MUMBAI: Kalanithi Maran-promoted Sun TV Network Ltd. will invest close to Rs 4 billion towards movie acquisition this fiscal as it seeks to protect its audience ratings share in the southern-language markets.

The leading regional broadcaster has already invested Rs 2 billion in the first half of the year ended 30 September. Sun intends to spend another Rs 800-900 million each in the remaining two quarters.

Sun TV has made a slew of movie acquisitions including Billa II, Naan Ee, Paagan and Thadaiyara Thaakka.

Sun TV, which had a muted fiscal-second quarter advertising revenue growth, is confident that it will achieve double digit growth in the remaining half of the year. For the three months ended 30 September, Sun TV?s ad revenue grew four per cent to Rs 2.4 billion. The major sectors showing ad spending growth are FMCG, mobile handsets and consumer durables while BFSI has shown de-growth.

Sun TV, which had bought the IPL Hyderabad franchise for Rs 4.25 billion till 2017, will have operational loss from this new line of business but would make a small profit from its second year of IPL operations. Analysts estimate the operational loss from the first year of IPL operations to be in the region of Rs 300 million.

In the FM radio business, Sun posted a revenue of Rs 500 million in the first half of the fiscal while net profit stood at Rs 10 million.

MUMBAI: Southern media conglomerate Sun TV Network Ltd. has seen a small fall in revenue, leading its standalone net profit to drop 15.80 per cent to Rs 1.52 billion in the fiscal-second quarter as expenses have grown 7 per cent.

The Kalanithi Maran-owned Sun TV, which recently acquired the Hyderabad IPL team for Rs 4.25 billion, had a net profit of Rs 1.8 billion in the second quarter of last year.

Advertisement revenue stayed muted in a year of slowdown and a fall in audience share by the leading regional broadcaster. Ad income grew 4 per cent to Rs 2.44 billion in the second quarter from Rs 2.35 a year earlier.

The broadcaster?s total income in the second quarter was Rs 4.4 billion, down 5.7% from Rs 4.7 billion a year ago. The company?s Ebitda margin for the quarter stood at 76 per cent.

Its expenses in the second quarter grew 6.88 per cent to Rs 2.18 billion from Rs 2.03 billion a year ago.

Sun had taken a hit in its income in the first quarter due to non-carriage of its channels by the Tamil Nadu government-owned Arasu Cable network.

Sun had said its subscription revenues will start "falling in place" following the conclusion of an agreement with Arasu which saw the cable network carrying its channels beginning 1 August.

On the utilisation of IPO proceeds, the company said against the total projected utilisation of Rs 5.72 billion from the public float, Rs 3.56 billion was utilised towards capitalisation of subsidiaries.

Sun said Rs 1.28 billion was used towards launch of new channels, purchase of new equipment and upgradation of existing equipment. For construction of the corporate office, Rs 623.4 million was utilised.

Sun TV Network operates 32 satellite television channels in four languages -- Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam and presently airs 43 FM radio stations across India.

Sun TV?s shares fell 1.43 per cent to close Friday at Rs 327.05 on the BSE.

MUMBAI: The size of the television broadcast industry in southern India is expected to grow to Rs 225.4 billion by 2016 even as programming mix shifts to shorter contemporary fiction shows to attract younger population and greater focus on different genres of non-fiction shows.

The overall television industry size in South India ? comprising Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala -- is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 per cent till 2016 from its current estimated size of Rs 122.2 billion, according to a report by consulting firm Deloittee on South India Media and Entertainment Industry.

It said the television industry in southern India is on the cusp of a new age as it leverages every dimension of its vibrant eco-system to create value for all its stakeholders.

Subscription revenue forms a major chunk of income for television broadcasters in south India. The subscription income at Rs 81.4 billion now constitutes about 67 per cent of the total revenues, while advertising at Rs 36.1 billion accounts for 29 per cent. The subscription income is expected to grow to Rs 151.7 billion and advertising revenue to Rs 65.4 billion by 2016.

