Sun TV’s Viewership Share Falls Below 50% First Time In A Decade

Sun TV, the dominant player in Tamil television industry, has seen its viewership share drop below 50 percent for the first time in a decade as it faces tough competition from Star Vijay and Zee Tamil, according to a report by Kotak Institutional Equities.

The flagship channel of Sun TV Network Ltd. now commands a viewership share between 45-50 percent, down from 60-65 a few months ago. The brokerage has reduced the target price for Sun TV to Rs 865 from Rs 920 apiece, saying it is likely to lose more market share.

Zee Tamil's share has increased nearly three times from 5 percent in the past 15 months and Star Vijay's Bigg Boss Tamil has been a big hit. The fight for audience among the general Tamil entertainment channels is going to get more intense in the coming months as Viacom 18 will soon launch Colors Tamil.

Sun TV, which contributes nearly half the revenue of the entertainment company, has found it difficult to rope in advertisers after GST. In another challenge, its rival Star Vijay has upped its budget by 30 to 40 percent ahead of the launch of Colors Tamil.

Kotak expects renewal of Indian Premier League's media rights for the next five years to be a saving grace for Sun TV Network, which owns Sunrisers Hyderabad. This is because the Board of Control for Cricket in India's revenue pool is expected to rise three times which will help the franchise add more revenue to its parent company. Rivals like Sony and Star are also in the race for IPL rights.

While Sun TV has the means to increase investment in the channel, it may not possible for it to regain the lost market share, said the Kotak report.