Sony Pictures Networks India is set with seven new shows for global audience across all ages, produced by YAY! Animations.
Said Leena Lele Dutta, Business Head, Kids and Animation – Sony Pictures Networks India: “At Sony Pictures Networks India, we’re dedicated to pushing creative boundaries, and our animation slate embodies that commitment. We see animation as a universal medium of storytelling that transcends borders resonating across all age groups. All shows are a celebration of captivating narratives, where every frame is an imaginative canvas and every character a vessel of emotion. With this creative venture, we aim to redefine storytelling through animation and inspire hearts globally.”
Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India has bagged the exclusive media rights to broadcast the Saudi Pro League 2022-2023. As part of the deal, the broadcaster will get the exclusive rights to televise the league across the Indian subcontinent – India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan & Sri Lanka and non-exclusively in Afghanistan. The partnership will also give SPN the rights to live-stream all the matches on its premium OTT platform, SonyLIV.
Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) has bagged the exclusive television rights to broadcast the India tour of Bangladesh 2022 (Men’s Cricket).
Said Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India: “It gives us immense pleasure to present fans with Team India’s final series before ending a successful year of cricket. India’s overseas record under the leadership of Rohit Sharma has been remarkable, and we hope to witness the same success in Bangladesh. With this series, we aim to continue providing fans with non-stop cricket action.”
Added Nizam Uddin Chowdhury, Chief Executive Officer, Bangladesh Cricket Board: “We are happy to note that Sony Sports Network has acquired the broadcast rights for India’s tour of Bangladesh 2022. Sony Sports Network is among the industry leaders, and I am sure the broadcast quality and standards will be befitting of a much-anticipated series like this one.”
Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) has bagged the exclusive media rights to broadcast the 2022-23 season of the DFB-Pokal. The broadcaster will get the exclusive rights to televise the league across the Indian subcontinent – India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. The partnership will also give SPN the rights to live-stream all the matches on onyLIV.
Beginning with the 2nd Round which kicks off today (October 18), SPN’s sports channels will broadcast the main part of this year’s DFB-Pokal season. The competition brings together 64 teams from multiple leagues across Germany, including Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and 3rd Division as well as lower tier regional leagues. The title of the DFB-Pokal holds importance at the European conference level, as the winner secures qualification into the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.
Notes a communique: “The 80th edition of the DFB-Pokal will witness reigning champions RB Leipzig defend their maiden title against some of the greatest German teams. Fans will also get a chance to witness one of the most revered Spanish footballing legends, Xabi Alonso, take the mantle of manager for Bayer Leverkusen. DFB-Pokal’s most successful team, Bayern Munich is off to a good start and with the inclusion of star player Sadio Mane, they will look forward to replicating their Bundesliga form in this league.”
Sony BBC Earth launched a 360-degree campaign titled ‘Make every moment meaningful’ and a wide range of activities to celebrate five years of completion. As a part of the campaign, the channel launched a user-generated contest titled #5YearsOfLife on Instagram giving people a chance to share how they have added meaning to someone’s life via reels using the brand audio.
Said Tushar Shah, ‘Chief Marketing Officer and Business Head – English Cluster and Sony AATH, Sony Pictures Networks: “Guided by our consumer understanding and insights, we wanted to create a brand which when coupled with our core values would be a breakthrough in the factual entertainment space. As we complete five years of Sony BBC Earth, we are happy to see our vision come to life. With the strengths of both its partners, including top-notch content, esteemed brand equity, and distribution genius, the channel has always added meaning to the life of its viewers. We hope to continue entertaining the audiences and add meaning to every moment they spend with us.”
The IBF Board has elected Star and Disney India’s Managing Director K Madhavan as the Foundation’s new President. Madhavan will succeed NP Singh, India MD and CEO, Sony Pictures Networks, who held the position for two years.
