Sony Pictures TV To Launch Movies Diginet
The new GetTV diginet featuring classic films from the 3,500 titles in
the Sony Pictures library will debut this fall. On board are Univision
stations in 24 markets, covering 44% of U.S. TV households.
By Kevin Downey
TVNewsCheck
April 22, 2013 10:45 AM EDT
http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/66984/sony-pictures-tv-to-launch-movies-diginet
Sony Pictures Television is jumping into the subchannel business with
the digital network GetTV, which will launch this fall on Univision
stations in 24 markets, including in 17 of the top 20 DMAs. It will be
available in 44% of U.S. TV homes. Sony is actively selling GetTV to
other station groups.
The diginet will air old movies from Sony’s library of some 3,500 films,
including Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai.
“The over-the-air market provided a significant growth opportunity for
our channels business,” Andy Kaplan, president of worldwide networks at
Sony Pictures Television, said in a statement. “We recognize the demand
for premium content that appeals to audiences of all ages, which is
exactly what GetTV will offer.”
Sony does not have plans to air original programs on GetTV, but Michael
Kokernak, publisher of the Subchannel Report newsletter, thinks it may
be setting the groundwork for that.
“What Sony’s announcement really means — forget about classic movies —
is that networks like Me-TV, This TV, Antenna TV and GetTV are destined
to have original content,” Kokernak says. “They’re all going to go
original eventually. It’s just a matter of when.”
Sony is joining other Hollywood studios launching subchannels on
over-the-air broadcasters’ secondary channels. MGM, for instance has
This TV and, in partnership with Weigel Broadcasting, Me-TV. Both
subchannels air mostly classic TV shows.
ABC has Live Well Network, a lifestyle network airing mostly original
content like cooking show My Family Recipe Rocks. NBC has Cozi TV, which
airs classic TV shows such as Magnum P.I. but also original programs
like reality show Being Mandela. Weigel is partnering with Fox on Movies!
GetTV will be Univision’s second venture into English-language
subchannels. It has begun to launch African-American diginet Bounce TV
in some of its markets.
“Univision has such strong ratings that there is a high, if not a
definite possibility that all the GetTV channels will be on cable
television,” Kokernak says.
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