Just read a review of sun tv by a member (varda). he’s pretty right when he says the serials project stereotypes.
but the programming mix on sun tv doesn’t really end with serials. there’s news, there are talk shows, ’variety entertainment’, movies, countdown shows - the whole gamut. what I like most about sun tv is the quality of transmission, it is one of the best (probably contributed in some measure by a bias on the part of the cable operator!).
as far as serials are concerned, I think they thrive on stereotyping (perhaps a surefire way of enhancing the ’drama’). and this is the case with all channels in all languages, including the english ones. nowadays, you will find serials that are dubbed from other languages. funny as it may seem, and how much ever we may dislike the idea, we must admit they are quite popular, especially the ’saans-bahu’ ones. unless producers and sponsors take some risks, I think we’re going to be stuck with this staple for a while.
the morning sessions on sun tv I find quite interesting (some kind of breakfast show where they have a guest). and whenever I need news from chennai or tamilnadu, sun has been my preferred channel (their coverage is pretty ok - sometimes they seem to have cameras everywhere, especially controversial places!)
generally, as far as programming goes, there’s a predominance of movie-related stuff, probably due to the (average) tamilian preoccupation with movies. otherwise I still recommend sun tv for a good tamil mix.