Telugu space. Only in Kerala does Asianet pip the Sun Network’s Surya to the top spot.
The giant Sun Group edifice, built over two and a half decades, is now on the brink of collapse. In early June, news reports revealed that the Ministry of Home Affairs had denied security clearance to 33 channels in Sun’s bouquet, citing legal cases against its owning family, the Marans. The group’s head honcho Kalanithi Maran subsequently wrote to Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, terming the move illegal. A legal opinion from Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi faulted the Home Ministry’s decision. Since then, the issue is hanging fire, locked in a battle between Home and Information and Broadcasting ministries.
Far from the power wrangles of Delhi, Kala Murali says she hopes Sun TV will not be taken off air. “The shows on other channels are not as good Sun TV’s,” she said. “Sun TV serials portray an accurate picture of the plight of women in society today.”
The Sun's rising
Creating gripping women-focused programming is just one in a series of creative strategies adopted by the Sun Group over the past 25 years that made it prosper. In the 1990s, as India was opening its economy to liberalisation, young Kalanithi Maran decided to embark on a new venture – the media. He started a monthly video magazine called Poomalai, offering a capsule of news to the Tamil audiences. His college buddies Hansraj Saxena and Sharad Kumar joined him and the three climbed onto the cable television bandwagon. Kalanithi was the chairman and managing director of the vast Sun Network.
By 2000, Kalanithi realised the need to get into cable distribution business to protect his channels’ popularity. So the Sun Group launched Sumangali Cable Vision, which quickly monopolised the cable distribution industry in Tamil Nadu. Intertwining business with politics helped the Marans – their proximity at the time to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi (Kalanithi and his brother Dayanidhi are his grandnephews) strengthened their foothold in Tamil Nadu and the other southern states.
In little time, Sumangali Cable Vision emerged as the backbone of the Marans’ media empire. “SCV and Kal Cables [a subsidiary of Sumangali Cable Vision] had the monopoly of the state, so the Sun Group channels became number one,” said Johnson D Kennedy, president of the Chennai Metro Cable Operators Association.
“A number of MSOs [multi-system operators or cable operators who provide cable services to homes] came up after licences were opened up five years ago,” Kennedy explained further. “But as long as there was analogue [signal], monopoly was possible and the Sun Group had it. Once digitisation came, there is a clause that no monopoly should be there – thus licences were opened up. Digitisation has not happened fully in Tamil Nadu yet, but that is another story.”
The mischief and the downfall
A senior employee of a rival channel accused the Sun Group of unfairly using its distribution network to prosper. If the group felt that a channel was challenging its primacy, that channel would mysteriously lose audio when beamed into homes, he alleged. “Sometimes there was so much noise that the viewer was unable to watch the channel,” he said on condition of anonymity. “Cable TV operators would change the position of the channel every day, so that the viewer would have to keep searching for it. This is how Sun killed a lot of other channels.”
Kennedy too stressed the importance of Sun Group’s distribution network. “If a channel is not seen for a week, its ratings fall. Families go to another show if one is not available. Sumangali Cable Vision is the main reason for the success of Sun Network. It is unfortunate that Sun was the only MSO and there was no one else at the time.”
Sun Group’s chief financial officer SL Narayanan refused to comment on the allegation of the misuse of the cable distribution network.
The empire’s problems began in 2007, when a Sun group-owned Tamil daily, Dinakaran, published an opinion poll showing Karunanidhi’s younger son MK Stalin as the preferred choice to succeed him. Dinakaran’s Madurai office was torched and three employees died in the blaze. A furious Karunanidhi, who was then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, announced the launch of a government-owned cable distribution network called Arasu Cable and set up a television mouthpiece for the DMK, christening it Kalaignar TV. A subsequent patch-up between the Marans and Karunanidhi’s family didn’t entirely mend the relations. Tensions remained.
With the change of regime in Tamil Nadu in 2011, the Marans’ troubles compounded. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, buoyed by the thumping majority she achieved in the elections, resuscitated Arasu Cable and broke the back of Sun Group’s cable distribution business.
“Today Sumangali Cable Vision only has presence in Chennai,” said Kennedy. “All other districts in the state come under Arasu Cable. Where once SCV was the market leader, today it has to share the market in Chennai with five other MSOs.”
Narayanan asserted that before Arasu came there were 89 MSOs in Tamil Nadu with whom Sun Group had content deals. “Of the revenues of the cable operator pie, Sumangali had only 18%. There is a popular perception that Sumangali had a monopoly, which is not true.”
