ITV

Tag: Sony Pictures Television

  • Colors Infinity & HOOQ acquire ‘Mad Dogs’ from Sony for India

    Colors Infinity & HOOQ acquire ‘Mad Dogs’ from Sony for India

    MUMBAI: Viacom18’s English entertainment channel Colors Infinity has picked up the rights of Sony Pictures Television’s (SPT) US adaptation of the British black comedy and psychological drama Mad Dogs.

     

    Additionally, the pan-regional SVOD platform HOOQ, which launched in India last year, has also picked up the rights for the series. Apart from India, HOOQ will air the series in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.

     

    SPT has sold Mad Dogs to over 140 countries around the world ahead of the series debut on Amazon in the US, UK and Germany.

     

    “Mad Dogs has been a huge hit in the UK and there is clearly an equally high appetite for the US series. Mad Dogs is a high end drama with real global appeal and brings together exceptional talent both on and off screen. Sony Pictures Television has long been producing ambitious, acclaimed and award-winning dramas which sit perfectly on traditional linear channels and new platforms – as demonstrated by the range of partners we have around the world,” said Sony Pictures Television president, international distribution Keith LeGoy.

     

    Across Europe, Movistar+ picked up the series in Spain and MTG acquired the show for Viaplay in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Other territories include Finland (Nelonen), Belgium (Telenet), Turkey (D-Smart) as well as AXN in Central Eastern Europe.

     

    OSN picked up the series for the Middle East, Mnet will show it across Africa, and Sky bought the drama in New Zealand.

     

    Based on the format created by Cris Cole for Left Bank Pictures and British Sky Broadcasting Limited, Mad Dogs is produced by Left Bank Pictures, MiddKid Productions and Amazon Studios in association with Sony Pictures Television.

     

    Mad Dogs tells the story of a group of 40 something underachievers who gather in Belize to celebrate the retirement of one of their friends. A series of dramatic events unfold, exposing dark secrets, a web of lies, deception and murder.

     

    The series stars Ben Chaplin, Michael Imperioli, Romany Malco, Steve Zahn and Billy Zane.

  • Japan’s Wowow acquires two shows from Sony Pictures Television & CBS

    Japan’s Wowow acquires two shows from Sony Pictures Television & CBS

    MUMBAI: Japanese pay TV broadcaster Wowow has acquired exclusive Japanese broadcast rights to two new US TV series namelyThe Player from Sony Pictures Television; and Zoo from CBS Studios International. 

     

    Set to premiere in Japan on Wowow in Spring 2016, The Player debuted in the US this month. Zoo will debut on Wowow later this year.

     

    The Player had its US network premiere on NBC on 24 September, 2015. The story tracks former FBI agent Alex Kane, who becomes a reluctant player in an age-old secret society’s perverse game of chance, where the stakes are measured in criminal acts and human lives.

     

    The lead cast of The Player includes Philip Winchester, Charity Wakefield, Damon Gupton and Wesley Snipes.

     

    The Player is written by John Rogers, who is also executive producer alongside John Davis, John Fox and director Bharat Nalluri. The series is produced by Kung Fu Monkey and Davis Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures Television.

     

    The CBS series Zoo will premiere exclusively in Japan beginning this New Year holiday season and will be presented as an ‘every night marathon,’ giving the audiences the opportunity to ‘binge view’ the popular program. Wowow will screen the 13-episode debut season over four nights – starting at 10 pm each night from 30 December to 3 January.

     

    Zoo, based on the #1 bestselling novel by James Patterson, is a global thriller about a wave of violent animal attacks against humans sweeping the planet. Among principal cast of Zoo are James Wolk, Kristen Connolly, Billy Burke, Nonso Anozie and Nora Arnezeder.

     

    Creators of Zoo are Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, who also serve as executive producers with Michael Katleman, James Mangold, Cathy Konrad, James Patterson, Bill Robinson, Leopoldo Gout and Steve Bowen. The series is produced by CBS Television Studios and the first season aired on CBS in the US Summer 2015.

  • Sony Pictures Television promotes Steve Mosko as chairman

    Sony Pictures Television promotes Steve Mosko as chairman

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television president Steve Mosko has promoted as the chairman of the company. 

     

    Mosko will continue to oversee all television operations for Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide. He will report to Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton.

