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Tag: Sony Pictures Networks

  • Sony ESPN & Sony ESPN HD to launch on 17 Jan; two more channels in the pipeline

    Sony ESPN & Sony ESPN HD to launch on 17 Jan; two more channels in the pipeline

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) is all set to launch its two sports channels namely Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD in collaboration with ESPN on 17 January. The Sony ESPN channel will replace Sony Kix and hence will be available on all the platforms that the latter was. Sony ESPN HD will launch by marking its presence on all direct to home (DTH) platforms and gradually will roll out on cable TV too.

     

    With this, SPN has extended its sports cluster to four channels namely Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD, Sony Six and Sony Six HD.

     

    What’s more, Sony and ESPN will also launch more co-branded channels in the near future. “At least two more channels are there in the pipeline and if the content demands more, we might launch more. But at this stage, we have two channels launching on 17 January and two more in the near future,” reveals ESPN India and South Asia vice president and head Ramesh Kumar.

     

    The Nature of the Association

     

    ESPN had a long time association with one of Sony’s rival broadcaster Star India and the duo operated in the Indian subcontinent till they separated in 2012. The three-years non-compete ended in 2015 and ESPN’s began discussion of a second innings in India. ESPN was clear with its strategy that it wants a long term association with an existing sportscaster and that’s where Sony came in the picture. 

     

    Both Sony and ESPN refused to divulge the commercials or the nature of association between them. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, ESPN Asia Pacific vice president Michael T Morrison said, “We wanted to have a partner in India and Sony turned out to be the best for us and hence we associated with them. We were evaluating various possibilities since the last one and half years and are very happy to be with Sony.”

     

    Reiterating Morrison’s point of view, SPN India CEO NP Singh adds, “ESPN is the leader when it comes to sports broadcasting globally. They have their expertise, which will use to add value to our existing content. We would like to keep the commercials confidential, but yes what we both were looking for, was in alignment and hence we decided to get together. It took close to six months to close the deal.”

     

    Singh further asserts, “As a part of the deal, we will have 1000 hours of original content from ESPN.”

     

    While ESPN did not have an India presence on television, it continued the operation of ESPNCricinfo, which has grown by leaps and bounds in last three years. The portal has an internal team, which creates original content. However, ESPNCricinfo is not a part of the collaboration between the two entities. “The ESPNCricinfo expertise can be used if needed but it will not be a part of the collaboration. There are matrices, which we are working on and we will see how the three can complement each other,” informs Kumar.

     

    Why the Association

     

    “India is too big a sports market to not have a presence. Moreover, our motto is ‘To Serve Sports Fans Anytime Anywhere.’ We have never left India. For us, we were always there and now we feel we need to have a bigger presence and that’s why the association,” says Morrison. Recalling the sportscaster’s association with Star India, Morrison adds, “We had a wonderful time with Star where we worked together not only in India but also in the subcontinent, but now we feel we will have a better time ahead with Sony.”

     

    Sony, in the recent past has made a few big non-cricket acquisitions, but is yet to unfold special pre or post original programming. The feed of a SerieA or an El-Classico match begins with the whistle as there is no studio content available with them. “Now with ESPN coming in, we will have access to their studio shows and we will use the shows, which complement our existing portfolio. Using their expertise we will create new programming too. This Australian Open we will have access to their global studio feed, and hence analysis and opinions will be there for fans. With this association, we will be enhancing the experience,” adds SPN sports cluster EVP and business head Prasana Krishnan. 

     

    Many said that once the Indian Premier League (IPL) goes under the hammer for telecast rights renewal, the price is going to at least double to that of the previous deal. Rumours were rife that Sony and ESPN came together to jointly bid for the renewal and strengthen their possibility. Thwarting any such rumours as well as refraining to give them any credibility, Singh says, “Our association with ESPN is not to have an upper-hand in the renewal bidding procedure.” 

     

    What’s next

     

    In next few months, Sony ESPN will launch a new multi-sport mobile app. “The revenue model of the app is yet to be decided, but whatever we do, we believe in monetising it to the maximum. We will evaluate together the best possible way forward and come to a consensus on revenue model,” says Morrison.

     

    SPN already has a digital presence in Sony Liv, which live streams the network’s existing sports portfolio. So what happens to Liv when the co-branded app launches? “The content of that platform will be available in Sony Liv too. We have done well with Love Bytes and will continue our digital innovations,” informs Singh.