The many legal troubles
Apart from losing its pre-eminence, the Sun Network’s owners got entangled in a slew of legal battles. The Central Bureau of Investigation is probing Kalanithi and Dayanidhi in the Aircel-Maxis case, in which Dayanidhi, as Union Telecom Minister, allegedly arm-twisted Aircel owner C Sivasankaran into selling his business to Malaysian telecom giant Maxis. The case is being heard by the Supreme Court. In a setback to the family, the Madras High Court recently refused to stay attachment of the Marans’ properties worth Rs 742 crore by the Enforcement Directorate.
Another thorn in the flesh of the Marans is the BSNL Exchange case, in which Dayanidhi Maran is accused of using his position as Telecom Minister in 2004-2007 to set up an illegal BSNL exchange at his residence, providing high speed data lines for Sun Network. This case is being heard by a special court in Delhi trying all the 2G cases and at least two employees of Sun Network have been arrested.
Still, the biggest direct threat to the group remains the denial of security clearance to its channels. The Home and the Information and Broadcasting ministries recently appealed against a Madras High Court order that allows Kal Cables to operate despite the denial.
Narayanan decries the refusal of the security clearance. He says the Home Ministry is citing the BSNL Exchange case for its decision, even though the First Information Report in the case doesn’t mention the group or Kalanithi. It includes the names of Dayanidhi.
The Marans have their share of enemies and former CEO of Sun Pictures Hansraj Saxena is among them. While there is now no love lost between him and Kalanithi Maran, he is still one of the few who support the Sun Group openly. “Cases are there against everyone,” Saxena told Scroll.in. “Sun TV as a network is not a threat to society. The south Indian society has enjoyed the programmes for 25 years.” He refused to comment specifically on the Maran brothers.
After news appeared of the revocation of security clearance, jokes and memes emerged on social media and WhatsApp that Tamil Nadu’s housewives would protest on the streets if Sun’s channels were taken off air. There is little likelihood of street protests if that does happen. It is, however, certain that the daily television ritual of many like Kala Murali will come to an end.
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For most homemakers, and indeed many others, in Tamil Nadu, Sun TV forms the staple entertainment diet. Women and men sit down together in front of television after dinner to soak in the high drama, emotions and familial strife their favourite characters face. The channel is a ritualistic constant in their routines, and has been for a while.
This unswerving loyalty is what has put Sun Group, the owner of Sun TV, at the top of the programming popularity charts in Tamil Nadu. Ratings data given by both TAM Media Research and Broadcast Audience Research Council – two audience measurement companies – put Sun TV in the lead in the Tamil general entertainment space. The success story repeats across state lines. Sun Group’s Udaya TV is the leader in the Kannada market and Gemini in the Telugu space. Only in Kerala does Asianet pip the Sun Network’s Surya to the top spot.
The giant Sun Group edifice, built over two and a half decades, is now on the brink of collapse. In early June, news reports revealed that the Ministry of Home Affairs had denied security clearance to 33 channels in Sun’s bouquet, citing legal cases against its owning family, the Marans. The group’s head honcho Kalanithi Maran subsequently wrote to Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, terming the move illegal. A legal opinion from Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi faulted the Home Ministry’s decision. Since then, the issue is hanging fire, locked in a battle between Home and Information and Broadcasting ministries.
Far from the power wrangles of Delhi, Kala Murali says she hopes Sun TV will not be taken off air. “The shows on other channels are not as good Sun TV’s,” she said. “Sun TV serials portray an accurate picture of the plight of women in society today.”
The Sun's rising
Creating gripping women-focused programming is just one in a series of creative strategies adopted by the Sun Group over the past 25 years that made it prosper. In the 1990s, as India was opening its economy to liberalisation, young Kalanithi Maran decided to embark on a new venture – the media. He started a monthly video magazine called Poomalai, offering a capsule of news to the Tamil audiences. His college buddies Hansraj Saxena and Sharad Kumar joined him and the three climbed onto the cable television bandwagon. Kalanithi was the chairman and managing director of the vast Sun Network.
By 2000, Kalanithi realised the need to get into cable distribution business to protect his channels’ popularity. So the Sun Group launched Sumangali Cable Vision, which quickly monopolised the cable distribution industry in Tamil Nadu. Intertwining business with politics helped the Marans – their proximity at the time to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi (Kalanithi and his brother Dayanidhi are his grandnephews) strengthened their foothold in Tamil Nadu and the other southern states.
In little time, Sumangali Cable Vision emerged as the backbone of the Marans’ media empire. “SCV and Kal Cables [a subsidiary of Sumangali Cable Vision] had the monopoly of the state, so the Sun Group channels became number one,” said Johnson D Kennedy, president of the Chennai Metro Cable Operators Association.
