DAN TV
Founded in 2008, DAN TV, which stands for Dish Asia Network, is a satellite host which features a range of Tamil language channels. The content is accessible to those with a subscription to the satellite host. Some of the channels such as DAN Tamil Oli and DAN Music HD feature secular content while Holymary TV and Ohm TV feature Christian and Hindu content respectively. DAN TV also features regional channels such as Yarl TV and educational content on channels such as Kalvi TV. The channels are accessible in Jaffna, Colombo, Europe and the Middle East.
Audience Share
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Ownership Type
Private
Geographic Coverage
Regional / International
Content Type
Pay-per-view
Media Companies / Groups
ASK Media (Pvt) Limited
Ownership Structure
According to the annual returns filed at the Department of Registrar of Companies, ASK Media is owned by Jamesthas Savarimuthu. However, S. Kuhanathan personally confirmed over a telephone conversation that he is the current owner of DAN TV.
Individual Owner
General Information
Founding Year
2008
Affiliated Interests Founder
Kuhanathan Sababathy Suppiah, also known as S. Kuhanathan, is the founder, CEO and the owner of ASK Media (Pvt) Limited, which owns DAN TV. He was a Sub-Editor of the Eelanadu newspaper, which was circulated in the Northern Province, before migrating to France in late 80s and launching the weekly newspaper, Paris Eelanadu. In the late 90s, he was instrumental in starting the first Tamil language TV station based in France. Since then, he has served as Director of at least four other media companies: Dish Asia Limited (30 August 2002 – 26 June 2007), Dish International Limited (11 March 2003 – 13 June 2006), Dish Asia Network Euro Limited (13 June 2003 – 11 April 2006) and Reminiscent Television (Europe) Limited (22 September 2000 – 22 July 2003). Although these companies are now defunct, they were registered in the United Kingdom while he was based in Paris.
Affiliated Interests Ceo
S. Kuhanathan is the CEO and the owner of ASK Media (Pvt) Limited, which owns DAN TV. For more see above.
Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief
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Affiliated Interests other important people
Jamesthas Savarimuthu – According to the annual returns filed at the Department of Registrar of Companies, Jamesthas Savarimuthu was the sole shareholder and a Business Executive of ASK Media (Pvt) Limited. He was appointed as a Business Executive on 22 July 2008. He is the uncle of S. Kuhanathan’s spouse and has passed away.
Lee Shin May – He was appointed as a Director on 21 March 2013.
Contact
Financial Information
Revenue (in Mill. $)
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Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
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Advertising (in % of total funding)
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Market Share
Missing data
Further Information
Meta Data
There is very limited information accessible on DAN TV and ASK Media (Pvt) Limited. The official website of DAN TV only provides a list of channels. Details about the channel’s ownership was therefore gathered through the annual returns available at the Department of Registrar of Companies. Although the last annual return listed Jamesthas Savarimuthu as the only shareholder, upon contacting S. Kuhanathan, the MOM research team learnt that Jamesthas Savarimuthu is no longer the owner. As such, the owner at present is S. Kuhanathan, who is also the founder of DAN TV. While the Media Ownership Monitor research team reached out to ASK Media (Pvt) Limited by formally requesting for the company’s information on 25 July 2018, the company did not respond to the aforementioned request. In a telephone conversation with S. Kuhanathan, he stated that he could not own a media business in Sri Lanka at the time the company was established since he held French citizenship. Kuhanathan holds dual citizenship at present. Viewership data was obtained from the Kantar Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB) for the year 2017.
