Star Vijay to shine before Sun

Chennai: Tamil Nadu never ceases to surprise the rest of country - or rather, the rest of the world. Volumes have already been written about the land, the people and the mercurial leaders the state had had.

Lets talk business. The state was always known for its bipolar brands - be it in the cine field (MGR, Shivaji Ganesan), print magazine (Kumudham, Ananda Vikatan) or politics (DMK, AIADMK). But, for once, the same doesnt hold true when it comes to satellite channels, admits Vijay TV general manager Ajay Vidyasagar.

So far there hasnt been a single Tamil channel that took the challenge posed by the high and mighty Sun TV. But, now, Vidyasagar feels Vijay can take Sun head on. This newfound confidence began after the Star group took over Vijay last August. The Tamil channel has since then undergone a major revamp, like programming mix and so on.

Our programming philosophy is to focus on the family, with housewife pitched at the centre, says Vidyasagar. But we will also elevate the quality-bar of programming.

The timing is perfect. Suns popular 9 pm mega serial Chithi is coming to an end, paving the way for Vijay to fill the void: Kudumbam Oru Kovil, produced by Balaji Telefilms. Vijay has also roped in Telephoto, promoted by well-known south Indian actress Revathi and her husband Suresh Menon, and Min Bimbangal of director K Balachandar.

According to Vijay TV head (programming) Suresh Iyer, the channel will have a good mix of comedies - a film-based situational comedy, a countdown show and Crazy Mohans humour drama. The comedy countdown called Galatta Countdown will be anchored by leading Tamil comedy stars Senthil and Manivannan. Similarly, actress Kushboo is also making her small screen debut in Marumagal, a family serial.

Says Star India executive vice-president, (head of content and communication) Sameer Nair: Vijay will follow Stars policy of commissioning programmes, owning the copyright and taking care of marketing.

Star has placed marketing teams in all major districts of Tamil Nadu who will sell slots to retail advertisers. Vijay will also form part of the Star network and advertisers will get concessional rates if they go for packaged deals.

With new programmes involving additional costs, Vijay has revised its advertisement rates upwards. A 10-second slot during primetime will cost Rs 20, 000. The other slots are that of from Rs 4, 000 to Rs 10, 000. Ten per cent of slots have already been booked.

Earlier, Vijay TV had individually negotiated for rates on a case-to-case basis. Barter deals were also prevalent, but all this will stop from October.

Incidentally, the channel doesnt have any education or classroom programme as is featured by competitor Bharathi, the channel owned by the Zee group. Ours is not A for Apple show. We will focus only on entertainment, reacts Vidyasagar.

As regards the news, the channel will continue with its existing arrangement with NDTV for the evening news bulletin. In addition, there will be a morning news bulletin, Mudhal Pradhi, produced by Min Bimbangal.