     

    Apart from the two additional channels in the pipeline, which will be launched in the near future, there could be many leagues coming in too. “Pro Wrestling League was an experiment that we did and now I am in a position to say that we are glad that we did it. The numbers in the Hindi Speaking Market were great and I see it growing further with time. So we are exploring and if we see an opportunity we will aggressively forge ahead with more leagues,” says Krishnan.

     

    Marketing Plan and Channel Positioning 

     

    The 360 degree launch campaign will be clubbed with the campaign of the Australian Open, which will make its debut on the new channel. “We have 17 channels of our own through which we will promote and announce the launch of the two co-branded channels. Also we will have our digital and print promotional activities. We are starting with the Australian Open and then we will then go to Euro 2016 and run campaigns around the sport,” informs Krishnan.

     

    Sony ESPN will have a global sports portfolio with football, rugby, basketball, tennis, whereas Sony Six will have the fight sports and other sports that Kix used to telecast. “We will continue to evaluate various permutations and combinations as we go forward and enhance our sports portfolio,” concludes Krishnan.

  • Masters Champions League signs Oxigen Wallet as title sponsor

    Masters Champions League signs Oxigen Wallet as title sponsor

    NEW DELHI: The Dubai based Masters Champions League (MCL) has signed up Oxigen Wallet as the title sponsor for its inaugural edition, which is slated to start later this month. 

     

    The Oxigen Masters Champions League will feature six teams of retired international cricketers and will kick start on 28 January with the final match to be staged on 13 February.

     

    The tournament will see Oxigen and MCL cooperate extensively in terms of sports events, on-ground activations and marketing campaigns.

     

    The inaugural matches are due to take place at Dubai International Cricket Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

     

    Grand Midwest Sports, the group that conceptualised and began the tournament did so with an aim to take cricket to a higher level across the UAE.

     

    Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, MCL chairman Zafar Shah said, “We are delighted to have Oxigen joining us as the title sponsor for MCL, which will now be called Oxigen MCL. They are one of the most innovative brands in the world for pioneering the genre of wallet led payments in the online and offline industry. Oxigen as a brand has in a very short span created a niche and legacy in their market. I am sure this will be a long and enriching affiliation for both stakeholders.”

     

    Last week, Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) hopped on board as the official broadcaster for the Indian sub-continent. The MCL has also secured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the current captain of the Indian national cricket team, as brand ambassador. 

     

    The first match will take place between two former legendary teammates namely, Sourav Ganguly from Team Libra Legends and Virender Sehwag from Team Gemini Arabians.

     

    On becoming the title sponsors of MCL2020, Oxigen Services chairman and managing director Pramod Saxena said, “Oxigen is proud to partner with Masters Champions League 2020 as their Title Sponsor. Our love for cricket is a constant as it connects us to the masses being a cricket loving nation. With MCL 20-20, we will further Oxigen’s global reach by touching the lives of the NRIs living in the Gulf and other parts of the world, who can fulfil the needs of small payments for their families in India for money transfers, recharges and utility payments.”

  • Rs 1500 crore riding on World T20 & IPL’s back to back play out in 2016

    Rs 1500 crore riding on World T20 & IPL’s back to back play out in 2016

    MUMBAI: Come 2016 and merely five days separate the two flagship cricketing extravaganzas – the ICC World T20 and the Indian Premier League (IPL). Even as World T20 draws to a close on 3 April, IPL takes to the ground on 9 April and riding on the two tourneys in terms of advertising spends by multiple brands is approximately Rs 1500 crore.

    While one tournament invokes national pride, the other appeals to emotions at a more regional level. The two tournaments will be played over a span of 80 days, which in turn poses the threat of fatigue.

    On one side, Star India will be pulling all stops in order to rake in the highest possible revenue. The broadcaster had an average 50 over World Cup played in Australia and New Zealand, which generated ad revenue of approximately Rs 400 crore. On the other hand, there’s Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India (erstwhile Multi Screen Media), which has two more editions of the IPL with them to break even and close with a neat profit. The remaining two seasons will be very crucial for SPN India’s balance sheets. It should be recalled that MSM acquired the rights of the tournament for a period of 10 years in 2007 after dishing out a whopping $1 billion.

    Ad spends on the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup can go up to Rs 400 crore including digital as per estimates of a senior media planner. “At the same time, if Sony goes by their normal 10 per cent ad rate hike even for the 2016 edition of IPL, they should manage to generate close to Rs 1100 crore, which I think they would be happy with,” the planner adds. Similar estimates were drawn by multiple other media planning executives that Indiantelevision.com spoke to.

