Karuna used Kalaignar TV to check Maran empire
Kalaignar TV was started by chief minister M Karunanidhi’s family in 2007 to counter the growing clout of Maran brothers-Kalanithi and Dayanidhi-and their business empire centred around Sun Network.
By TNN | Updated:
CHENNAI: Kalaignar TV was started by chief minister M Karunanidhi’s family in 2007 to counter the growing clout of Maran brothers-Kalanithi and Dayanidhi-and their business empire centred around Sun Network.
It was a natural fallout of the rift between the Maran brothers and Karunanidhi’s family in the wake of his son MK Alagiri’s supporters attacking Dinakaran newspaper office at Madurai for publishing a survey that rated deputy CM MK Stalin as having greater clout within the DMK than his elder brother Alagiri. Three employees died in the attack on Dinakaran . Close on the heels of this incident, Dayanidhi Maran was forced to resign from the Union cabinet.
As pressure mounted from within the family, it was Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) himself who took a decision to set up a TV channel in his name. Their hunt for a technical expert ended with state electricity minister Arcot N Veerasamy introducing Sharad Kumar, an erstwhile vice-president of Sun Network , to Karunanidhi. Both Karunanidhi and Kumar spent several days and nights together to decide the channel’s contents. It was launched in a record three months’ time since its conceptualization. The channel also gave a jolt to Sun Network by triggering an exodus of employees, who were paid attractive salaries by the new employer.
Many leading producers who were doing programmes for Sun TV were roped in by the Kalaignar management to increase its viewership. It is around this time that more than Rs 200 crore from Balwa’s firms was allegedly routed into Kalaignar.
It was a natural fallout of the rift between the Maran brothers and Karunanidhi’s family in the wake of his son MK Alagiri’s supporters attacking Dinakaran newspaper office at Madurai for publishing a survey that rated deputy CM MK Stalin as having greater clout within the DMK than his elder brother Alagiri. Three employees died in the attack on Dinakaran . Close on the heels of this incident, Dayanidhi Maran was forced to resign from the Union cabinet.
As pressure mounted from within the family, it was Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) himself who took a decision to set up a TV channel in his name. Their hunt for a technical expert ended with state electricity minister Arcot N Veerasamy introducing Sharad Kumar, an erstwhile vice-president of Sun Network , to Karunanidhi. Both Karunanidhi and Kumar spent several days and nights together to decide the channel’s contents. It was launched in a record three months’ time since its conceptualization. The channel also gave a jolt to Sun Network by triggering an exodus of employees, who were paid attractive salaries by the new employer.
Many leading producers who were doing programmes for Sun TV were roped in by the Kalaignar management to increase its viewership. It is around this time that more than Rs 200 crore from Balwa’s firms was allegedly routed into Kalaignar.
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