(10 December 2009 10:10 pm)

MUMBAI: Kalanithi Maran-owned Sun TV Group is planning to enter into the distribution of television channels business along the lines of Star Den, Zee Turner and MSM Discovery.

The idea is to assemble together a whole host of channels and create a bouqet for distribution in cable, DTH and other delivery platforms.

"There is no final decision yet but Sun is contemplating creation of a bouquet that would include distribution of third-party channels," says an industry source.

Sun officials, however, were not willing to comment on the issue.

While Sun has a formidable bouquet of 20 south-language channels, the presence in the other parts of the country would be fortified with the addition of third-party channels. A wider bouquet of channels comprising Hindi, English and possibly sports content would help in particularly exploiting pay revenues from DTH.

Even in the four south Indian states, an expansive bouquet would shore up subscription revenues. Besides, carriage and placement of channels would be smoother to some extent.

"It would be a wonderful move if Sun decides to create a distribution platform that would include other broadcasters. There is a business opportunity in this," says a media analyst.

There are several channels such as Sahara that would like to be aligned. "However, the power of the bouquet will depend on what channels join. In Hindi or English content, the stronger channels are already aligned," says the head of a distribution company on request of anonymity.