In the starting month of 2016, Sony Pictures Networks’
partnership with ESPN will get active. Two co-branded
channels, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD, are being
launched on 17 January. The partners also plan to launch a digital platform under Sony ESPN brand in the middle of the calendar year.
Q. Will we be seeing Sony Pictures Networks more
aggressively playing an expansionist role in India?
This is not our first effort at expanding the sports product
portfolio. We have been investing a lot in the last three
years to acquire sports rights. We have virtually become
the home of international football. Barring one or two
properties (EPL), we have everything else including UEFA
Euro 2016, 2018 FIFA World Cup, La Liga, Serie A, Copa
America, and European qualifiers. Our partnership with
ESPN to launch Sony ESPN channels and subsequently
Sony ESPN-branded digital multi-sport app will further
solidify our position as a sports network in the Indian
market.
Q. Will you bring back ESPN’s popular show ‘Sports
Center’ to India?
We have not yet firmed up plans on our sports
programming strategy. We will get into evaluation and
certainly look at it if it makes sense.
. Why are you doing away with the Sony Kix brand
while retaining Sony Six?
We did not want to have multiple sports brands in the
market. Sony Six is now a well-entrenched sports brand.
Our intent was to retain and complement that with ESPN.
Therefore, we have decided to have Sony Six and Sony
ESPN.
Q. In future, will you launch sports channels under the
Sony ESPN or the Sony Six brand?
The future channels that we launch in sports will be
branded Sony ESPN.
Will you put IPL on Sony ESPN?
Still three months to go before the first ball is bowled in
IPL 9. I have enough time to take a lot of these decisions.
We haven’t decided that, but in some time we will.
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