Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited,
doing business as
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN or SPNI), is an Indian media conglomerate owned by
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...
.
Culver Max Entertainment manages and operates 26 television channels, the streaming media platform
SonyLIV
SonyLIV is an Indian over-the-top freemium streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it is carrying content from its local networks, includi ...
, as well as the television studio Studio NEXT and film studio Sony Pictures International Productions.
History
It was founded on September 18, 1995 as Sony Entertainment Television India Private Limited (SET India Pvt Ltd.). The first channel from the company was
Sony Entertainment Television
Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel, that was launched on 30 September 1995, and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese Sony.
SET India's You ...
.
In 1999, SET India Pvt Ltd., launched its second channel
Sony Max
Sony Max (known popularly as Set Max) is an Indian pay television entertainment channel which is a sister channel to Sony Entertainment Television, operated by Culver Max Entertainment. The channel started broadcasting on 20 July 1999 and is a ...
which broadcast Hindi movies and sports events along with Sony Entertainment Television. In 2005, SET India Network bought SAB TV from Sri Adhikari Brothers and rebranded as
Sony SAB
Sony SAB (formerly SAB TV) is an Indian pay television channel owned by Culver Max Entertainment.
History
Sony SAB was launched as SAB TV by Gautam Adhikari and Markand Adhikari under their company Sri Adhikari Brothers (thus the acronym) on ...
. In 2006 SET India launched the English movie channel
Sony Pix.
In December 2007, SET India Private Limited was renamed as Multi Screen Media Private Limited.
In December 2015, the company was renamed as Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN).
On 22 September 2021,
Zee Entertainment Enterprises
Zee Entertainment Enterprises (formerly Zee Telefilms) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by Essel Group. Headquartered in Mumbai, it has interests in television, print, internet, film, businesses related to mobile contents, and operates 45 ...
announced that it had reached an agreement in principle to merge its television networks, production operations, digital assets, and program libraries with SPN; the combined company would be majority-owned by Sony, and led by Zee CEO Punit Goenka. On 21 December 2021, the two companies reached a definitive agreement to merge; it was stated that the combined company "should be well-positioned to meet the growing consumer demand for premium content across entertainment touchpoints and platform
"
In April 2022, SPN changed its corporate name to Culver Max Entertainment (taking its name and logo from a vanity production company used for the Sony/
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
...
animated series ''
The Spectacular Spider-Man
''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics.
Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
''); the name is used exclusively by the holding company, with Sony Pictures Networks continuing to be used as the consumer-facing brand.
On 24 October 2022, all of Sony's networks (with the exception of Sony BBC Earth) underwent a rebranding coinciding with
Diwali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...
, replacing the cropped "S" logo used by SET since its launch with the S-curve logo template used by Sony's television networks since 2019, and first used locally by SonyLIV.
Sports
The network forayed into the Indian sports TV market in 2002 after acquiring the licence rights for
International Cricket Council (ICC) matches from 2002 to 2007, which were broadcast on SET and Sony MAX. In 2008, along with Singapore-based
World Sport Group
Headquartered in Singapore, World Sport Group was a sports marketing, event management and media company in Asia, with a roster of golf, association football and cricket events. World Sport Group manages almost 600 days of sports events annually ...
, it won the broadcast rights for the
IPL
The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...
for 10 years. In April 2012, it launched its first sports channel
Sony SIX
Sony Sports Ten 5 (formerly Sony Six) is an Indian English-language pay television sports channel operated by Culver Max Entertainment. It is part of the Sony Sports Network.
History
Sony SIX was launched in April 2012 by Sony Pictures Networ ...
. In August 2016, SPN acquired the
TEN Sports
Sony Sports Network, formerly Sony Pictures Sports Network, and also known as Sony TEN, is a group of Indian pay television sports channels owned by Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India).
The original TEN Sports chan ...
networks from Zee Entertainment Enterprises for $385 million, with the networks rebranded in 2017 under the "Sony TEN" brand, and integrated with Sony Six and Sony ESPN.
General entertainment
In the widespread entertainment category, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) and Sony SAB are the network's premier channels. Offering content from SET and Sony SAB is
Sony Pal
Sony Pal (stylised as Sony पल) (Hindi for Moment) is an Indian pay television channel that was launched on 1 September 2014. It was initially aimed at women with women-oriented Hindi language, Hindi-language programming, now focused on famil ...
, a channel targeted towards rural Hindi-speaking markets.
Sony YAY!
Sony YAY! is an Indian pay television channel aimed at children, operated by Culver Max Entertainment. The channel created for age groups between 6 and 14. The channel primarily airs foreign animated series and some animes in native languages. ...
is a kids’ entertainment channel that airs several shows in regional languages.