     

    “Under Steve’s leadership, Sony Pictures Television has become the industry’s largest independent television studio. Our media networks business has expanded to over 150 channel feeds around the world and the company is well-positioned for growth in both production and distribution. Steve is a remarkable executive and we are proud to have him at the helm of Sony Pictures Television,” said Lynton. 

     

    Mosko added, “I am honored to be named chairman, and grateful to Michael, my colleagues at Sony Pictures, and to the incredible team at Sony Pictures Television, whose hard work and dedication has built the successful global business we have today.”

     

    A Sony Pictures Entertainment executive for more than two decades, Mosko oversees global television production, distribution of feature film and television content, and the studio’s international networks available in 180 countries, reaching more than 1.3 billion cumulative households worldwide, including Crackle, SPE’s video streaming service, and GSN, cable’s game show network.

     

    Mosko joined Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1992, and was named president of Sony Pictures Television in 2000. In this role, Mosko built on the studio’s syndication business, overseeing first-run and off-network program sales in more than 200 markets and supervising efforts of regional offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas.

  • Colors Infinity to launch amidst 25 city marketing blitzkrieg

    Colors Infinity to launch amidst 25 city marketing blitzkrieg

    MUMBAI: Moving towards a new horizon in the English entertainment space in the country, the soon to be launched Colors Infinity from Viacom18 stable is all set to break new ground by ushering in the growing trend of ‘Essential Viewing’ – An immersive experience of watching three continuous episodes of globally applauded narratives back to back. The channel is expected to launch by July end.

     

    The experience will be further augmented by the ‘First Indian Premiere’ of a new show every day of the week that includes critically acclaimed and multi-award winning series like Fargo, Orange Is The New Black, Better Call Saul, The Flash, amongst others. The channel has been co-curated by Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt, bringing in a great blend of finesse and insight to the channel through curating world class content.

     

    Viacom 18 Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats said, “In 2008 Viacom18 scripted the first few pages of its journey to establish its first milestone in Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Colors, thereafter disrupting the genre landscape. In 2015, we once again embark on a journey to recreate history, this time in the English entertainment space with Colors Infinity. Our first home grown English entertainment channel for India, through its many firsts, is all set to subvert convention in the genre through providing a consummate viewing experience.”  

     

    In unprecedented acquisition for the Indian market, the network has entered into major multi-year deals with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate, MGM, BBC and Endemol Shine amongst others.

     

    Viacom18 EVP and head English entertainment Ferzad Palia said, “Colors Infinity is ready to be the absolute for the best in English language entertainment with its handpicked international content and extensive multi genre offering. Adding to the immersive experience, the innovation of facilitating essential viewing is set to be a definitive game changer through inviting newer audience and growing the viewership pie.”

     

    Palia added, “Till September, we will telecast seasons already aired in the US and update Indian viewers, and then eventually when the new series starts in the US we will have simultaneous screenings. This is something which will stop people from illegal streaming. Fresh content was unavailable to them as channels were telecasting repeats even in the primetime so they were forced to take the pirated route. No one indulges piracy for fun, it’s just that they lack options.”

     

    Launched after a thorough research spanning over 24 months, the network has roped in four brands as launch partners viz. L’Oreal, Renault, Grey Goose and Intigriti. All these four brands will have presence on the channel post launch too.

     

    The launch will be backed by high decibel marketing campaign in over 25 cities across the country. Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt will play the anchor role and every promotional strategy will be orchestrated around them. The promo featuring the Kjo and Alia Bhatt will reverberate both on digital and television. “Most of the creative, promos, packaging, graphics have been created by our in-house creative team and I am delighted that we have such an innovative team who has won many global accolades,” informed Palia.

     

    Programming

     

    1) My Kitchen Rules: Every day, at 8 pm.

     

    2) The Flash Season 1: Three back to back episodes, every Monday at 9 pm.

     

    3)The Musketeers: Three back to back episodes, every Tuesday at 9 pm.

     

    4) Forever season 1: Three back to back episodes, every Wednesday at 9pm.

     

    5) The Big C: Three back to back episodes, every Thursday 9pm.

     

    6)The Orange Is The New Black: Three back to back episodes, every Friday at 9pm.

     

    7)Better Call Saul: Three back to back episodes, every Saturday at 9 pm.

