Sony to launch UK’s first free-to-air movie network, rebranding existing channels
Sony Pictures Television will launch the UK’s first free-to-air movie network, titled Sony Movies Network, as it rebrands its existing entertainment networks in the UK to form one cohesive Sony-branded portfolio.
Sony to launch UK’s first free-to-air movie network, rebranding existing channels
The network will officially launch on September 10, 2019, and will combine Sony Movies, Sony Movies Action, Sony Movies Classic and Sony Movies Christmas to form the Sony Movies network.
Contemporaneously, the Sony-owned channel True Entertainment will be rebranded as Sony Channel.
The change comes as Sony attempts to unify all of its disparate channels under one simpler brand. Consumers will be able to satisfy their movie appetite, whatever the taste, with an eclectic collection of films from heart-tugging rom-coms on Sony Movies Classic to adrenaline-pumping blockbusters on Sony Movies Action.
All channels will be available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media with a new modern and cinematic design alongside a pool of impressive content such as Hitch, Air Force One, Vanilla Sky and Bad Boys. And on top of that, the network will feature exclusive themed Showtime Sundays and Friday Night Film Club.
Sony Movies Classic, which will draw from Sony Pictures’ storied and extensive Columbia Pictures movie library, will debut later than the other channels in January of 2020. It will showcase iconic titles from the history of movie-making including Kramer vs Kramer, Gandhi, Oliver! and more.
The new network arrives as Sony Pictures Television celebrates a 16% climb in YOY revenue during the first quarter of 2019. The $315m it reports is a notable rise from the $267m secured over the same period last year.