The IBF Board has also elected the following officebearers of IBF:
Vice President-IBF
:: Rajat Sharma, Vice President-IBF and Chairman, India TV
:: Siddharth Jain, Managing Director (South Asia), Turner International
:: Rahul Joshi, Managing Director, Viacom18
Treasurer-IBF
:: Shashi S. Vempati, CEO, Prasar Bharati
Said Madhavan: “It is my honour to lead IBF at a time when the Indian broadcasting sector is going through a tumultuous time, battling the pandemic and instability in the regulatory space. IBF has played an instrumental role in advocating the interests of the sector, and my predecessors have contributed immensely in evolving the foundation’s stature and purpose. I take on this role with a great sense of responsibility and commitment to champion the cause of the broadcasting sector.”
Said outgoing IBF President N P Singh: “I am pleased that someone of the caliber of K. Madhavan is taking over the reins and will lead the foundation. I welcome his selection wholeheartedly. His in-depth knowledge and insights into the sector will help guide the foundation members through these challenging times. I wish him the best in this new endeavor.”
K Madhavan has been an active member of IBF since 2012 and is also the Chair of CII’s National Committee on media and entertainment for the ongoing year. He started his journey with Star in 2009 and took over as the Managing Director of the Network in January 2020.
The other Directors on the IBF Board are as under:
:: Aroon Purie, Chairman, TV Today
:: N P Singh, MD & CEO, Sony Pictures Networks and Director, Bangla Entertainment
:: I Venkat, Director, Eenadu TV Ltd
:: Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, Zee Media Corp
:: Punit Misra, CEO-Domestic Broadcast Business, Zee Entertainment
:: Rohit Gupta, President (Network Sales and International Business), Sony Pictures Networks
:: Uday Shankar, President, The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and Chairman, Star and Disney India
:: Megha Tata, Managing Director (South Asia), Discovery Communications India (Co-opted Director)
:: John Brittas, Managing Director & Chief Editor, Malayalam Communications Ltd (Co-opted Director)
The digital business of Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) will be led by Danish Khan. Well, we know that already.
Ashish Golwalkar
But on Wednesday, it was announced that Ashish Golwalkar, who has led the content portfolio for SET, has been given additional responsibility of SonyLIV. Effective immediately, he will manage content for both SET and SonyLIV as Head – Content, SET & Digital Business.
Aman Srivastava
Meanwhile, Aman Srivastava will move to SonyLIV as Head – Marketing, Digital Business and Amogh Dusad as Head – Programming and New Initiatives, Digital Business will handle Strategic Planning, Operations, Viewership Management and Analytics for SonyLIV.
Also, Amit Raisinghani has been elevated to Head – Business Planning and Communications, SET. In this new role, reporting to Danish Khan, Raisinghani will be responsible for Marketing, On Air Promotions and the Communications portfolio along with Programming Strategy, Insights and Operations.
Sony Pictures Networks has acquired the exclusive media rights for the world’s first professional franchise-based motorsport league, X1 Racing League along with the media rights for X1 Racing eSports. The inaugural edition of X1 Racing League will be held in Delhi and Chennai over two weekends – Weekend 1 from November 30 to December 1, 2019 and Weekend 2 from December 7 to 8, 2019. X1 Racing eSports, which kicked off on October 7 and will continue till November 17, 2019, is also being held across six cities – Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi
Said Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks: “Motorsport is a great televised sport and has a niche but dedicated following in India that has been growing steadily over the past few years. We are the official broadcasters of premier international motorsport properties like MotoGP and Formula E and the addition of the X1 Racing League, an Indian motorsport league, to Sony Pictures Networks’ portfolio will give audiences a strong local connect. Adding to this, X1 Racing League and X1 Racing eSports have a unique format that is designed to appeal to our audiences.”
Added Armaan Ebrahim, Co-Founder, X1 Racing: “We are thrilled to have Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited on board as our broadcast partners. Over the years they have had a great head start in effectively showcasing some of the best in sports from across unique formats. Motorsport and esport are fast-growing niche sectors seeing a brand new level of interest in India. The response so far to the X1 Racing eSports debut season has been highly encouraging and with this partnership with Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited we have a wonderful opportunity to further fulfill our vision to make motorsport more accessible.”