     

    8) Fargo: Three back to back episodes, every Sunday at 9 pm.  

     

    The channel will have seven day programming instead of five. Not just this, the 8pm to 12 pm slot will be the primetime slot where original content will be premiered. “Colors Infinity will strictly avoid showing repeats in primetime and will offer viewers exquisite content,” concluded Palia.

  • Viacom18 bullish on English entertainment; launches Colors Infinity

    Viacom18 bullish on English entertainment; launches Colors Infinity

    MUMBAI: The English general entertainment channel (GEC) bouquet is set to get bigger with the launch of Viacom18’s Colors Infinity. The channel is in keeping with the network’s philosophy of growing and deepening its presence in the genres it is present in. 

     

    The to be launched channel will have both standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) feeds. With the addition of the new channel, Viacom18’s English entertainment channel bouquet will now have four offerings namely VH1, Comedy Central, Colors Infinity and Colors Infinity HD. 

     

    Even before its launch Colors Infinity has acquired 2000 hours of original content from across studios, including the likes of NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate, MGM, BBC, Endemol Shine and a host of other independent and small studios. “These are all multiyear deals,” said Viacom18 EVP head – English Entertainment Ferzad Palia. 

     

    Additionally, the new English GEC, which has spent close to a year and a half in curating content, will have shows from across genres like drama, comedy, super heroes, talent, lifestyle, action, mini-series and live events. 

     

    The channel, which aims to target approximately 30 million consumers countrywide, at the time of launch, is using a phase wise marketing strategy. The first of this is informing consumers about the channel by using the well entrenched ‘Colors’ brand name. 

     

    “Colors by far is perceived as a successful media brand. It is also known for its disruptive and progressive programming and that is what Colors Infinity is about. The idea behind using the name Colors Infinity is to build a broader base of people,” informed Palia. 

     

    For Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats, using the brand Colors is part of the network’s GEC approach. “If you look at our Hindi or regional channels, it is under the ‘Colors’ brand. So from a strategic perspective it fits well. Also Colors is a very urban and inspirational brand. It will have a lot of resonance and appeal with the right set of people that we want to reach out to,” said Vats. 

     

    The channel has roped in director-producer Karan Johar and actor Alia Bhatt as co-curators. The duo has worked closely with the channel on picking shows and giving insights on the programming. “Together the two of them have over 10 million Twitter followers and through them we plan to build relevance with a greater audience. They will be integrally involved with the marketing campaign as well,” said Palia. 

     

    Colors Infinity will not charge premium subscription for the channel and will work on the advertisement and subscription model. “The Indian market has so far not grown enough for channels to make money with just subscription. In the future, may be after cable starts billing and there is addressability, it may start generating revenue,” opined Vats. 

     

    Targeting viewers in the age group of 15 – 50 years, Colors Infinity is looking at a distinctive scheduling strategy. “It will be disruptive and something which has never been done in India before. We are mapping it the way a consumer would want to watch it,” informed Palia, adding that the content will comprise Indian television premieres. 

     

    While the network already has highly targeted channels in VH1, which is a pure music and lifestyle channel and Comedy Central, a comedy channel, both Vats and Palia feel that the viewership will not get cannibalized. “We are not here to eat from a small pie, we are here to grow the pie. In fact with time, we will have more switchers from competition channels than our own cluster,” asserted Palia.

     

    According to Vats, all the channels will co-exist. “Colors Infinity is a GEC, while the others are sharply targeted channels. This is how it is worldwide,” added Vats.  

     

    The growing English entertainment genre 

     

    According to Palia, this is the ‘Golden age of television.’ “The production of TV series in the US and UK was up 400 per cent in the past five years. This can be attributed to the growth of cable, over the top services and the aggressive nature of networks in the US and UK,” he opined. 

     

    Talking from an Indian market perspective, Palia said that English entertainment in India was now becoming main stream. “Close to 250 million Indians now are English literates, whereas 10 years ago, it was close to 25-30 million. It is the second language to most now,” he pointed out. 

     

    English entertainment genre currently reaches to 200 million consumers. “We have added 20 per cent viewers in the genre post DAS and our advertising revenue over the past five years has grown by 60 per cent. Not just this, close to 60 per cent of English entertainment consumption is coming from non-metros,” informed Palia. 