    So when Rs 1500 crore is on the line for two major cricketing events, will the back to back scheduling eat into one another’s ad pie?

    Havas Media Group, India & South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar is of the opinion that it will not. “I don’t think the schedules of either of the tournaments will effect the advertising spends they are expecting. Whether it’s ICC World T20 or IPL season 9, there are different clients focused on them. IPL specially enjoys a different section of advertisers, who keep an eye on it in well in advance. Even with the common advertisers, it’s a question of their marketing and advertising budgets. Marketers plan their spends for a year in advance after looking at the calendar. I am sure they have prepared for both the cricketing events,” she says.

    Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia CEO and chairman Ashish Bhasin concurs with Nayyar. “I don’t think that the two tournaments scheduled one after another will have an affect on their ad revenues. This is not the first time that it’s happening. Often we do see tournaments like the IPL leading to a different sporting event or vice versa. Marketers and advertisers who look forward to such events plan their budgets and strategies accordingly in advance,” he says.

    IPL and World T20 are completely different ball games when it comes to ad spends according to Bhasin. He says, “World Cup invokes following and fandom for team India. While it appeals to everyone, it is when the India matches air that our audience is mostly interested. That is why you see peaks of viewership for India matches, which reduce drastically if India is out of the tournament early. Whereas IPL retains the general interest of all. Marketers are aware that IPL is prolonged entertainment. It is not just the game but all the action around it. Therefore, advertisers strategise for IPL and World T20 in a different way.”

    The most consistent team of the IPL – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owned by N Srinivasan promoted India Cements will not be a part of the tournament courtesy a two year ban imposed on it. The two year ban has also been imposed on Rajasthan Royals (RR). The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has added two new franchises in the interim period. The players of the two banned teams thereby went under the hammer and after following the bidding process, the two new teams – Pune and Rajkot – absorbed them. So cricket fans will get to see their idols albeit wearing a different coloured jersey and maybe even in a new role.

    When queried as to how the absence of CSK and RR teams will impact the brand value of the tournament, Bhasin says that it might leave a certain impact on the ad rates. “Two of the biggest teams are out of the tournament and new ones have been introduced. At a time like this, clients may start questioning the credibility of the tournament all together. If the tournament has to retain its advertisers, they have to work on keeping the credibility intact,” he adds.

    “Having said that, a popular event like IPL will never have a lack of sponsors. The key issue is the ad slot prices. Over the years we have seen an increase in ad rates from the preceding tournaments for every new season. This year however, it will be hard to aim for higher ad rates for the ad slots,” he asserts.

    One thing that the SPN India president – ad sales Rohit Gupta and his team managed to achieve over the years is a constant hike in ad rates. The tournament 2015 edition, as per Indiantelevision.com’s analysis, raked in over Rs 1000 crore to make it one of the best ever IPL for the network. In the previous edition, the tournament hiked the ad rates by close to 15 per cent, taking the price of a 10-second slot to Rs 4.5 – 5 lakh. The tournament’s viewership has also kept ascending with time, and keeping the regional importance in mind, the broadcaster relayed the tourney in six different languages last year. Last year IPL was welcomed by ICC cricket World Cup. Played in Australia and New Zealand on a totally different time zone, the 50 over tournament did no harm to the flagship domestic T20 tournament.

    If sources are to believed then Star India is all set to bring back the Mauka Mauka craze. The ad campaign emerged as one of the most talked about elements during the ICC World Cup earlier this year.

    A cricket expert on condition of anonymity says, “The quality of cricket is elite in both the tournaments. India will be playing Pakistan in one of the league matches and I think that will be one of the most viewed matches of the year. Having said so, the enthusiasm won’t be similar during non-India matches, whereas when it comes to the IPL because of its unity in diversity nature all the matches turns out to be of equal importance. Pune is a good inclusion but I doubt if the pitch will last seven matches because last the time it did not. If you ask me to choose one between IPL or ICC World T20 Cup from a cricketer’s point of view, I will choose the IPL because of it’s consistent quality for a longer period of time whereas, as an Indian I will choose the World Cup because at the end of the day, when the National Anthem resonates, the feeling is special.”

    That said, the first half of 2016 will definitely be exciting for cricket, broadcasters, advertisers as well as fans of the game.

