Sony is to offer viewers a choice of eight brand new entertainment channels delivered free across a range of smart TVs and other devices.
- Seinfeld, Breaking Bad (pictured above), Dawson’s Creek and Men in Black films among the content to be available on the new Sony One channels
- Channels arriving in nine European countries in April
- Sony joins other content owners in shunning traditional TV platforms: the new channels will be streaming-only.
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), has announced the launch of Sony One. It’s a portfolio of free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels coming to LG Channels, Samsung TV Plus and TiVo+ (where available). With the launch, Sony joins a growing number of providers that are shunning traditional TV platforms like Sky and Freeview to launch streaming-only TV channels.
In addition to the UK, Sony is launching localised versions of the Sony One channels in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.
Counting the different European versions of its channels, there will be 54 Sony One channels in total. Details of the eight services planned for the UK are listed below.
Sony One goes live during April 2024, an exact go-live date has not been confirmed.
▶ What are the new Sony One free streaming channels?
- Sony One Comedy TV. Popular comedy series including Seinfeld, The Nanny and The Goldbergs. The channel promises “a light-hearted viewing experience to share with family and friends”.
- Sony One Thriller TV. Action-packed series like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and Justified, with a focus on crime procedurals and exhilarating adventures.
- Sony One Faves. Timeless classics and fan favourites including Bewitched, Community and Dawson’s Creek that evoke nostalgia across generations.
- Sony One Comedy HITS. Classic comedies with iconic scenes and characters such as Step Brothers, Jerry Maguire and Easy A, that embody pop-culture across the decades.
- Sony One Action HITS. Dedicated to action and adventure movies from box office hits to critically acclaimed films. Examples include District 9 and the Men in Black and Zombieland franchises.
- Sony One Shark Tank. One of the most successful reality shows in the world, aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to moguls, known as the Sharks, in hopes of landing investment funds in this US adaptation of the British and Japanese reality hit Dragons’ Den.
- Sony One Dragons’ Den. The juggernaut reality format behind Shark Tank. Aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to multimillionaire investors, in the hope of landing investment funds.
- Sony One Blacklist. Dedicated channel featuring the crime thriller series following a most-wanted fugitive who works with a rookie FBI profiler to take down criminals and terrorists.
▶ How I can I watch these channels in the UK?
Sony One will appear in the next channel update during April 2024 on the following platforms:
- LG Channels, available on LG Smart TVs (older devices not included). You’ll find LG Channels in the LG Content Store.
- Samsung TV Plus, which is available on Samsung Smart TVs, mobiles and tablets (older devices not included). TV Plus is pre-installed on devices. You’ll need a free Samsung account to access the service.
It marks the end of a three year absence of the Sony brand in terms of English-language channels in the UK. Sony’s former channels were sold to Narrative Entertainment in 2021, and rebranded under the ‘GREAT!’ name. Sony-branded Asian channels, operated by a different arm of Sony, remained on air.
Corporate comment
Pete Wood, SVP, Digital Sales, Distribution, SPE said:
“Sony Pictures recognises the potential of the free ad-supported television space to engage new viewers globally with our extensive feature film and TV series catalog spanning 100 years. Our entry into the FAST space in Europe reflects our dedication to making premium content accessible to audiences on new and important distribution channels.
Marc Thornham
[Image: Breaking Bad promotional image – Sony Pictures Television]