Will Zee's entry in Tamil Nadu challenge Sun TV?

It is the launch of yet another general entertainment channel in Tamil Nadu. This time it is from the Zee stable. Divya Rajagopal finds out if Zee Tamil can challenge market leader Sun Network's undisputed position in the state.

Here is a verbatim transcript of Divya Rajagopal’s comments on CNBC-TV18.

Zee Tamil is the latest entrant in the crowded satellite television space in Tamil Nadu. Launched a few weeks ago, Zee will be the twenty second general entertainment channel in the state. Zee says it is targeting viewers in tier-two cities.

V Chandrasekaar, Senior VP, Zee Tamil said, “We strongly believe Tamil Nadu does not mean Chennai and Coimbatore; the real Tamil Nadu lives in Salem, Tirunenveili, and Tiruchi. So we're going to appeal to that audience too. At this point of time if you look at the programming happening on any other GECs you will not find the rural element at all.”

Tamil Nadu is the most mature regional market in the country it is also the most competitive.

Sun TV has a whopping 40% market share followed by K TV also from the Sun Network. Kalaignar TV, launched last year, has managed to nibble at KTV's share to gain the third position. The rest - Star Vijay and Jaya TV are distant fourth and fifth.

Zee Tamil is betting on its flagship reality show sa re ga ma pa and a daily soap by Kollywood star Khushboo in the lead. But will it rake in the moolah? Sun TV demands a whopping Rs 18000 for ten seconds for its prime time shows. So, Zee will have to price itself much lower to attract advertisers. But media buyers say more the merrier.

VR Padmanabhan, Chief Client Officer, Media Edge-CIA said, “As the market, the people start getting sophisticated you need to communicate with them in their culture, their lingo, in their rituals, in their visual symbols. And moreover the tier-two cities offer too much of retail spending which is key to these channels.”

Zee is likely to face a huge challenge on the distribution front as well since Sun TV has a well-entrenched distribution network that is unlikely to let a new entrant grow. But Zee hopes that Tamil viewers will be convinced of its offering.

Source : http://moneycontrol.com