  • Sony Pictures Networks’ Sony Six acquires MCL rights

    Sony Pictures Networks’ Sony Six acquires MCL rights

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India (formerly Multi Screen Media) has bagged the exclusive telecast rights to the first edition of the Masters Champions League (MCL), a T20 cricket league, which is slated to begin on 28 January, 2016.

    Further expanding its bouquet of international sporting events, Sony Six will telecast all the 18 matches of the inaugural edition of the tournament live and exclusive from Dubai and Sharjah across the Indian sub-continent.

    The MCL has also roped in Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the current captain of the Indian national cricket team as the brand ambassador. Six teams will take part in the tournament led by an iconic player and each team has been named after zodiac signs, such as Libra, Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo, Capricorn and Leo.

    The first MCL match has been scheduled with two former teammates, Sourav Ganguly from Libra Legends and Virender Sehwag from Gemini Arabians, leading their teams to play against each other at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS). Iconic players like Brian Lara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Adam Gilchrist, Paul Collingwood, Brett Lee, Jacques Kallis, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara among others have also been drafted in the MCL teams. The final match of the MCL will also be staged at the DICS on 13 February, 2016.

    Commenting on the acquisition Sony Six and Kix business head Prasana Krishnan said, “Most fans have grown up watching these International and Indian legends play and the tournament gives them an opportunity to connect with them again. Viewers of Sony Six can look forward to some great cricketing action and we are excited to partner with the Masters Champions League as a result.”

    MCL chief executive director Sam Khan added, “We are delighted that we are partnering with Sony Six. They have an outstanding reputation as a sports broadcaster and have played an integral role in promoting and growing the game. We are very confident that they will do all that is necessary to do the same for the MCL.”

    The acquisition of MCL further adds to the network’s line-up of live cricket T20 events, which presently include the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL), Karnataka Premier League, Ram Slam T20 Challenge and Caribbean Premier League.

    MCL launched the official ticket sales of the tournament earlier this week with the brand ambassador Dhoni giving a special video message to fans.

  • Sony Pix eyes 10% growth in market share in 2016 riding on big ticket premieres

    Sony Pix eyes 10% growth in market share in 2016 riding on big ticket premieres

    MUMBAI: Armed with a host of big ticket movie premieres, Sony Pictures Networks India’s English movie channel Sony Pix is all set to usher in the new year with a bang. The channel, which commanded a market share of 17 per cent from May to December 2015, is eyeing a 10 per cent growth in share next year.

     

    Sony Pictures Networks India EVP and business head – English cluster Saurabh Yagnik says, “Acquisition costs have also seen a significant increase this year. We are expecting a 10 per cent growth in the market share next year. We plan to sustain the growth that we had this year.”

     

    While the channel has movie deals in place with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, MGM and Disney, it recently also inked a deal with NBCUniversal International Distribution under which it will now have access to movie titles from Universal Pictures. With this new deal in place, the three mega box office blockbusters of 2015 namely Jurassic World, Fast and Furious 7 and Minions will have their television premieres on Sony Pix in 2016.

     

    It may be recalled that Sony Pix saw a re-launch in 2013 with a focus on three pillars namely: investing in content, innovating to break clutter and building brand perception by straddling across the entire Hollywood ecosystem in the country. Though these key points from ‘version 1.0’ remain intact in the organisation structure, the channel in its ‘version 2.0’ avatar, will also be seen focussing on three key filters namely scale, style and talkability.

     

    Touting this as the next phase in the growth of the channel, Yagnik says, “The aim this year was to solidify our position as a leading player in the English movie and entertainment space. The year has been extremely successful for the channel. These three elements will form the core of our strategy for Pix v.2.0. By scale we mean larger than life experiences for our viewers. The style will be our personality that we would be identified with. And by talkability, we mean everything we do will be so well differentiated from the clutter that it would commonly refer to as hatke.”

     

    With Sony Pix v.2.0, the channel aims to catapult the philosophy of the brand statement ‘Stay Amazed’ a notch higher with gripping content of blockbuster movies.

     

    On the content front, the channel has acquired exclusive rights to the biggest franchises like Fast and Furious, Hunger Games, Star Wars, Rocky, James Bond, Spider-man, Twilight and Ironman to name a few.

     

    Version 2.0 will supplement the content with three mega premieres of the highest grossing movies of 2016. WhileJurassic World collected $1.66 billion at the box-office, Paul Walker’s last Fast and Furious 7 saw immense success globally with a collection of $1.5 billion. The animated movie Minions, on the other hand, also crossed the $1 billion mark.

