Facing multiple challenges, Kalanithi Maran's firm is trying hard to hold on to its leadership position by adding new channels and exploring options to boost ad revenue.

On the day of Sun TV Network Ltd's annual general meeting in September, chairman and managing director Kalanithi Maran didn't look happy. He didn't have reason to: the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), headed by J. Jayalalithaa, had swept to power in state elections, thrashing the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the party headed by Maran's grand uncle M. Karunanidhi. The mercurial new chief minister, who has her own channel, Jaya TV (owned by associates), had earlier that month revived plans for a state-owned cable television company, entering a business that was until then dominated by the Maran-controlled Sumangali Cable Vision.

Already, Jayalalithaa had started her campaign against Sun TV. Maran's aide Hansraj Saxena had just been released on bail, after spending a little over two months in jail in connection with cases a few producers had filed against Sun Pictures, the Rs. 12,800 crore (by net worth) film production arm of the group (most complainants subsequently withdrew their cases against Saxena).
 

Worse, Kalanithi's younger brother Dayanidhi Maran, once a high-profile cabinet minister, had resigned a few months earlier