Udaya TV is an Indian Kannada language general entertainmentpay television channel owned by Sun TV Network. Udaya TV is telecast in several nations like India, some Gulf countries and the United States. Udaya TV was launched on 1 June 1994.
History
Udaya TV was incorporated on 1 June 1994 as a private limited company engaged in television broadcasting with a registered office at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.[1] It was launched by the chairman of Sun TV, Kalanithi Maran, and it started broadcasting from 1 June 1994.[2] It was the first Kannada satellite channel to go on air.[2]
It grew rapidly and by May 2000, Udaya TV has captured 70% of ad spending on TV in the state of Karnataka.[3] In 2000 and 2001, it won the Indian Television Academy's award for the best Kannada TV channel for 2001[4] It forayed into FM radio broadcasting by launching Vishaka FM, an FM channel in Visakhapatnam.[1] It was a free-on-air channel until 1 August 2004, when it was made a pay channel with a subscription fee of Rs.18.[5]
In February 2006, the directors of Udaya TV were Kalanithi Maran, S. Selvam and Kaveri Kalanidhi. S. Selvam was also the Director of the Bangalore Bureau of Udaya TV.[6] In November 2006, its owner Kalanithi Maran merged Udaya TV Ltd. with Sun TV Network along with Gemini TV Ltd for IPO listing of Sun TV Network.[7]
Udaya News is India's first Kannada language News Channel owned by Sun TV Network. it was launched on 5 August 2004 as (Udaya Varthegalu) and later renamed as Udaya News. the channel ceased its operation after 19 years on 24 October 2017 due to mounting losses and competition.[8] Udaya News was shut down on 1 February 2019.
Awards
Indian Television Academy's award for the best Kannada TV channel for 2001[4]
Indian Television Academy's award for the best Kannada TV channel for 2002[4]
References
^ abFinancial and other details related to Udaya TV are mentioned in "Sun TV Limited Prospectus"(PDF). Online Webpage of SEBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India. Sun TV Ltd. Archived from the original(PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
^A biography of Kalanidhi Maran is presented by M. Anand. "Businessworld, SUN TV: The heat is on". Businessworld, dated 2000-05-29. Businessworld. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
^Udaya TV being made a pay channel is mentioned by G R N Somashekar. "Pay Channel". Online photo images of the Hindu, dated 2004-08-16. Chennai, India: 2004, The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
^Merger of Udaya TV with Sun TV is discussed by "Gemini, Udaya merger with Sun TV". Online edition of The Hindu Businessline, dated 2006-11-28. 2006, The Hindu. Retrieved 21 April 2007.