MUMBAI : With skyrocketing costs of acquiring satellite rights of feature films, broadcasters are now getting into the business of setting up their own movie production companies. Joining television broadcasters like Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited (Zeel) and TV 18 is the south India market leader Sun TV Network.

The Chennai-based broadcaster Sun TV Network is launching a film production company called Sun Pictures. Sun TV COO Hansraj Saxena is tipped to head the film venture.

Through the division, Sun will produce films in the four southern India languages of Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The company says the venture will open up new revenue stream and in addition to the increasing to size of its library.

Along with Bollywood, the regional movie market is also hotting up as the national players are eyeing the space. Big Pictures, the film production arm of Reliance ADAG, has lined up 69 films in nine languages for production and distribution over the next two years. The languages being Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Malayalam, Gujarati and English.

Zeel's subsidiary Zee Entertainment Studios (ZES) has signed on five directors for three years to direct 15 films in the Marathi language.The five directors will make three movies each in the three-year period under the banner of Zee Motion Pictures.

Down south, in the Kannada market the top five grossers are Gaja, Bombat and Gali Pata (acquired by Suvarana of the Asianet stable), Aramane (by Kasthuri) and Accident (by Zee Kannada).