Raj Digital Plus

About Raj Digital Plus

Raj Digital Plus is a Tamil-language 24-hour movie channel owned and operated by Raj Television Network Ltd, the Chennai-based regional broadcaster. Launched on 14 March 1998 as an analog channel and converted to digital in 1999, it was the second channel of the Raj Television Network after the flagship Raj TV. The channel broadcasts Tamil feature films around the clock, drawing on a movie library built up over decades by the group's film-rights arm, Raj Video Vision. It broadcasts as part of the Raj Television bouquet on cable and direct-to-home platforms across India and in overseas Tamil markets, with its official web home at the network portal rajtvnet.in.

History and Launch

The roots of Raj Digital Plus lie in Raj Video Vision, the video cassette library started in 1983 by the founders of what would become Raj Television Network. The company acquired the video rights to Tamil films and, with the arrival of satellite television, invested in acquiring copyrights across all future modes of distribution — satellite, cable and terrestrial — for its acquisitions. Raj Video Vision began supplying films to Sun TV and Doordarshan, and in 1994 the group launched its first satellite channel, Raj TV, on 14 October 1994.

The success of the flagship channel led to a second channel devoted entirely to cinema. According to the company's stock-exchange disclosures, Raj Digital Plus was launched on 14 March 1998 as an analog channel and was subsequently converted into a digital channel in 1999, making it among the first Indian channels to convert to the digital signal format. The flagship Raj TV followed, converting to digital in September 2000. From its earliest days the movie channel catered primarily to the entertainment requirements of the Tamil population within the footprint of the network's broadcasts, which could be received across India as well as in parts of South East Asia and the Middle East.

Ownership and Corporate Background

Raj Digital Plus is owned by Raj Television Network Ltd (RTNL), incorporated on 3 June 1994 in Tamil Nadu. The company was started by four brothers — Rajendran (chairman and managing director), Rajrathinam (in charge of Raj Video Vision), M. Ravindran (programming) and Raghunathan (sales and marketing), originally from Sri Lanka and settled in India. The network describes its flagship Raj TV as "the people's channel" and has long positioned itself as an apolitical broadcaster in the Tamil market. The company listed on the stock exchanges in 2007 and is headquartered at Poes Garden, Teynampet, Chennai.

Raj Video Vision remains part of the group and handles the acquisition of film rights and the management of the movie library that feeds Raj Digital Plus. At the turn of the century the group reported a collection of 2,400 films; a later company statement put the group's satellite rights holdings at 2,900 Tamil movies. This library is the core asset behind the movie channel's round-the-clock film schedule.

Programming and Schedule

Raj Digital Plus operates a 24-hour schedule built around Tamil feature films, supplemented by film-based filler programming. The daily grid, as listed by television schedule trackers, mixes movie blocks with short segments: devotional programming such as Alaya Dharsinam in the early morning, the news bulletin Raj News, music fillers such as Raj Melodies and Manathai Varudiya Paadalgal, film blocks including Mega Ten Movies in the afternoon, and titles such as Puthiya Theerpu, Kalyana Agathigal, Don Chera, Ninaithale Inikkum and Mettupatti Mirasu through the evening and night.

In 2001 the network announced plans to reposition the channel along the lines of SET Max, the Hindi movie channel known for event-driven programming. The repositioning plan included organising events specially made for television and pushing pop videos on the channel, on the view that music videos were not being given their due on any other channel. Around the same period the network invested Rs 15 crore from internal accruals in a production studio and obtained Ministry of Information and Broadcasting clearance to set up its own teleport facility at its premises, allowing it to uplink its own channels and lease the facility to other users.

Competition in Tamil Movie Television

Raj Digital Plus competes in the Tamil movie genre alongside channels such as K TV, Vijay Super, Zee Thirai and J Movie. The genre is driven by the strength of satellite film libraries and the ability to premiere or repeatedly telecast popular Tamil cinema. Raj Television's competitive edge has historically been the depth of its own library, assembled through Raj Video Vision's rights acquisitions dating back to the video-cassette era.

