Fun TV to go on air by Onam

Come May 15, it's going to be added fun for the telly addicts in Kerala. Phoenix Infosys, Thiruvananthapuram-based software development firm, is all set to launch an interactive gaming channel by that date. The channel has been christened Fun TV.

Talking to Business Standard, G Christo, director, Fun TV, said the gaming channel will be available in the state capital to the subscribers of Siti Cable and Trivandrum Cable Network (TCN). By the Onam festival season, cable operators across the state would be beaming the channel, he said.

The unique concept of Fun TV is that viewers' participation gains prime importance. Viewers can select their favourite games sitting at home and play the on-screen game through telephones and mobile SMSes. Christo said the Fun TV viewer can actually play their favourite games in the same manner as they play computer games.

"We now plan to offer SMS games like Treasure Hunt, Super Quiz, Snooker, Bombing The City and multi-player games like Word Car, online Cricket and Tennis," he added. The brain behind Fun TV claimed that it was India's first gaming channel.

Apart from popular games there will also be programmes like Video on Demand, Movie on Demand, SMS chat, Lucky Contest and the like. Viewers can also select the film for the day every day through voting. The film that receives the maximum number of votes will be telecast on that day.

Christo said a unique feature of the games and programmes aired on Fun TV would be that the photograph of the participant would appear on screen.

To bring in more subscribers, Fun TV has roped in Kudumbashree volunteers. They will be trained for door-to-door campaigning and getting the maximum number of subscribers. The one-time activation fee for each subscriber would be Rs 30, Christo said.

Post-registration of the maximum number of subscribers, a formal inauguration of Fun TV would be held in Thiruvananthapuram by the end of May, Christo said. The channel plans to spread its reach to big cities after the Thiruvananthapuram launch and then expand its presence to the whole of the state.