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) recently partnered with the Cricket Association for the Blind of Maharashtra (CABM), for the state level cricket tournament for the blind in Mumbai. Under its umbrella CSR theme ‘Ek India Happywala’, SPN extends its support and encouragement towards India’s differently-abled and high-spirited sportsmen.
Said Rajkumar Bidawatka, Head of CSR, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN): “We at Sony Pictures Networks India, consistently strive towards creating an inclusive society. Our aim is to be catalysts of growth and success, for India’s differently abled sportspersons. It gives us immense pride to partner with the Cricket Association for the Blind of Maharashtra to provide a platform to encourage the spirit of true sportsmanship. This is an opportunity to enable rising stars within the state to hone their cricketing skills and unlock their potential to go #BeyondBoundaries.”
Added Ramakant Satam, Secretary, Cricket Association for the Blind of Maharashtra: “Partnering with Sony Pictures Networks India has always been an exhilarating experience. This association brings alive the synergy in our goals and strengthens our belief of empowering India’s youth to become independent. We look forward to partnering with SPN for future endeavors.”
Sneha Rajani, Head of Sony Pictures Networks (SPN’s) film production division, has quit the organisation. She has been instrumental in launching Sony Max, the leading Hindi movie channel. In addition, Rajani played a key role in shaping the diversity agenda of SPN, enabling an inclusive work environment.
Said NP Singh, Managing Director & CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN): “At an organisational level, Sneha’s contributions have been game changing. She has successfully chaperoned the organization’s growth from launching Sony Max, India’s leading Hindi movies channel to leading our flagship channel, SET, and establishing SPN’s theatrical division – SPNP and many more. She has been an active crusader for dignity and has led the diversity team at SPN, shaping the organization into a truly inclusive workplace. Her dedication and commitment to the organisation’s cause has been unflinching and symbolic of her loyalty. Sneha’s exit later next month will leave a large void in SPN’s management team. My best wishes are with her.”
Rohit Gupta, President, Sony Pictures Networks was unanimously elected the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Advertising Standards Counciil of India (ASCI) at the Board meeting following the 33rd Annual General Meeting of ASCI. Subhash Kamath, Managing Partner, BBH Communications India Pvt Ltd was elected the Vice-Chairman and Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands was re-appointed Honorary Treasurer.
Recalling his year at ASCI, the outgoing Chairman D Shivakumar, said: “ASCI is a voluntary job and a board led organisation. When I set out last year as the Chairman I had three objectives laid out. The first was to increase our membership base, the second to go digital and third to create awareness among consumers. Now thanks to the MIB directive our awareness has increased immensely, our WhatsApp number has seen a 3X increase in daily messages. We have increased our member base by 10%, our new members representing e-commerce, food & beverage, automotive sectors joining ASCI. ASCIs digital marketing campaigns would further boost awareness as well as compliance. I wish Rohit and the board the best for the year ahead.
Added Gupta: “I am honoured to accept this role and look forward to the year ahead. With the inclusion of the internet into our everyday life and the constant evolution in the digital space, I feel that synchronizing ASCIs efforts in the Digital space will be our key focus for the year. The Council has covered a lot of ground in addressing the need for self-regulation in the digital medium and work is progressing rapidly to address that need. Additionally, we will continue our efforts to strengthen relationships with stakeholders in the year ahead.
Sony Pictures Networks has retained the exclusive media rights for the premier mixed martial arts promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) till 2023. The extended partnership with UFC will help SPN to build on the popularity of combat sports in the Indian subcontinent.
Said Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India: “UFC is the gold standard for the sport of MMA across the globe and features the highest level of talent in their roster. Over the past few years, we have seen a steady growth in consumption of the sport and around 100 million viewers watched UFC on Indian television in 2018. UFC has garnered a dedicated fan base over the past few years and is one of the most watched fight sports properties in India. To meet the growing demand for UFC content, we will telecast both live events and non-live content on the SONY TEN 2 channels.”
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) recently partnered with the Cricket Association for the Blind of Maharashtra (CABM), for the state level cricket tournament for the blind in Mumbai. Under its umbrella CSR theme ‘Ek India Happywala’, SPN extends its support and encouragement towards India’s differently-abled and high-spirited sportsmen.