     

    Palia is of the opinion that from an advertiser’s perspective, the genre is lucrative as English entertainment consumers have 35 per cent higher disposable income. 

     

    Addressing the issue of ‘torent’ing, Palia said that the habit has been inculcated by broadcasters themselves. “We have forced consumers to go and download. Research shows that people do not download just because they want to watch content immediately after the US launch. The real reason is that they aren’t getting enough content that they should be. There is plethora of content that is not even brought to the country,” he said.

     

    While the shows are first aired in the US in September and go on till May, Palia points out that in India viewers have to wait for the first episode till May. “There is a huge time gap and through our new offering, we will be taking care of this aspect,” he informed. 

     

    According to Palia, the English entertainment genre has never really invited a much larger base of people who understand the language and are watching the content in their personal space and not on TV. “We want to be that channel, which takes the category to a larger audience. We are not going mass, but since English is now main stream, we are reaching out to a wider base,” concluded Palia.

  • HOOQ targets tier I Indian cities as early adopters; plans original series

    HOOQ targets tier I Indian cities as early adopters; plans original series

    MUMBAI: Come June and India will witness its first subscription based video-on-demand platform HOOQ.

     

    As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the platform will compete with over the top (OTT) players like Hotstar and Ditto TV amongst others. As a major differentiating factor, HOOQ will be providing content that has not been available before to Indian consumers and intends to target tier I cities in the country as early adopters. However, the app will be available to all smart phone users nationally. The service also offers content for all age groups.

     

    The OTT player is in the Indian market for the long haul. With a view to gather substantial number of users in the coming years, HOOQ is also looking at starting its own original series, a la Netflix, which had launched its exclusive made-for-web series House of Cards.

     

    In a conversation with this website about its readiness to improve the platform, HOOQ India head Krishnan Rajagopalan said, “We are constantly going to be evolving the product and the content based on user feedback. This is very much a company philosophy and it’s really up to the user to give us feedback. The better feedback you give, the better the product will be.”

     

    When queried whether the Indian audience is ready for a particular genre, which has more traction Rajagopalan said, “We are going to have different categories. The app will have all Indian languages and feeds and by the time we launch it will be more Indianised. It will be much more relevant, have genres that matter, top action, top rom-com; we will have it all.”

     

    Talking about the Indian market, Rajagopalan said that since India was a fascinating market, there are bound to be challenges. “This is a first product in its category. I don’t think there is anybody doing what we are doing, which is to offer premium content that is not there on ad supported platforms. So we are spending a lot of money, tens of millions on marketing, content and technology. A major challenge is that there will be a lot of consumer education required in the early days and we clearly need to have the right content. We need to have the right distribution partnerships to make it as convenient to the consumer as possible. Not necessarily a challenge, but there are steps that we need to take before we become ubiquitous.”

     

    While the company has not yet chalked out its marketing strategy, plans are to take ‘Go To Market’ (GTM) marketing route when the service’s commercial launch takes place in June.

     

    Speaking about Warner Bros’ association with HOOQ, Warner Bros general manager N Muthuram said, “Singtel will have a strategic presence in the Indian market with their partnership with Airtel. While we are licensed to HOOQ, we also have other local partners and we have been providing content to others as well. The deal with HOOQ is to have access to all of the content that is relevant to the consumer.”

     

    As reported earlier, the platform will have 10,000 movies and series from Hollywood, Bollywood and regional content for just Rs 199 a month. HOOQ is a joint venture with Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. It will provide content from international as well as local players and has already partnered with 60 local partners.

  • OTT player HOOQ makes India debut; prices subscription at Rs 199

    OTT player HOOQ makes India debut; prices subscription at Rs 199

    MUMBAI: Competing with over the top (OTT) players such as Star India’s Hotstar, BoxTV and Big Flix, Asian video-streaming service Hooq has made its Indian debut.

     

    As reported by last month by Indiantelevision.com, the OTT video service from Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Television was looking at expanding in the Asian region by launching in countries like India, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.

     

    While Hooq will officially go live in India in June, beta access will be available to select users beginning 27 May.

     

    Hooq’s one-month subscription will cost Rs 199 and consumers will be able to pay using credit card, debit card, cash card, internet banking as well as PayTM.

