It's aiming for the sun. And that too in the tough Rs 1,100-1,200 crore Tamil general entertainment channel market which is dominated by the Kalanithi Maran-run Sun TV. The Rs 100 crore Chennai-based The New Generation Media Corp that runs the successful Tamil magazine and TV news channel both bearing the same name - Puthiya Thalaimurai - is now gearing up to storm the Sun Network bastion. On the anvil is a new Tamil GEC Pudhu Yugam (New Era) with an investment treasure chest of Rs 100 crore.

"We will be deciding the launch date by next month," says The New Generation Media CEO RBU Shyam Kumar. "Our vision is clear for Pudhu Yugam - we want to redefine GEC as general engagement rather than general entertainment."

And he has roped in veteran Tamil TV producer B. Kailasam (son of noted film and TV producer K. Balachander) as the channel head. Kailasam was earlier associated with some of the more successful shows on news channel Puthiya Thalaimurai.

The programming mix is going to be the usual fare: fiction, cinema, gags, blogs and many more. Kailasam has a task on his hands as Shyam Kumar says the shows will be "path-breaking" and that's needed because of the stiff competition in this space. "Our shows will have an X-factor like has not been seen by the Tamil TV viewer," he says. "The confidence level and our experience in the news channel space which has made us the leader in Tamil news will come to bear in whatever we choose to do."
Of course the dependence on advertising is bound to be there. Although, no names are in the bucket list yet, he is confident of bagging a good inflow of national as well as regional advertisers.

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