Karnataka
Kannada pride

Anitha Kumaraswamy, wife of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, is coming out with an "independent" Kannada channel. Vying for a multicrore advertising pie, seven Kannada language television channels are already functioning in the state. However Anitha Kumaraswamy — Managing Director of the new channel, Kasturi Television — says her channel will be different. The other channels, she avers, are merely branches of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu channels.

H. D. Kumaraswamy was a film producer before he entered the business of politics. The family was also quick to get into the cable business and owns Amogh Broadband Services, which holds sway over the cable television network in Bangalore. In the last two years, it has expanded the business to various districts of the state.

According to Anita Kumaraswamy, the new channel will have 80 per cent penetration in rural areas and around 50 per cent penetration in Bangalore. This, she says, will give it an advantage over established players in the state. Amogh Broadband is also set to provide uplinking facilities as a multi-system operator by tying up with various local cable operators in the state. The new channel is set to open the field as far as Kannada channels are concerned. Right now Sun TV has a dominant presence in the state with its Kannada channel Udaya TV having a virtual monopoly. However, Zee Kannada and TV9 are catching up with it by showing specialised programmes. — J.S.

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