 Logo used since 1997 | |
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Worldwide |
| Network | Sun TV Network |
| Headquarters | Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India |
| Programming | |
| Language | Tamil |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled to576i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | SUN Group |
| Sister channels | SeeList of channels owned by Sun TV Network |
| History | |
| Launched | 14 April 1993; 32 years ago (1993-04-14)[1] 11 December 2011 (2011-12-11) (HDTV) |
| Links | |
| Website | Sun TV Sun NXT |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
 Astro | Saluran 214 (SD) |
| NJOI | Saluran 214 (SD) |
| Streaming media | |
| Astro | Astro Go / On Demand |
Sun TV is an IndianTamil-languagegeneral entertainmentpay television channel owned bySun TV Network. It was launched on 14 April 1993. It is the flagship channel of theChennai-basedmedia conglomerateSun Group'sSun TV Network. It was founded and is owned byKalanithi Maran.[2]
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.For the first time in 3 decades Sun TV and all its other Sister channels have moved their logo position down right corner to top right corner, this surprising move by Sunnetwork, hoping to see change in logo as well[4][5][6]
Kalanithi Maran has been interested in television since his trip to the United States where he did an MBA at theUniversity of Scranton in the mid-1980s. At the time, Doordarshan controlled the entirety of India's television landscape. Upon returning, he had plans to set up a television channel, but the plans were thwarted by the ongoing monopoly and the lack of liberalisation of the sector.[7]
Sun TV is the flagship channel ofSun TV Network which started on theTamil New Year, 14 April 1993.[8][9][10]
It started off with a four and a half hour programming per day on a time sharing agreement withATN, India's first independent television channel, having rejected a proposal for an afternoon slot onZee TV.[11] In January 1997, it started 24-hour broadcasts.
In 1995, it signed an agreement with ST Teleport inSingapore to provide uplink.[12]Singapore Cable Vision added the channel on 1 October 1996.[13]
Sun TV went to become one of the most profitable television channels in India, considering that, as late as 2009, one third of households in India with television sets were in Tamil Nadu and adjacent states.[7] Sun TV was listed on theBombay Stock Exchange on 24 April 2006 upon raising $133 million.[14] 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.[15] In October 2009, Sun TV's network of channels had a sum of 21 programmes among the 100 most watched; more than 16 shows came from the Zee network.[7]
On 8 December 2013, theLittle India Riot broke out atSingapore. 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.[16]
Sun TV also hosts numerous film-industry–related events inTamil Nadu and theSun Kudumbam Awards ceremony biannually.[17]
KTV is an IndianTamil language moviepay television channel owned bySun TV Network, broadcastingTamil language films. It was launched on 22 October 2001.[18]
Sun Music is India's firstTamil language musicpay television channel owned bySun TV Network. It was launched on 5 September 2004. Its HD counterpart was launched on 11 December 2011.[19]
Chutti TV is an IndianTamil language kidspay television channel from theSun TV Network inIndia. Thetarget 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.[20]
