Prices are soaring day by day, not only in grocery store but also in the entertainment industry. Sun TV, India’s largest media conglomerate with twenty channels and a viewership of approx 95 million households in India, recently announced the hike in ad rates is Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam channels. The move will come in force from Jan. 2010.

Ajay Vidyasagar, chief operating officer, Sun Network, primarily three reasons are responsible for the hike in advertisement rates for the channels. He says, “Firstly, the last hike in advertisement rates was two and half years ago. Secondly, our channels continue to be strong performers in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. We are No.1 and No. 2 GEC (general entertainment channel) and movie channels respectively in these markets. Thirdly, the move is in line with the immense value that we deliver to our advertisers.”

Vidyasagar also added that the hike in ad rates for Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada channels has been announced after keeping all stakeholders in mind, after a fair degree of dialogue to decide the percentage of increase in the rates.

The ad hike rates are as follows:

• Telugu Channel and Gemini TV will range between 6-16 percent
• Kannada channel and Udaya TV is estimated at 10%
• Malayalam offering and Surya TV up to 5 per cent

The average annual revenue growth is expected to be 15-20 per cent with ad rate hikes across its network.