Sony Channel Russia or Sony Pictures Television Russia was the Russian branch of international
pay television
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
Sony Channel
Sony Channel is a brand of general entertainment television channels, owned by Sony Pictures Television. It was previously known as Sony Entertainment Television (SET), but many of the channels, except the Indian television channel, were rebrand ...
, broadcasting TV shows and movies on air in Russia. Sony Channel provides television content from Sony Pictures as well as third-party distributors. Sony channel also provides a special original content commissioned by locals and global parties. It is a division of Sony Pictures Television Inc. (SPT), a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. The portfolio of SPT Networks reaches over 2 billion viewers around the world broadcasting in 178 countries worldwide and includes over 150 entertainment channels.
Specifically, Sony Channel Russia broadcasts regionally to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
,
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
, and
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...
.
History
Originally founded in 2000 producing Russian market TV-series, Sony Pictures Television Russia was called Lean-M Productions before a majority stake acquisition from Sony Pictures Television in 2007. Lean-M is now owned entirely by Sony Pictures Television Russia.
In February 2018, Sony Corp. production studio, Sony Pictures Television, and Russian media holding company National Media Group (NMG) set up a joint venture to operate Sony's paid television channels in Russia. NMG said it would acquire 80 percent in a company broadcasting Sony channels in Russia. NMG did not disclose financial details of the transaction. NMG acquired 80% of the following channels:
* Sony Sci-Fi
* Sony Entertainment Television (Russia)
* Sony Turbo
Sony Channel (Russia) is currently managed by Vladmir Utin (Chief Operating Officer) and Mikhail Rossolko (Chief Creative Officer).
Content
Sony channel (Russia) operates three channels: Sony Sci-Fi, Sony Entertainment Television, and Sony Turbo. Sony Sci-Fi was launched in Russia in 2007 as AXN-Sci-Fi and in 2013 it changed its name to Sony Sci-Fi. Its content includes sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, and adventure fiction. In 2009, Sony Entertainment Television was launched in hopes of attracting a female audience. Then in 2012 Sony Turbo was launched with the male audience in mind.
Sony Pictures Television Russia has produced a number of primetime drama series,
telenovelas
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include ''teleserye'' (P ...
, and sitcoms. The company adapted various television formats for Russian audiences such as
Betty La Fea
''Yo soy Betty, la fea'' (English: I am Betty, the Ugly one), often referred to simply as ''Betty, la fea'', is a Colombian telenovela written by Fernando Gaitán which was broadcast from 25 October 1999 to 8 May 2001 by RCN. More than a dozen ...
(romanized: Ne Rodis’ Krassivoy),
Midwives
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
Everybody Loves Raymond
''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch an ...
(Voroniny). With over 500 episodes,
Everybody Loves Raymond
''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch an ...
was officially recorded by
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
as the world’s longest-running adaptation of a TV series.
"Sony Pictures Television Russia co-created and co-produced the CTC's hit series The Eighties (Vos'midesyatiye) and scripted reality series Strong Medicine (Vernoye Sredstvo), which has over 300 episodes. Among the most popular projects of Sony Pictures Television Russia are an original TV-series,
Poor Nastya
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
(Bednaya Nastya), and a local version of the American sitcom,
The Nanny
''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three ch ...
(Moya Prekrasnaya Nyanya)."
"Over the last few years, Sony Pictures Television Russia has successfully developed and produced several non-scripted projects, including original formats and adaptations, such as ''Momsters (Moya Svekrov’ Monstr)'', ''To Forgive or To Revenge (Izmeny)'', and ''Fish on The Cake (Idealny Uzhin)''."
"Sony Pictures Television Russia plans to continue its cooperation with the leading TV channels and online platforms in Russia and to produce more formats in different genres, from reality shows to historical dramas."