Chennai:
Jayalalithaa has made good on one of the major promises of her election campaign - she has made cable television available in Tamil Nadu through a government service. For Rs 70, customers will be able to get 90 channels. Most private operators charge double that for similar services.
It's not just the couch potato that Jayalalithaa wants to please. Her move shows her long-standing political rivals, the Maran brothers, who is in charge.
"Presently lot of money is being collected from public. As a result just one family makes huge profits enjoying monopoly. That's why in AIADMK's election manifesto we had promised to break the monopoly to provide opportunity for a lot of people to be a part of this industry and offer cable TV at a cheaper price, " Jayalalithaa said.
Dayanidhi and Kalanidhi Maran are the grand-nephews of DMK chief M Karunanidhi. Under the careful patronage of the DMK when it was in power, Kalanidhi's Sun TV empire blossomed. Its cable TV distribution business - SCV - was able to establish a virtual monopoly over the entire state. By serving as a platform provider and the state's biggest cable operator, Sun was able to place its own TV channels in the prime band.
The Arasu Cable TV Corporation - a government enterprise- was actually started in 2008 by Mr Karunanidhi to punish the Marans after the family had a falling-out. When the two factions reconciled, Arasu found its plans on hold. It's the same Arasu that Jayalalithaa has now revived. She trumped the DMK with a massive victory in the elections held in April this year.