Southern comforts: STAR Vijay is angling for top spot in south India. But, asks Sanjana Berry, has the Tamil-language channel encrypted too early? And does it stand a chance against the powerful Sun group? (Channels).

Television Asia, October, 2002

One year after STAR Group took a 51-percent control of the ailing Tamil-language channel, Vijay TV, from Ronnie Screwvala's United Television (UTV), the News Corp-owned programmer is poised to jostle South Indian powerhouse, Sun TV, out of the way. At stake is Tamil Nadu's advertising market, which is worth about US$25 million a year, making it second only to the Hindi-language TV programming market.

The state also has cable penetration of 42 percent--the second highest cable penetration in the country--which makes it ripe for generating subscription revenue. "With an advertising market totaling one third of the country's cable and satellite ad spend, the state is one of India's most promising distribution and advertising markets," STAR says. ...