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Tag: Sony Le Plex HD

  • Sony Pictures launches Sony Le Plex HD for discerning English movie-watching audiences (+Video interview with EVP & Business Head Saurabh Yagnik)

    Sony gives a ‘Plex’ experience

     

    By Anuka Roy

     

    Video Interview by Santosh Jangid

    On Tuesday August 23, Sony Le Plex HD, a Hollywood movie channel from Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited, was launched. The channel will cater to audiences who seek entertainment not just from mainstream Hollywood movies but beyond.

     

    The channel has programming properties like Le Premiere, wherein one can enjoy a premiere every week. One can watch 52 premieres in the 52 weeks of the year.

     

    With a plethora of English movie channels in existence and some networks offering multiple channels, what was the reason behind launching it now? Said Saurabh Yagnik, EVP and Business Head, English Cluster, Sony Pictures Networks India: “We feel the business proposition and the time is right. It is good that competition is also launched. I do not think we make our moves purely by competitive.”

     

    “In terms of marketing it is about, the focus is on bringing alive the product. But we are not just about great movies; we are about the total experience which we call the Le Plex experience. The Le Plex proposition leverages highly on bringing alive the plex elements in the programme of the channel and we believe that brands cannot be driven by product alone, you need to have a community that backs it together and that is what differentiates the brand. The whole focus will be on creating community which helps build this brand,” said Yagnik about the marketing strategy.

     

    The channel will showcase movies in different slots. In its Le Premiere slot, the channel will showcase Indian television premieres of movies like Spotlight (Academy Award winner for – Best Motion Picture and Best Original Screenplay for 2016), Ex Machina, Foxcatcher and Straight Outta Compton, amongst others. The Magicians slot will showcase the movies and the magic that happens behind the camera of critically acclaimed movies such as The Inglourious Basterds, Schindler’s List, Taxi Driver, Gladiator, Philadelphia and many more. Speaking about how they chose the content and the concept of putting movies in different slots, Yagnik said, “There were a lot of focus groups that we did across key markets. We did a qualitative and quantitative work. We looked at various other data points. Then we based our strategy on that.”

     

    Writer and Director Zoya Akhtar is the Community Ambassador for the channel. Available in High Definition (HD), Sony Le Plex HD launched yesterday (Aug 23) across direct-to-home (DTH) and digital cable platforms. The channel will be promoted across various channels of Sony Pictures Networks, DTH platform, coupled with print, a digital and social media presence to engage with audiences at different touchpoints.