In probably what could be the first for a south Indian TV channel, Kerala's Amrita TV plans to start airing movies during the primetime slot of 9-9.30pm, Monday to Thursday starting 23 June. The programme is titled 'Katha Thudarunnu' (KT) which means 'The Story Continues.'

To start with, Amrita TV plans to air a couple of movies, with each movie running into 6-8 episodes, depending on the length of the film. The first season may continue till August. Since the channel airs a two-minute, half-hourly news bulletin round the clock ("Spot News"), the show/ad/news split will be 22/6/2 minutes.

"As viewing habits and content-mix undergo periodic flux in the small screen landscape, Amrita TV has decided on probing consumer preferences through an innovative move in a serialized movie format by way of the show, 'Katha Thudarunnu.' The moot question is whether a viewer who is willing to remain glued to long-winding soaps for months on end, will show the same involvement for a serialized movie with film stars for a week or two, especially, with a built-in continuity element by way of an anchor-prelude to each episode," says Amrita TV global head (M&C) A. Sushil Kumar.

"Basically, Amrita TV is trying an experiment by pushing the envelope, and not banking on the low-hanging fruit alone. In fact, in Malayalam television, Amrita has taken calculated risks and pioneered many 'firsts', thereby winning 61 State Awards-the highest for any Indian private broadcaster in just eight years," explains a source at the channel.

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