"The channel is a commercial venture and we are here only to make money, not lose it," Jaya TV general manager Bala Swaminathan told The Financial Express. And that means relaying the kind of programmes that people want. Corporate advertisers when approached are assured even before they ask "that we are apolitical, have technically qualified professionals, superior footprint, do our groundwork on programmes", according to Swaminathan.While all 300 spots were booked the first day, he is confident that this interest would be sustained. Jaya TV hopes to get advertisement revenue of Rs 30 crore in thefirst year, but the goal is to get 45 per cent market share in the volume of business generated.

For starters, Jaya TV has introduced what is known as the `Ballot Box'. This is a talk show under a banyan tree, where people actually vote for the topic they favour which is subsequently taken up for discussion. The programme has been well received in the mofussil areas. "We have to build our image, express our concern for society, while we develop the channel," Swaminathan said.

Jaya TV is spending more than Rs 1 crore in conducting roadshows in seven districts of Tamil Nadu with the public participating in game shows, wherever possible.

Another conscious decision taken by the channel is not to have advertisements for more than five minutes in the 10 prim-time slots. While this restricts the advertisements to 50 minutes totally, it also ensures that surfing is avoided and the continuity of the programme is maintained.

Jaya TV charges spots depending on the time, from Rs 5,000 per 10 seconds to Rs 9,000per 10 seconds. Sponsorship cost varies from Rs 60,000 to Rs 90,000. Branding efforts are charged between Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh. These slots are priced lower than the market leader Sun but higher than the price charged by other channels. The marketing is centralised and all production is done in-house.