     

    “We are very excited to bring to Indian consumers the ultimate ad-free video-on-demand service at an amazingly low price.  HOOQ will offer India the largest and best catalogue of Hollywood and Indian content of any service available today,” said Hooq CEO Peter Bithos.

     

    Hooq will offer over 15,000 international and local titles to consumers in the country including the likes of Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Pulp Fiction, Nikita, Shield, Friends, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Chennai Express, Vishwaroopam, and Andaz Apna Apna.

     

    For the local content, the company has partnered with movie studios like Yash raj Films, Sun TV, UTV Disney, Rajshri, Reliance, Shemaroo, and Sri Balaji AP International amongst others. At launch, Hooq plans to offer over 10,000 videos including Bollywood, Tollywood and Kollywood movies along with TV shows.

     

    Hooq users will be able to access their account on five devices at any given point of time and stream content on two devices simultaneously. The ad free Hooq also offers download support for offline viewing. Movies can be streamed for an unlimited amount of time anytime and anywhere.

     

    Hooq is accessible over the web at hooq.tv as well as via official Android and iOS applications.

  • OTT video service HOOQ to launch in India soon

    OTT video service HOOQ to launch in India soon

    MUMBAI: Digital platforms are making giant strides across the globe and its ripples are being felt across India too. Even as Star India’s recently launched all-encompassing over-the-top (OTT) video service Hotstar takes a steady lead in India, a new player is soon slated to enter the market.

     

    HOOQ – the new over-the-top (OTT) service in Asia from Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Television will soon launch in India.

     

    HOOQ, now launched in the Philippines, delivers Hollywood blockbusters and television series, as well as popular local movies and programmes, to customers anytime, anywhere by enabling viewers to stream and download their favourite shows on their device of choice.

     

    Apart from India, HOOQ will start off by rolling out progressively in the Singtel Group’s Asian footprint, including the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.

     

    Additionally, HOOQ has joined hands with Quickplay’s managed video platform to power its services. Quickplay is providing HOOQ with a comprehensive multi-partner turn-key solution that enables service and content providers to deliver a superior unified viewing experience in the home and on the go.

     

    HOOQ has selected Quickplay’s managed services to operate the largest subscription based OTT service in Asia, leveraging Quickplay’s advanced virtual head-end, cloud economics and decade of experience in providing complex, multiscreen services for leading providers such as AT&T, Bell, and Verizon.

     

    HOOQ viewers across Asia will enjoy personalized experiences across all devices, platforms, mobile and WI-FI networks. 

     

    Quickplay will deliver the fully hosted premium OTT video solution, providing the largest library of multi-language content in Asia. The solution initially includes the secure streaming of over 10,000 movies and TV series of encoded and optimized Video-on-Demand (VOD) content and adaptive streaming.

     

    In addition, Quickplay’s managed services include DRM solutions by Microsoft PlayReady and Verimatrix, managed user entitlements by Evergent Technologies, and enriched content from premium content providers from North America (Hollywood) and Asia. QuickPlay, in partnership with Evergent, is providing a distinct feature that enables HOOQ to leverage Singtel Group’s extensive telco billing relationships across Asia, enabling consumers to employ a range of payments including mobile post-pay contracts and pre-paid credits. In emerging markets where credit card ownership is limited, this feature is a critical enabler to overall adoption and accessibility.

     

    “We are proud to enable this ground-breaking premium OTT video service for HOOQ. This is the largest OTT deployment of its kind in Asia – this level of scale and complexity is unmatched and is a service that Quickplay is uniquely positioned to deliver on. The HOOQ vision of securely bringing premium global and local content to Asian viewers – in the home or on the go – is truly disruptive and well aligned to Quickplay’s goal of enabling superior viewing experiences and providing the greatest choice of premium content to the most viewers, anytime, anywhere,” said Quickplay CEO and founder Wayne Purboo.

     

    “Quickplay was a clear choice for HOOQ when you are building a business that needs to scale up to a footprint covering over a billion people. Their proven market leadership and experience in powering premium video allows us to provide quality viewing experiences and seamless integration especially when working across emerging markets and multiple partners,” added HOOQ CEO Peter G. Bithos.