While content revenue with four per cent share in total revenues is expected to grow from Rs 4.7 billion currently to Rs 8.3 billion.

In South India, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have the highest share of TV subscription revenues at Rs 29.4 billion and Rs 26.6 billion respectively. While in Karnataka TV subscription revenue stood at Rs 16.4 billion, it was Rs 9 billion in Kerala.

By 2016, Tamil Nadu‘s subscription market is estimated to reach Rs 54 billion, while that of Andhra Pradesh to Rs 50.6 billion. Karnataka and Kerala are projected to reach Rs 31.2 billion and Rs 15.9 billion respectively.

The entry of state-run Arasu Cable in the distribution space has resulted in a significant change in the dynamics of the Tamil Nadu TV distribution scene, the report noted. With cable services being offered at Rs 70 per month by Arasu Cable, the subscription revenues in the state has witnessed lower growths as compared to other southern states.

"Going forward, as platforms, products and price points stabilise, Tamil nadu is expected to reach growth levels at par with other regioanl markets," the report stated.

Tamil Nadu currently dominates the Rs 36.1 billion television ad revenue market with a 38 per cent share followed by Andhra Pradesh at 26 per cent. Karnataka and Kerala have an identical market share of 18 per cent share each. The break-up of TV ad market is: Tamil Nadu (Rs 13.6 billion), Andhra Pradesh (Rs 9.3 billion), Karnataka (Rs 6.5 billion), and Kerala (Rs 6.7 billion).

The TV ad market in Tamil Nadu is expected to reach Rs 23.5 billion by 2016, while in Andhra Pradesh it is projected to reach Rs 18.3 billion. Karnataka and Kerala are projected to reach Rs 11.8 billion each.

The content revenue in Tamil Nadu is projected to reach Rs 3 billion from Rs 1.7 billion, Andhra Pradesh to Rs 2.3 billion from Rs 1.2 billion, Karnataka and Kerala to Rs 1.5 billion each from Rs 900 million currently.

According to Deloitte, non-fiction shows are steadily gaining prominence among viewers with genres like game shows, business, fitness, cookery, events and devotional programmes gradually carving their own niches.

The content is transcending from long-drawn soaps to shorter contemporary fiction shows that can attract younger audiences.

Non-fiction shows are also gaining traction with local broadcasters trying different formats to capture wide-range of age groups through these shows, the report added. The broadcasters in the south are also looking to invest in new content rather than just acquiring new movies, which has become an expensive proposition.

The report said local broadcasters are tying up with content providers to launch local versions of internationally hit formats. Sun TV signed up with Endemol for Deal ya no deal and Star TV inked a deal with Big Synergy to produce Kaun Banega Crorepati in three languages.

The report also pointed out that successful shows in the south are remade in Hindi language, a trend that is only going to grow stronger in coming days. The remake trend, according to Deloitte, allows broadcasters from south to cut costs and at the same time achieve greater scale and economy.

Kids genre an emerging market in South

The Deloitte report says the kid‘s genre in south is poised to grow with the entry of new players. Early entrants to the genre like Sun TV, which has four kids channels in its bouquet, have reaped benefits having captured majority of the viewers in this segment.

The main player in the industry is Sun TV with four channels - Chutti TV, Kushi TV, Chintu TV, and Kochu TV in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam respectively. Other kids? networks like Disney, Cartoon Network, and Nick are new entrants to the market with the launch of local feed.

Having a potent content supply pipeline from domestic as well as international players will help the genre grow in south.

News broadcasters

The news genre in the south is witnessing a new breed of channels which are also climbing up the viewership ladder due to their unique content offering. Channels like Puthiya Thalaimurai in Tamil, V6 News in Telugu and Public TV in Kannada are among the news channels launched recently.

