Channel Eye / Nethra TV
Channel Eye and Nethra TV, are two distinct state-owned channels. They come under the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC). SLRC also manages the Sinhala language channel Rupavahini. Although formed in 1999 and 2008 respectively, Channel Eye and Nethra TV share the same frequency and audience share of 3.2 percent. Formerly known as Rupavahini 2, Channel Eye was renamed in 2000. The brand name ‘Eye’ stands for the three major pillars of the channel: (1) education, (2) youth, and (3) entertainment. Tamil language programmes were initially aired by Channel Eye, but with the creation of Nethra TV in 2008, Tamil language programmes were absorbed by Nethra TV.
Channel Eye’s programmes includes the English edition of the Rupavahini news, press review, which is published both in English and Tamil mediums, as well as certain English musical programmes. Notably, the channel is known for telecasting many sports events. For instance, Channel Eye became the official TV broadcaster for six Cricket World Cup tournaments in 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. It was also the official broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup in 2010, 2014 and 2018 for Sri Lanka.
Nethra TV primarily caters to a Tamil-speaking population. Its programmes includes the Tamil language edition of Rupavahini news, political debates, teledramas and Tamil language musical programmes.
Audience Share
3.2%
Ownership Type
State owned
Geographic Coverage
National
Content Type
Free to air
Media Companies / Groups
SLRC
Ownership Structure
The Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) was established through the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation Act No. 6 of 1982. Presently, the Rupavahini channel, Channel Eye and Nethra TV are maintained under the SLRC. This body comes under the purview of the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media.
Voting Rights
Missing Data
Individual Owner
General Information
Founding Year
1999 – Channel Eye / 2008 – Nethra TV
Affiliated Interests Founder
Piyadasa Ratnasinghe – is credited with being the channel’s founder, although Channel Eye is owned by the state. Prior to serving at Channel Eye, Piyadasa served as Rupavahini's Deputy General of Commercial Operations.
Missing Data on founder of Nethra TV
Affiliated Interests Ceo
Enokaa Sathyangani Keerthinanda – has been the Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation since June 2018. She is a film director and producer, who started her career in TV and films at Telecine (Pvt) Limited, which was considered to be the largest television production company in South Asia in 1992.
Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief
Sumedha Hettiarachi – Editor in Chief of Channel Eye
M.N. Raja – Editor in Chief of Nethra TV
Affiliated Interests other important people
Nawaz Mohammed – Working Director and Board Member
Thusira Malawwethantri – is the current Director General of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC)
Contact
Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation
Channel Eye/ Nethra TV
No. 2204, Torrington Square, Colombo 7
General: +94 11 250 1050, +94 11 599 506
Fax: +94 11 258 0929
Email: rupavahini@yahoo.com
Website: www.rupavahini.lk
Financial Information
Revenue (in Mill. $)
Missing Data
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
Missing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)
Missing Data
Market Share
Missing Data
Further Information
Meta Data
Nethra TV and Channel Eye do not have an official website. Their parent company, the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), has a website with limited information on the management structure. Hence, other secondary sources were referenced to compile data on the channels. Financial data for the channels was also not available. Viewership data was obtained from the Kantar Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB) for the year 2017. While the Media Ownership Monitor research team reached out to the SLRC by formally requesting for the corporation’s information on 20 July 2018, the company did not respond to the aforementioned request.
