For long, media barons, Kalanidhi and Dayanidhi Maran, have ruled over one of the biggest media empires of India spanning more than 30 television channels in four languages covering over 95 million households.

After losing power and influence at the Centre and in Chennai, they may now be down but certainly not out as they got a breather from Madras high court on the Centre's diktat that would have crippled their empire. The interesting battle promises to churn out more surprises as the brothers are known to be shrewd operators who can swim against the current without getting wet.

They have left a mark on everything they sensed, be it cable TV business, FM radio stations, newspaper, aviation or IPL cricket and it is chiefly, the 50-year-old Kalanidhi Maran, the chairman and managing director of Sun Group, who has been in the forefront for the last three decades.

Both Kalanidhi and Dayanidhi learnt the business art from their late father and former Union minister Murasoli Maran, who also happened to be a relative and close associate of DMK president M Karunanidhi.

Kal Cables runs the Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV), a part of the Sun Group, which is widely spread in Tamil Nadu, has mastered the art of luring subscribers offering several sops through attractive advertisements since it obtained a permanent licence in 2011.

The group's other business interests include direct-to-home broadcasting, FM radio stations, daily newspapers and magazines. In 2013, Kalanidhi purchased the Indian Premier League's Hyderabad cricket franchise and named it Sun Risers. He also ventured into the airline business in 2010 by buying up SpiceJet.

Recently, the information and broadcasting ministry cancelled the registration of Kal Cable following the denial of security clearance by the ministry of home affairs. But it was business as usual at SCV office. "Why should we be worried about the cancellation of licences? Our boss (Kalanidhi), who has faced several business hurdles in the past, knows how to tackle this issue," an employee of SCV seeking anonymity said. Those who have worked with Kalanidhi say his business brain is sharp.

When the whole country had written off the aviation sector, which was doing badly in 2010, Kalanidhi boldly went ahead and sued up the SpiceJet deal. His hunch has proved right. Not only has the industry bounced back, but the foreign airlines have been allowed to acquire up to 49 per cent in Indian carriers.

But fresh trouble has erupted for the direct-to-home (DTH) business. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently filed a charge sheet in a Delhi court against the Maran brothers and Sun Direct TV, the company which offers DTH service to around nine million subscribers.

The case relates to sale of mobile telephony operator Aircel to Maxis, owned by T Ananda Krishnan, in 2006 wherein Aircel's original owner C Sivasankaran had alleged that he was pressured to sell as his firm was denied licences. The CBI has alleged quid pro quo saying that in return, the Malaysian company invested more than Rs 600 crore in Sun Direct, owned by the Maran family.

As per the court order, which said that the Centre was free to take action in respect of other violations, if any. If the concerned ministry goes ahead to take action against Kal Cable, it would be a big setback for the Sun TV group in Chennai as it would have to depend on other MSOs to reach its channels to households.

Looming uncertainty
In that case the fate of over 40 lakh cable TV subscribers and thousands of operators in the Tamil Nadu capital will hang in balance. The SCV customers have bought set-top boxes, which are mandatory to access digital cable signals. These boxes were priced at approximately Rs 1,500 each.

There are about 2,000 Local Cable operators (LCO) under Kal Cables, who provide cable television network services with a digital addressable system (DAS). "Each main cable operators would have invested between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore for purchasing various electronic tools including optic fibre cable, transmitters and other technical equipment," Tamizhaga Cable TV Operators Association member P Shakilan said.

He said it was difficult for LCOs to switch over to other companies since they have to change the existing set up according to the organisation requirement, which will again cost several lakhs.

Kal Cables is the market leader and controls more than 60 per cent of cable operation business in Chennai, followed by other players like TCCL, Akshaya, Aadhar, Crystal and State-owned Arasu cable.

The other trouble that Kal Cables is now facing is from the Chennai Corporation that has already started removing the cables for non-payment pay track rent by the cable operators.

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