The network also has a joint venture with
BBC Earth
BBC Earth is a brand used by BBC Studios since 2009 to market and distribute the BBC's natural history content to countries other than the United Kingdom. BBC Studios is the commercial arm of the public service broadcaster.
BBC Earth commercia ...
to showcase non-fictional programming via
Sony BBC Earth
Sony BBC Earth is an Indian pay television channel owned by BBC Studios and Culver Max Entertainment. The channel broadcasts BBC programming in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu through its four audio tracks available. The BBC entered into a join ...
.
Sony Aath
Sony AATH is an Indian Bengali-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Culver Max Entertainment, with programming mostly consisting of television series from SET India dubbed in Bengali. It was launched in 2009 as Channel ...
is a premium Bangla entertainment channel centered on showcasing series, films, animated shows and sports events produced or dubbed in Bengali.
Sony Marathi
Sony Marathi is an Indian pay television channel that broadcasts programming in Marathi. It was launched on 19 August 2018 and is owned and operated by Culver Max Entertainment.
Current broadcast Drama series (Mon-Sat)
Reality shows
Upcomi ...
is a Marathi channel aimed at the Maharashtra audience.
Owned channels
On air channels
Defunct channels
Streaming platform
In January 2013, the network forayed into video-on-demand with the launch of its OTT platform,
SonyLIV
SonyLIV is an Indian over-the-top freemium streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it is carrying content from its local networks, includi ...
. Its library consists of content from the network's channels in India such as SET and Sony SAB, alongside originals such as, Gullak, LIV Shout Out and Holycross. Apart from archival and regional content, movie premieres, short films and LIVE sports are also a part of SonyLIV's offerings.
The platform has crossed 109 million app downloads.
Movies
Sony Max
Sony Max (known popularly as Set Max) is an Indian pay television entertainment channel which is a sister channel to Sony Entertainment Television, operated by Culver Max Entertainment. The channel started broadcasting on 20 July 1999 and is a ...
and
Sony Max 2
Sony Max 2 is an Indian pay television channel owned by Culver Max Entertainment and launched in 2014. It is the second Indian channel launched by Sony which is focused solely on old Hindi-language movie broadcasts, being the sister channel ...
offer Hindi cinema to viewers. Sony MAX showcases world premieres, while Sony MAX HD focuses to Indian viewers who prefer a high definition viewing experience. Sony MAX 2 caters to viewers who appreciate evergreen Indian cinema.
Alongside these, the network offers
Sony Pix basing its programming on Hollywood films and
Sony WAH
Sony Max (known popularly as Set Max) is an Indian pay television entertainment channel which is a sister channel to Sony Entertainment Television, operated by Culver Max Entertainment. The channel started broadcasting on 20 July 1999 and is a ...
, which was a Free To Air movie channel but recently switched back as a paid channel.
Sony Pictures International Productions
Set up in 2013, Sony Pictures International Productions (SPIP) is the film production arm of the network. It produces cinema for Indian diaspora audiences worldwide. Since 2015, SPIP has produced and distributed films such as
*''
Bajatey Raho''
*''
Darr @ the Mall''
*''
Youngistaan
''Youngistaan'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language political film directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal. It stars Jackky Bhagnani, Neha Sharma and Farooq Sheikh with Kayoze Irani appears in a special appearance and Boman Irani appears in a cameo appearan ...
''
*''
Piku
''Piku'' is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Shoojit Sircar and produced by N. P. Singh, Ronnie Lahiri and Sneha Rajani. It stars Deepika Padukone as the titular protagonist, Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan, with Mous ...
''
*''
Chalk n Duster
''Chalk n Duster'' is a 2016 Indian drama film about commercialization of the Indian private education system, starring Shabana Azmi, Juhi Chawla, Zarina Wahab, Girish Karnad and Divya Dutta. The film talks about teachers' and students' communic ...
''
*''
Azhar''
*''
Maacher Jhol
''Maacher Jhol'' is an Indian language Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali film produced by Sony Pictures Networks and Mojo Productions directed by Pratim D. Gupta, starring Ritwick Chakraborty, Paoli Dam and Mamata Shankar in the lead roles. It is ...
''
*''
Mubarakan
''Mubarakan'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Anees Bazmee. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor (in a dual role), Ileana D'Cruz, Athiya Shetty, Neha Sharma, Karan Kundra and Ratna Pathak Shah in the lea ...
''
*''
Poster Boys
''Poster Boys'' is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Shreyas Talpade in his directorial debut. The film features Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Shreyas Talpade along with Sonali Kulkarni, Samikssha Batnagar ...