     

    Apart from these, the channel will also premiere big ticket movies like Everest, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2, The Walk, Straight Outta Compton, Paddington, Hotel Translyvania, Goosebumps and Insidious 3amongst others. 

     

    “The movie business is all about watching a library of movies and not watching only new movies. Life with a limited number of movies will be boring and that’s why Sony Pix has innumerable movie titles under their cap. We buy movies just for the channel exclusively, which the other channels won’t have on board currently,” adds Yagnik.

     

    With the rise of the multiplexes, while the gap between the international and Indian theatrical release of movies has narrowed down over the years, piracy affects broadcasters to some extent as movies take at least six to eight months to premiere on television. Nevertheless Yagnik strongly believes that this does not affect the channel as the movies have a strong recall value over the audiences. “The audience will watch it in movie theatres or maybe download it but once the movie airs on television, the fans will still watch it again. The entire television watching audience does not go to the theatres to watch a movie. Typically any movie, which has scale in terms of cast, story, VFX, action or the viewing experience, will work well,” he says.

     

    “Big movies have 60 per cent of revenue coming from the international markets but if the movie is completely set in a particular cultural context then it will not work,” he continues.

     

    Sony Pix is all set to bring the next level of differentiation with its signature ‘pixification’ of three elements namely voice, body and soul of the channel. The channel’s voice has always been a male voice-over. However, in this updated version, the voice-over will have a female’s voice. The channel’s body will behold the flavour of the week, month or day in their promos one at a time. On the other hand, the channel’s soul has a change in its lingo more adept for the youth. “The voice-over is just one of the many new things that the audience will experience on the channel. It is important to create a distinctive identity and soul through pixification of our official properties to make it attractive and a free spirited zesty time,” adds Yagnik.

     

    Summarising Pix v.2.0 as the best in class content powered by an equally inimitable pixification of communication and brand ambience, Yagnik is upbeat on the year ahead.

  • Has KPL opened a new door for cricket crazy broadcasters?

    Has KPL opened a new door for cricket crazy broadcasters?

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India (erstwhile Multi Screen Media) with its recent foray into regional cricket league has given the sports industry an alternative to mainstream international cricket. The network tasted success with the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) telecast live on Sony Six and Sony Kix, which fetched good viewership.

    Cricket in India has become an expensive proposition for broadcasters with acquisition costs soaring sky high. Even as the number of sportcasters with heavy purses increase in the television ecosystem, the 365 days calendar is turning out to be too small for them to accommodate all the cricketing action through the year.

    While kabaddi showed the nation that cricket was not the only sport that created the all-pervading excitement, in a country where cricket is as big as a religion, nothing can suppress it.

    Sports channels in India without cricket in its portfolio are still considered as wingless birds. The sport-broadcasting ecosystem is going to see a tsunami of developments in the near future. The ESPN – Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India (erstwhile Multi Screen Media) deal has already prepped the industry for what’s in store. The price tag attached to the broadcasting rights of the cash rich Indian Premier League (IPL) is being speculated to double if not more when they come up for fresh bidding in 2017. The rights currently vest with SPN India and were acquired after signing a $1 billion deal for 10 years.

    What’s more, it will be a tad too optimistic to assume that one of the fastest growing media conglomerate in India, Viacom 18 will not enter the sports space in the near future. Speculations are rife that the Peter Hutton led Eurosport has a keen eye on the Indian market and is planning an entry as early as sometime next year. Star India, which holds the rights to BCCI and ICC sporting events, is also likely to aggressively bid for the IPL. Star recently acquired IPL’s digital rights for three years for a mammoth sum of Rs 302.2 crore.

    Media mogul Subhash Chandra’s love for cricket is a well known fact. Chandra’s Ten Sports holds the broadcasting rights of multiple international cricket boards. Nimbus Communications’ Harish Thawani has also been taking baby steps towards cricket. Recently his sports channel Neo Sports acquired the broadcasting rights of Bangladesh Premier League.

    At a time like this, KPL has come as a new and lucrative avenue as far as cricket is concerned. Sony Six and Sony Kix business head Prasana Krishnan is of the opinion that the seriousness of the Karnataka State Cricket Association plays a vital role in garnering high viewership. “KPL is actually a very sincere effort from the association. They have been doing it with precision. Despite it being a low budgeted affair, it is being executed with sheer class,” he tells Indiantelevision.com.