  • FRAPA appoints four format heavyweights to its general board

    FRAPA appoints four format heavyweights to its general board

    MUMBAI: The Management Board of FRAPA has announced the appointment of four new general board members: Mike Beale, ITV Studios’ executive vice-president of global development and formats; Lisette van Diepen, Sony Pictures Television’s vice-president of acquisitions; Grant Ross, Zodiak Media’s executive vice-president of global creative development and format acquisition; and Michael Schmidt, Red Arrow Entertainment Group’s chief creative officer.

     

    UFA Show & Factual CEO Ute Biernat has also been named as a lifetime FRAPA Ambassador in recognition of her 15-year contribution to the Association, which included a seven-year stint as FRAPA chair.

     

    Under Biernat’s tenure, FRAPA underwent a successful rebranding and restructuring programming, launching several new initiatives and expanding its suite of services to reflect the format industry’s rapidly evolving needs.

     

    The expansion of the general board follows last week’s announcement that Phil Gurin, president and CEO of The Gurin Company, and Jan Salling, chief operating officer and managing director of sales and acquisitions for Nordic World, have been named the new co-chairs of FRAPA. The appointment of four high-profile format executives signals Gurin and Salling’s determination to transition FRAPA into a dynamic new era, while intensifying its efforts to build a global community for, and serve as the mouthpiece of, today’s billion-dollar formats industry.

     

    Phil Gurin added: “Mike, Lisette, Grant and Michael bring to FRAPA a depth of experience and a knowledge of the global formats business that will be invaluable to us as we move into the next phase of our development. Not only are all four at the top of their game professionally, but they are also deeply committed to helping us build a fairer, safer, better regulated environment for the creation and trade of formats. Jan and I would also like to thank Ute for her tireless work on behalf of FRAPA. She has been a quiet inspiration to us all and we are delighted she will continue to fly the flag for FRAPA as a lifetime Ambassador.”

     

    Commenting on her appointment as FRAPA Ambassador, Ute Biernat said: “FRAPA is a unique organisation that has played a pivotal role in growing the formats business from a small sideshow to the main event of television into a billion-dollar global industry. I am delighted to have been a part of that journey and will continue to protect and promote our vibrant yet still vulnerable industry in my new role as FRAPA Ambassador.”

     

    Other board changes to have taken place in the recent restructuring include the appointment of Keri Lewis Brown, K7 Media’s managing director, to the FRAPA management board, where she takes over from Biernat. The FRAPA management board now consists of Gurin, Salling, Lewis Brown and FRAPA co-founder David Lyle, whose television career spans 30 years, 20 countries and top executive positions for National Geographic Channels, Fox and FremantleMedia.

     

    Beale, Van Diepen, Ross and Schmidt join existing FRAPA general board members Nicolas Smirnoff, director of Prensario Internacional, and Vivian Yin, chief representative and deputy general manager of Star China International Media.

     

    Biernat is the second FRAPA ambassador to have been appointed by the general board. The honour, which was first conferred on Robert Chua, CEO of The Interactive Channel, is awarded to leading industry figures whose time, knowledge and dedication has resulted in significant progress, projects or initiatives to the benefit of the global business.

     

  • Sony Pictures Television acquires Netherlands’ Film 1 channels

    Sony Pictures Television acquires Netherlands’ Film 1 channels

    NEW DELHI: Sony Pictures Television Networks (SPT) has acquired the Film1 group in the Netherlands from Liberty Global.

     

    Under the deal, SPT will fully own and operate the five premium pay-TV channels under the Film1 umbrella along with its Film1 Go service, pending regulatory approval.

     

    The five Film1 channels include Film1 Premiere, Film1 Action, Film1 Comedy & Kids, Film1 Spotlight and Film1 Sundance, as well as the Film1 Go OTT service.

     

    All five Film1 channels will continue to be carried on Liberty Global’s Ziggo and UPC cable tv platforms in the Netherlands.

     

    “The acquisition of Film1 marks a key move  into the Dutch market and underlines our continued commitment to grow our highly successful and diverse suite of channels across Europe. Film1 complements and expands our successful Networks portfolio and we are looking forward to working with all our partners to continue to build on the success of the Film1 proposition,” said SPT executive vice president, Networks, Western Europe Kate Marsh.

     

    “When approaching the sale of Film1 as part of the group’s acquisition of Ziggo, we wanted to ensure the new owner would be focused on building on a strong portfolio of channels. We are pleased that Film1 will be in good hands under Sony’s ownership,” added Liberty Global media investments group president Niall Curran.