One day when I was surfing through the reviews on various Indian TV channels,
I felt little disappointed to find that there was no review posted about MAA TV…a
Telugu satellite channel launched in the year 2002. I then decided to post one, which
should be my first review on mouthshut.com and it is.
MAA TV, is a pay channel right from the very first day of its launch .It was a very
daring step, as there were no pay channels prior to its launch in Andhra pradesh . In a
market that is highly competitive and dominated by ETV and Gemini TV, both of them
promoted by two of the largest media groups in India, the Eenadu and the Sun groups
respectively, MAA had began its journey as a rookie and later on proved itself as a
competitor to both of those channels, within just two years of its launch and despite
the initial distribution related hiccups it had to face.
Launched with an initial investment of Rs. 5 crores, it is promoted by a software
business tycoon hailing from Andhra pradesh (rumoured as the promoter of Visualsoft
Technologies, Hyd) who holds a 75% share in the venture.
Content wise on an whole it should be termed as an “above average” channel with a
very elite audience. Its programming is very professional and class in nature. Though it is
an obvious loser in the battle with other channels on the soap(the ever tear shedding
serials) front, it maintains its special identity among the class and the mass audiences by
always being ahead of others through its stylish and apt programming.
Its unique ringtone service through sms is a very highly successful concept. Some of its
programmes are very much youth oriented. Its anchor based shows are slowly and
steadily emerging as winners. “Colors”, for example, has very high viewership. Its latest
game show called “ Airtel Brain of AP” has generated very high interest among viewers
and is a runway success. Programmes that are based on movies, actors etc. are always on
the top of the priority list(as such programming is a must for any channel to survive in AP).
On the news/current affairs front, though it had tested success in roping in the
people/newsreaders from ETV, which still is the obvious leader, it is not able to repeat
the same success in such programming. Same is its condition in the case of playing
movies, with the bigger players enjoying a lion’s share by telecasting latest movies.
It is very appreciative that MAA TV is maintaining its identity as a Telugu satellite
channel unlike Gemini TV, which telecasts dubbed versions from its parent channel.
Its graphics and logo work are good to see. It is said to have had broken even in
less than a year of its launch. It should be considered a great achievement, as it has no
successful “Balaji tele” kind of soaps to its credit, which are the bread earners of the
other channels.
On a whole it is a good bet for the audience that is got bored of watching dubbed
serials throughout the day. Let us hope MAA TV will further improve its quality and
have a very long and enduring innings in the industry.
(I strongly feel that I had been very impartial in writing the above review.
Though I am a staunch supporter of ETV, I could not help lauding MAA TV for its brave and courageous show over the past couple of years. I personally wish it a good luck in all its endeavours)