| MUMBAI: Kalanithi Maran will have plenty in his plate this
year. While launching a direct-to-home (DTH) service is top on his agenda, he
has also plans to launch three channels with an investment outlay of Rs 1.2 billion.
The first to come up will be a kids channel, a genre Maran's Sun network has
so far no presence in. Though launched in Tamil first, it would be later extended
into the other southern languages. "The plan is to launch it in a month's
time. Sun TV Ltd plans to invest Rs 400 million in the channel," a source
close to the company says. Sun TV Ltd (STL) will
also launch a sports and a documentary channel this fiscal. "There is a strategy
being worked out for the sports channel. The focus will be local sports and we
could have strategic alliances. The investment planned is Rs 400 million on each
channel," the source adds. STL, meanwhile, is considering various instruments
including private placement to bring down the promoter holding in the company
to a maximum permissible limit of 90 per cent within six months. After the merger
of Gemini TV and Udaya TV, the promoters' holding in STL has increased to 93 per
cent with Maran having a slice as large as 89 per cent. STL's authorised share
capital is being increased from Rs 1 billion to Rs 2.25 billion to accommodate
the fresh issue of shares following the merger. Besides complying with the listing
guidelines, this would provide for capitalisation of reserves in future if any.
"It is an enabling measure in case we consider issuing bonus shares in future.
The listing norms also require STL to bring the holding of the promoters down
to 90 per cent in six months," the source says. STL had recently merged
Gemini TV (Gemini TV, Teja TV, Gemini News, Gemini Music and Gemini Cable Vision)
and Udaya TV (Udaya TV, Udaya Movies, Udaya Varthegalu and Udaya TV II) with itself. STL
is going to see significant growth in subscription revenues this fiscal with Sun
TV raking in Rs 600 million from cable distribution alone. The flagship Tamil
general entertainment channel went pay in December. "DTH will also
open up in the year. Subscription earnings will contribute straight to the bottomline,"
an analyst at a stockbroking firm says. For Maran, the second half of the
year will be spent in launching DTH digital satellite television services with
Malaysia's Astro All Asia Networks as a 20 per cent partner. His privately held
company Sun Direct is receiving an investment of up to $166 million (around Rs
7.47 billion) from South Asia Entertainment Holdings Limited (SAEHL), a wholly
owned unit of Astro. The joint-venture's peak funding is estimated to be $670
million, spread over the first five years of operation. | 
