Sivaji adds fuel to media war in TN

RIGHT(S) SPACE: The producers of Rajnikanth starrer Sivaji have chosen Kalaignar TV over Sun network.

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Chennai: It's one of the biggest movies ever made in Tamil cinema and now the exclusive television rights of the movie will go to the DMK's yet to be launched Kalaignar TV. The producers of Rajnikanth starrer Sivaji have chosen Kalaignar TV over the Maran family-owned Sun network.

“Yes, we have sold it (rights) to Kalaignar TV and the movie will be telecast three years later as per producers council norms,” AVM Productions’ MS Guhan said.

So far the Maran family-owned Sun Network had virtually bought rights for every big Tamil movie.

The market for movie rights is estimated at close to Rs 100 crore a year. Other players like Star, Raj and Jaya TV were virtually out of the picture but the split between the Maran's and Karunanidhi's led to the birth of Kalaignar TV, the DMK run channel is yet to be launched but it's biggest victory so far is the rights for Sivaji.

In a state where content on television is driven by cinema, the Marans versus Karunanidhis battle has evolved into a Kalaignar TV versus Sun TV battle for rights of the box office busters.

Sivaji's rights are perhaps a reminder that Tamil film producers will now be caught between the political power of Kalaignar TV and the media power of the Sun network.