''
*''
Padman''
*''
102 Not Out''
*''
Soorma''
*''
Bombairiya''
*''
Ghoomketu
''Ghoomketu'' is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film written and directed by Pushpendra Nath Misra. The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ragini Khanna, Anurag Kashyap, Ila Arun, Raghuvir Yadav and Brijendra Kala in the main lead rol ...
''
*''
Shakuntala Devi
Shakuntala Devi (4 November 1929 – 21 April 2013) was an Indian mental calculator and writer, popularly known as the "Human Computer". Her talent earned her a place in the 1982 edition of ''The Guinness Book of World Records''. However, ...
''
*''
Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
''
*''
Dial 100''
*''
Looop Lapeta
''Looop Lapeta'' is 2022 Indian Hindi-language comedy thriller film directed by Aakash Bhatia and jointly produced by Sony Pictures Films India, Ellipsis Entertainment and Aayush Maheshwari. An official adaptation of the award-winning German ...
''
*''
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
''
*''
Nikamma
''Nikamma'' () is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Sabbir Khan. It is a remake of the 2017 Telugu film Middle Class Abbayi, ''Middle Class Abbayi'' and stars Abhimanyu Dassani, Shirley Setia and Shilpa Shetty. ''Nika ...
''
The upcoming films from SPIP include ''
Maaveeran
''Maaveeran'' () is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Rajasekhar. A remake of the 1985 Hindi film '' Mard'', it stars Rajinikanth, Ambika and Jaishankar. The film revolves around a rude princess, who falls in love with a si ...
'', ''
Shaktimaan
Shaktimaan is an Indian Hindi-language superhero television show, created by Mukesh Khanna that aired on DD National from 13 September 1997 to 27 March 2005.
Producer Mukesh Khanna played the role of Shaktimaan and his alter ego "Pandit Gang ...
'', ''Kaash Aisa Hota'', ''Aankh Micholi'', ''Advait, Dive'' and among others.
Studio NEXT
An independent business unit of SPNI, Studio NEXT creates original content and IPs for television and digital media within India and globally. The venture began its journey by producing the debutant season of ''
Kus Bani Koshur Karorpaet
''Kus Bani Koshur Karorpaet'' () is an Indian Kashmiri-language television game show based on '' Kaun Banega Crorepati''. It premiered on 29 April 2019. It had its finale episode aired on 6 July 2019. It is hosted by Rayees Mohiuddin. The show is ...
'', the
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
adaptation of ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
'' but like other
vernacular Indian adaptations, structured more in line with Indian flagship, national adaptation in ''
Kaun Banega Crorepati
''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' (also simply known as ''KBC'') is an Indian Hindi-language television game show. It is the official Hindi adaptation of the ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' franchise. It has been presented by actor Amitabh Bachchan ...
''. Going forward, Studio NEXT will continue to produce new IPs whilst leveraging the existing ones under
Sony Entertainment
Sony Entertainment, Inc. is an American entertainment company established in 2012. It focuses on most of Sony's motion picture, television and music businesses. It is a subsidiary of the Japanese Sony Group Corporation, managed by Sony's America ...
ownership.
Corporate social responsibility
'Ek India Happywala' is the call-to-action under which the network guides its contribution towards society. To create change in society, it focuses on 3 impact areas - Environment, Education and Empowerment.
The network associates itself with several NGOs such as Krida Vikas Sanstha, Cricket Association for the Blind of Maharashtra (CABM)
and ConnectEd Technologies to name a few, and undertakes initiatives such as providing clean drinking water to drought-affected areas in Maharashtra
and supporting upcoming Indian athletes with equipment and training required to compete at international events among a few.
International presence and distribution reach
SPNI reaches out to over 700M viewers across India and is available in 167 countries.
See also
*
Sony India
Sony India Pvt. Ltd., based in New Delhi, is the Indian subsidiary of Japan's Sony corporation, headquartered in Tokyo.
Sony's principal Indian businesses include Marketing, Sales and After-Sales Service of electronic products & software e ...
*
Sony Pictures Sports Network
Sony Sports Network, formerly Sony Pictures Sports Network, and also known as Sony TEN, is a group of Indian pay television sports channels owned by Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India).
The original TEN Sports ch ...
*
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...
**
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...
*
Sony Group Corporation
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
Notes and references
{{Sony Corp
Television broadcasting companies of India
Mass media companies based in Mumbai
Indian companies established in 1995
Mass media companies established in 1995
Indian subsidiaries of foreign companies
1995 establishments in Maharashtra
Television networks in India