Madhimugam, a satellite Tamil television channel of sympathisers and supporters of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), will be launched by party general secretary Vaiko on July 14 in Chennai.
“It is a news-cum-entertainment television channel. It is neither a party channel nor a mouthpiece of the party. The channel, however, will provide adequate space for my statements and functions without making a compromise on neutral views,” Mr. Vaiko told The Hindu on Monday. Madhimugam takes its name from Ma.Thi.Mu.Ka, the Tamil initialism of the party’s name, and will be launched at a simple function in Chennai.
“There is a need for a television channel as we are not able to get adequate coverage in the mainstream media. Many times, my statements and functions are not carried in newspapers and other channels,” said Mr. Vaiko explaining the reason behind the launch the channel.
He agreed that it would be a difficult task to run a channel in a State where there is a surfeit of them. “There is a tight competition as almost all political parties own television channels. The owners of the new channel are holding talks with cable TV operators to get a slot,” said Mr. Vaiko, who is also the editor of the party’s weekly Sangoli.
In Tamil Nadu, many TV channels are associated with political parties – Jaya TV (AIADMK), Kalaignar TV (DMK), Makkal TV (PMK), Captain TV (DMDK), Vasanth TV & Mega TV (Congress), Velicham TV (VCK), Lotus TV (BJP) and Tamilan TV (Naam Tamilar Katchi).