    The timing of the league is also a vital factor as per Krishnan. “It is played post the monsoons and during that period there is neither much international cricket featuring India nor are there many big leagues scheduled. At a time like this, when you add good production value, it makes for a good property,” he informs.

    However, it does beg one vital question: Are there enough monetising avenues available? “KPL for us is an experiment. More than revenue, it’s a matter of extending our portfolio. The revenue will depend on quality. It depends on the players available. For now, it’s a portfolio formation for us. We will look into other aspects with time,” says Krishnan.

    Neo Sports EVP programming Mautik Tolia also feels that regional leagues can be a good prospect for broadcasters provided the expectations are realistic. “Regional cricket leagues helps broadcasters in reaching out to a new audience. Our foray into Bangladesh Premier League has given us a new set of audience from the West Bengal region. If there is an opportunity to acquire rights of any such regional cricket league, we will aggressively bid for it,” Tolia says.

    A senior media planner feels that if broadcasters package and promote regional cricket leagues, it can be a profitable proposition. “There are a good number of regional advertisers, who cannot afford the high ad rates of international cricket tourneys. If there is good return on investment, advertisers will like to be there. But the broadcaster will have to take the sport seriously,” the planner asserts on condition of anonymity.

    In the west, school and college championships in NBA and Rugby garner a huge traction. What’s more, sports broadcasters too back it aggressively and produce it with serious energy. However, the scenario is a little different with cricket in India as per Krishnan. “NBA or Soccer scout for players from schools and colleges. There is no other tournament involved in the system. With cricket, a cricketer has club and Ranji commitments, which are all 365 days engagements. So it will be unfair to compare this to the west. We will evaluate all possibilities and if we find a regional league, which has quality players involved in it and is played at a time when team India is not in action, we will go for it,” he affirms.

    It was recently reported that Chandra was planning to start a cricket league in Chandigarh. It remains to be seen how broadcasters react to SPN India’s start. One this is certain that channels need to look beyond international cricket to have the sport in their portfolio without burning a hole in their pockets. Who does it and on what scale is only a matter of wait and watch.

    Ratings of KPL 2015

  • MSM rebrands as Sony Pictures Networks; trains eyes on GECs, sports & digital

    MSM rebrands as Sony Pictures Networks; trains eyes on GECs, sports & digital

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (MSM), which was earlier known as Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India, has now rebranded itself as Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India as the company marks its 20th year of operations in the country.

     

    The rebranding, which also signifies a complete alignment with its parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment, comes as a shot of adrenaline as the company has now trained its eyes on three key levers namely general entertainment, sports and digital.

     

    “With a comprehensive bouquet of varied channels and aggressive growth plans, including new genres and expansion of our distribution footprint, we are equipping ourselves to serve our viewers in urban areas, in rural areas and across global geographies. Overall, our focus will remain on becoming the first choice in television & digital entertainment,” said Sony Pictures Networks India CEO NP Singh.

     

    The rebranding was announced earlier but as the company was awaiting due approvals, the network continued to operate as MSM. From today (14 December, 2015), the network will use its new identity.

     

    “After 20 years of successfully experimenting with many firsts including redefining how cinema and cricket are viewed on Indian television, Multi Screen Media has renamed itself as Sony Pictures Networks India. The new name reflects an integrated brand alignment as it allows us to leverage the strength of the Sony parentage. Naturally, we are guided by a new wave of optimism as we set forth on a journey of exploring new vistas of entertainment,” added Singh.

     

    Singh went on to say that the company will adopt a six-fold path to serve the multitude of viewers with more channels, more genres, more content, more movies, more digital and more television.

     

    “This is our six-fold path to serve the multitude of viewers whose hopes and expectations, we are aiming, to exceed. Our focus will remain on becoming the first choice in television and digital entertainment in the country,” he said.

     

    It may be recalled that earlier this year, the company also clinched a joint venture deal with sportscaster ESPN, under which Sony Kix will be rebranded as Sony ESPN. The two companies will also jointly launch other new channels as well as a co-branded localised multi-sport website and app in the coming months.

     

    Today, SPN’s bouquet includes a range of channels like Sony Entertainment Television (SET), Max, Max 2, Sab, Pix, AXN, Aath, Mix, Six and Kix as well as the digital entertainment channel Liv.

     

    “We are priming ourselves to become the first choice of entertainment in the country. So, there is a new surge wave of optimism that is guiding us. We’re now poised to leverage our experiential credibility to do more for our audiences,” Singh says.