The broader Tamil television market in which the channel operates has been dominated by Sun TV Ltd across general entertainment, movies, news and music. Raj Television's expansion — the movie channel, the 2008 launches of the Raj Musix music channel and Raj News, and later comedy and news channels in multiple South Indian languages — has been a sustained attempt to build a full bouquet that can compete for audience share and advertising against the larger rival.

Reach and Distribution

Raj Digital Plus has been available on major distribution platforms for much of its life. Its signals were carried on Dish TV by 2007, and in June 2008 the network signed a deal with Sun Direct to beam its channels — Raj TV, Raj Digital Plus, Raj Musix, Raj News and the Telugu channel Vissa — on that DTH platform. Network director Regunathan described Sun Direct as the fastest-growing DTH platform with a clear focus on southern markets.

Internationally, the channel's reach extends through several arrangements. In 2003 the company entered a transponder service agreement to use capacity on ThaiCom 3, and in 2004 it tied up with SRLC in Sri Lanka for the downloading of Raj TV and Raj Digital Plus in that country. The group also had a two-year agreement with Singapore government-owned TV12 for exporting content to Vasantham Central, a free-to-air channel serving the Indian community in Singapore, and was seeking similar alliances with media companies in Malaysia, Thailand, Fiji, the US and the UK. The two flagship channels' broadcasts can be received across India and in parts of South East Asia and the Middle East.

The Network Bouquet

Within the Raj Television Network, Raj Digital Plus sits alongside the flagship Tamil GEC Raj TV, the Tamil music channel Raj Musix (launched January 2008), the 24-hour Tamil news channel Raj News (inaugurated July 2008), the Telugu general entertainment channel Vissa (2003), news channels in Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, music channels in Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, and the comedy channel Raj Nagaichuvai launched in 2024. The group shut down its Hindi general entertainment channel Raj Pariwar in December 2013. By 2022 the network described itself as operating 13 channels across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.

Digital and OTT Extension

In September 2022 Raj Television Network forayed into the regional OTT space with the launch of Raj Digital. The platform was announced with more than 1,000 movies in South Indian languages and Hindi, plus web series, television shows and 11 live channels. Tamil music composer Yuvan Shankar Raja unveiled the platform's logo at the launch event, where Adarsh Nair, CEO of Airtel Digital, was the chief guest; Airtel powers the platform's streaming infrastructure from cloud content access to mobile delivery. Raj Digital was priced at Rs 29 per month, Rs 149 for six months and Rs 299 per year. The OTT launch gave the group's movie library — the same library that feeds Raj Digital Plus — a direct-to-consumer digital outlet alongside the linear channel.

Business Performance Context

Raj Television Network's financial disclosures trace the company's growth from its early years. For the year ended March 2001 the channel clocked billings of Rs 30 crore and targeted 10 per cent growth the following year. For 2006-07 the company posted revenues of Rs 38.64 crore, up 22.64 per cent over the previous year. Raj Digital Plus, as the network's second channel and its dedicated movie outlet, has been part of that revenue base since 1998, monetised through advertising around its film telecasts and carriage across cable and DTH platforms.

Official Website and Online Presence

Raj Digital Plus is presented online through the Raj Television Network portal at rajtvnet.in, the group's official website, which carries the network's channel lineup and corporate information. Schedule information for the channel is widely published by third-party television listing services, reflecting the channel's continued carriage and daily film-led grid. The network's channels are also available through the Raj Digital OTT platform launched in 2022.

Key Facts

Raj Digital Plus is a Tamil 24-hour movie channel owned by Raj Television Network Ltd of Chennai, with its official website at rajtvnet.in. It was launched on 14 March 1998 as an analog channel and converted to digital in 1999, among the first Indian channels to do so; the network's flagship Raj TV converted to digital in September 2000. The channel draws on a film library managed by Raj Video Vision, reported at 2,400 films at the turn of the century and 2,900 Tamil movie satellite rights in a later company statement. It competes with Tamil movie channels including K TV, Vijay Super, Zee Thirai and J Movie, and is distributed on Dish TV, Sun Direct and cable networks, with international availability in Sri Lanka, Singapore, South East Asia and the Middle East. Its parent company was incorporated on 3 June 1994, listed on the stock exchanges in 2007, and launched the Raj Digital OTT platform in September 2022.