New Channels from Sony
Posted by Steve Fravel on Tuesday, July 6, 2010 · 
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October 1 is slated to be a busy day for Sony Pictures Television, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times and sources familiar with the company’s expansion plans.
Sony Pictures Movies HD will launch on October 1 as the first wholly owned cable channel for Sony in the United States. The channel will be devoted entirely to movies. Observers note that Sony has had great success internationally with channels that they own. The channel will draw content from the large Sony-owned film library. Multi-video program distributers will have access to another high definition (HD) channel featuring films. Sources indicate the the channel will not compete in the same arena with networks like HBO, Showtime, Starz! and the new Epix channels, but with the HD channels Universal HD and MGM HD. The perception being that distributers want more HD content that can be offered outside the “premium channel” level.
Sony will additionally be part of the linear launch of FearNet, jointly owned by Sony, Comcast and Lionsgate. The launch is also set for October 1. FearNet is currently provided to 28 million homes via video-on-demand (VoD). Fans of horror films will be attracted to the programming available on FearNet.
While additional HD channels help to increase the perceived value of service to subscribers, one has to wonder about the inclusion of new channels that are not part of an existing channel group. Are they part of a “basic HD service,” or more of an enhancement to HD?
Understanding the time and difficulty experienced by Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM in getting Epix placed, it would be interesting to know whether the universal subscriber base has interest in more movie channels? Moving FearNet into linear carriage may be a telling move. Perhaps it has been missed as an “on-demand” choice by subscribers.
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