“A number of MSOs [multi-system operators or cable operators who provide cable services to homes] came up after licences were opened up five years ago,” Kennedy explained further. “But as long as there was analogue [signal], monopoly was possible and the Sun Group had it. Once digitisation came, there is a clause that no monopoly should be there – thus licences were opened up. Digitisation has not happened fully in Tamil Nadu yet, but that is another story.”
The mischief and the downfall
A senior employee of a rival channel accused the Sun Group of unfairly using its distribution network to prosper. If the group felt that a channel was challenging its primacy, that channel would mysteriously lose audio when beamed into homes, he alleged. “Sometimes there was so much noise that the viewer was unable to watch the channel,” he said on condition of anonymity. “Cable TV operators would change the position of the channel every day, so that the viewer would have to keep searching for it. This is how Sun killed a lot of other channels.”
Kennedy too stressed the importance of Sun Group’s distribution network. “If a channel is not seen for a week, its ratings fall. Families go to another show if one is not available. Sumangali Cable Vision is the main reason for the success of Sun Network. It is unfortunate that Sun was the only MSO and there was no one else at the time.”
Sun Group’s chief financial officer SL Narayanan refused to comment on the allegation of the misuse of the cable distribution network.
The empire’s problems began in 2007, when a Sun group-owned Tamil daily, Dinakaran, published an opinion poll showing Karunanidhi’s younger son MK Stalin as the preferred choice to succeed him. Dinakaran’s Madurai office was torched and three employees died in the blaze. A furious Karunanidhi, who was then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, announced the launch of a government-owned cable distribution network called Arasu Cable and set up a television mouthpiece for the DMK, christening it Kalaignar TV. A subsequent patch-up between the Marans and Karunanidhi’s family didn’t entirely mend the relations. Tensions remained.
With the change of regime in Tamil Nadu in 2011, the Marans’ troubles compounded. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, buoyed by the thumping majority she achieved in the elections, resuscitated Arasu Cable and broke the back of Sun Group’s cable distribution business.
“Today Sumangali Cable Vision only has presence in Chennai,” said Kennedy. “All other districts in the state come under Arasu Cable. Where once SCV was the market leader, today it has to share the market in Chennai with five other MSOs.”
Narayanan asserted that before Arasu came there were 89 MSOs in Tamil Nadu with whom Sun Group had content deals. “Of the revenues of the cable operator pie, Sumangali had only 18%. There is a popular perception that Sumangali had a monopoly, which is not true.”
The many legal troubles
Apart from losing its pre-eminence, the Sun Network’s owners got entangled in a slew of legal battles. The Central Bureau of Investigation is probing Kalanithi and Dayanidhi in the Aircel-Maxis case, in which Dayanidhi, as Union Telecom Minister, allegedly arm-twisted Aircel owner C Sivasankaran into selling his business to Malaysian telecom giant Maxis. The case is being heard by the Supreme Court. In a setback to the family, the Madras High Court recently refused to stay attachment of the Marans’ properties worth Rs 742 crore by the Enforcement Directorate.
Another thorn in the flesh of the Marans is the BSNL Exchange case, in which Dayanidhi Maran is accused of using his position as Telecom Minister in 2004-2007 to set up an illegal BSNL exchange at his residence, providing high speed data lines for Sun Network. This case is being heard by a special court in Delhi trying all the 2G cases and at least two employees of Sun Network have been arrested.
Still, the biggest direct threat to the group remains the denial of security clearance to its channels. The Home and the Information and Broadcasting ministries recently appealed against a Madras High Court order that allows Kal Cables to operate despite the denial.
Narayanan decries the refusal of the security clearance. He says the Home Ministry is citing the BSNL Exchange case for its decision, even though the First Information Report in the case doesn’t mention the group or Kalanithi. It includes the names of Dayanidhi.
The Marans have their share of enemies and former CEO of Sun Pictures Hansraj Saxena is among them. While there is now no love lost between him and Kalanithi Maran, he is still one of the few who support the Sun Group openly. “Cases are there against everyone,” Saxena told Scroll.in. “Sun TV as a network is not a threat to society. The south Indian society has enjoyed the programmes for 25 years.” He refused to comment specifically on the Maran brothers.
After news appeared of the revocation of security clearance, jokes and memes emerged on social media and WhatsApp that Tamil Nadu’s housewives would protest on the streets if Sun’s channels were taken off air. There is little likelihood of street protests if that does happen. It is, however, certain that the daily television ritual of many like Kala Murali will come to an end.