The report noted that news channels with political leanings are also flourishing across the southern states. These broadcasters are expanding into entertainment genre and print media after tasting success, the report stated.

MUMBAI: Kalanithi Maran-owned media conglomerate Sun TV Network on Thursday won the Hyderabad Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise putting in the highest bid that was 23 per cent more than the second bid for the same team.

Sun bid Rs 850.5 million a year while the next bid was for Rs 690.3 million from PVP Ventures, which had earlier bid a whopping Rs 9.0 billion for buying the sacked, financially-distressed Hyderabad team Deccan Chargers.

The earlier Hyderabad franchise owned by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd (DCHL) still had five years to go under the contract with Indian Premier League (IPL), when it failed to get a respite from both the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court to get its termination stayed earlier this month.

Sun will get to own the franchise for a period of five years till 2017 paying Rs 4.25 billion as franchise fee to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

When DCHL?s Deccan Chargers won the bid for its Hyderabad team in January 2008, it had committed to pay $107 million (Rs 4.21 billion) over a period of 10 years which worked out to $10.7 million (Rs 421 million) per year at the rupee-dollar exchange rate prevalent in January 2008.

From 2018, Sun will own the yet-to-be named franchise in perpetuity and will pay 20 per cent of the franchise revenue every year as fee to the BCCI.

According to an IPL Governing Council member, Sun TV has paid Rs 200 million as performance guarantee and Rs 850.5 million as bank guarantee for the 2013 when the company will make its IPL debut.

"Sun TV Network has won the Hyderabad Franchise for an amount of Rs 85.05 crores (Rs 855.5 million) per year. This Franchise fee represents a premium of over a 100 per cent above the amount paid by DCHL for the Hyderabad Franchise in 2008," BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.

"The Sun TV Network bid was substantially higher than the second bid of PVP Ventures, which was Rs 69.03 crores (Rs 690.3 million)," he added.

The IPL Governing Council met earlier today in Mumbai to open the bids for a new IPL Franchise. The BCCI had on 14 October invited bids for adding the ninth IPL team after the exit of Deccan Chargers and had opened up the bidding for any of the 10 cities including Ahmedabad, Vizag, Hyderabad and Noida. The response to the bidding was lukewarm as Sun TV and PVP Ventures were the only two bidders and both bid for Hyderabad.

Sun will also have the right to sign existing Deccan Chargers players. The players who are not signed by their existing franchises will go into the auction pool.

The franchises have to sign contracts with existing players before the 31 October deadline.

Also Read: New IPL valuation set by Sun TV to deter deals

MUMBAI: Kid‘s broadcaster Nick has picked up exclusive broadcast rights for animated comedy series, The Daltons, produced by European animation company Xilam.

Nick, which has acquired the rights for a period of five years, will air the show in Hindi Speaking Market (HSM) since Sun TV already airs the show in the Southern markets in all the four languages.

The show will premiere on 3 September and will be aired from Monday-Friday at 6:30 pm. Based on the popular Morris and Goscinny comic books, the show revolves around four crazy central characters - Joe, Jack, William and Averell.

With this acquisition, the kid‘s broadcaster has further augmented its evening slot which includes shows like Tony & Alberto and Dennis the Menace.

MUMBAI: Sun TV network, the Maran-owned Southern broadcasting major, saw a steep fall and a rebound in its share price on Monday as the scrip closed 10 per cent up on the BSE.

Triggered by the CBI raids on the Maran family premises in Delhi and Chennai, the shares slumped as much as 16 per cent in the early trade hours. However, the scrip bounced back and ended at Rs 288.15, 10.21 per cent higher to its previous close.

The rebound added Rs 10.52 billion to Sun TV‘s market capitalization. The company‘s market cap stood at Rs 113.55 billion at the end of the day.

On the National Stock Exchange also, Sun TV stock closed at Rs 288, up 9.55 per cent, after seeing an intraday low of Rs 221.20.