Sun TV is an Indian Tamil-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Sun TV Network. It was launched on 14 April 1993. It is the flagship channel of the Chennai-based media conglomerate Sun Group's Sun TV Network. It was founded and is owned by Kalanithi Maran.[2]
 The logo of Sun TV | |
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Worldwide |
| Network | Sun TV Network |
| Headquarters | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Tamil |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | SUN Group |
| Sister channels | See List of channels owned by Sun TV Network |
| History | |
| Launched | 14 April 1993[1] 11 December 2011 (HDTV) |
| Links | |
| Website | Sun TV Sun NXT |
It started airing on open network (Antenna) on 14 July 2002 at the time of "Majunu" Tamil movie premiering. Then it was removed from this open network on 2005. It was also removed from free on 9 November 2007. Sun TV launched its HD version on 11 December 2011.[3]
Since its inception, the channel consistently remains the top rated Tamil channel and one of the top rated Indian television channel.[4][5][6]
History
editSun TV is the flagship channel of Sun TV Network which started on the Tamil New Year, 14 April 1993.[7][8][9]
It started off with a four and a half hour programming per day on a time sharing agreement with ATN, India's first independent television channel, having rejected a proposal for an afternoon slot on Zee TV.[10] In January 1997, it started 24-hour broadcasts.
In 1995, it signed an agreement with ST Teleport in Singapore to provide uplink.[11] Singapore Cable Vision added the channel on 1 October 1996.[12]
Sun TV was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange on 24 April 2006 upon raising $133 million.[13] It is the most viewed Tamil television channel in the world with syndicated broadcasts in several countries such as the United States, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Qatar, Hong Kong, Europe (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands and Ireland) and other countries.[14]
Programming
editScandal
editOn 8 December 2013, the Little India Riot broke out at Singapore. On 9 December 2013, Sun TV made a false news report on the riot saying that the deceased was pushed out of the bus by the driver, as well as attacked by locals. Lim Thuan Kuan, Singapore's High Commissioner to India, protest against the false report. As a result, Sun TV issued a correction the following day and apologized for the error.[15]
Awards
editSun TV also hosts numerous film-industry–related events in Tamil Nadu and the Sun Kudumbam Awards ceremony biannually.[16]
Sister channels
editKTV
editKTV is an Indian Tamil language movie pay television channel owned by Sun TV Network, broadcasting Tamil language films. It was launched on 22 October 2001.[17]
Sun Music
editSun Music is India's first Tamil language music pay television channel owned by Sun TV Network. It was launched on 5 September 2004. Its HD counterpart was launched on 11 December 2011.[18]
Chutti TV
editChutti TV is an Indian Tamil language kids pay television channel from the Sun TV Network in India. The target audience are children aged between 3 and 17. It was launched on 29 April 2007, making it Sun TV Network's first ever television channel for kids.[19]
Adithya TV
editAdithya TV is an Indian Tamil language comedy pay television channel owned by Sun TV Network in India. It was launched on 8 February 2009.
Sun News
editSun News is an Indian Tamil language news pay television channel owned by Sun TV Network, headquartered at Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was launched on 7 May 2000.
Sun Life
editSun Life is an Indian Tamil language classic movie pay television channel owned by Sun TV Network, which broadcasts classic movies. It was launched in 2013.
References
edit- ^ "Sun TV Network Ltd". The Economic Times. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Menon, Jaya (8 November 2005). "Karunanidhi wife pulls out stake in Sun TV". The Indian Express.
- ^ "Sun TV HD launched". bseindia.com. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "The amazing rise of Sun TV". Rediff.com.
- ^ Vijayakumar, Sanjay; Kandavel, Sangeetha (22 October 2018). "Sun group bets big on second channel to take on competition". The Hindu.
- ^ "WEEK 44 - DATA: Week 44: Saturday, 30th October 2021 To Friday, 5th November 2021". Broadcast Audience Research Council. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "Sun TV history". Economic Times. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Karmali, Naazneen (30 November 2009). "Strong Signal". Forbes. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ^ "Rediff India Abroad, April 28, 2006 – Kalanithi Maran: A 'Sunshine' story, by Sanjiv Shankaran and S. Bridget Leena in New Delhi". Rediff.com. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ^ "Kalanithi Maran, Sun TV: the evolution". Indian Television. 24 April 2018. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "ST Teleport to double number of satellites as demand grows". The Straits Times. 28 April 1995. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "Page 11 Advertisements Column 1". The Straits Times. 25 September 1996. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ Bharatan, Shilpa (27 March 2006). "Variety.com, Monday, April 24, 2006, 6:36pm PT – Sun TV shines on Exchange". Variety. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ^ Ram, Arun (7 November 2005). "Karunanidhis pull out of Sun TV". Daily News and Analysis.
- ^ Ramesh, S (11 December 2013). "Sun TV apologises for incorrect news report on Little India riot". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
- ^ Sharma, Kishore (8 November 2005). "Karunanidhi pull out of Sun TV". Televisionpoint.com.
- ^ Pande, Shamni. "Sun Network flexes muscles; to launch KTV channel on October 22". afaqs.com. agencyfaqs!. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ "BSEINDIA". www.bseindia.com.
- ^ "Chutti TV airs the first motion capture game show in Tamil". The Times of India. June 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
