The physical separation of Sun TV from DMK will soon happen, when the network shifts its operational base from Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters.
CHENNAI: When DMK leader M Karunanidhi announced on November 7, 2005, that his wife Dayalu Ammal had relinquished her 20 per cent shares in Sun TV and its sister publications, we knew India's biggest political-media family was parting ways.
Now, with the Kalanidhi Maran-owned Sun TV filing for IPO, Karunanidhi will have to face the impending assembly elections in Tamil Nadu without having the state's biggest television network at his beck and call.
Ever since its inception in 1993, Sun TV has been DMK's biggest propaganda platform. Sun TV grabbed national attention with its footages of Karunanidhi's arrest in June 2001, when policemen dragged him out of his bedroom.
Even after Kalanidhi Maran acquired Dayalu Ammal's share for Rs 36.48 crore, Sun TV continues with its pro-DMK news programming. Nobody expects Sun TV to turn neutral overnight, but once the public offer materialises, it cannot afford to play so blatantly to the DMK galleries.
For the DMK, it would be a big handicap, especially when the rival Jaya TV is all set to launch Jaya Plus, a news and current affairs channel. It was only on Tuesday the Centre assured the Madras high court to give its decision on VSNL's application to permit uplinking of Jaya Plus by March 9.
"Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) decided to distance himself from the channel after realising that it was not meeting his expectations. This doesn't mean that the channel will not support us during the elections. The emotional ties between the families are strong. Dayanidhi Maran is one of DMK's best faces in the Union cabinet. But there is no denying that we used to see Sun TV as part of the organisation. The party would feel the pinch after losing grip over the channel," says a DMK leader.
For Sun TV, which registered a net profit of Rs 76 .75 crore in FY 2005 and Rs 61.4 crore in the first six months of the current fiscal, it could be the beginning of a serious attempt to become less political and more professional.
The network is planning to launch three regional channels with an investment of Rs 113.68 crore and set up a new office and studio at a cost of Rs 31.26 crore.
The physical separation of Sun TV from DMK will soon happen, when the network shifts its operational base from Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters.