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Sony's Shenanigans

3rd refresh of their channels in 18 months (July 2019)

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KE
kernow
On Sky, Sony Channel is taking the EPG slot currently occupied by Sony Crime Channel, and Sony Movies Christmas is taking the EPG slot currently occupied by True Entertainment.

I would have expected Sony Movies Christmas to have taken one of the movie channel slots, like it has always done before when True Movies became True Christmas.

I'm guessing this means that Sony Crime Channel will close down when the changes take place. I wonder if this will just be temporary, with it relaunching when Sony Movies Christmas comes to an end, or will the closure be permanent (but then what would replace Sony Movies Christmas when it finishes)?
PA
PATV Scunthorpe
Sony Movies Christmas is replacing True Movies, and it will become Sony Movies Classic in January
KE
kernow
Sony Movies Christmas is replacing True Movies, and it will become Sony Movies Classic in January

According to the post on the previous page, and detailed here https://www.sonymovies.co.uk/about, Sony Movies Christmas is replacing True Entertainment, in terms of the EPG slot, with Sony Channel launching on the EPG slot currently occupied by Sony Crime Channel (on Sky at least).

I'm guessing the EPG slots currently occupied by True Movies (319) and Movies 4 Men (323) will get replaced by Sony Movies Classic and Sony Movies Action, with Sony Movies already in place at 321.

Therefore it still remains a mystery as to what will happen to the EPG slot currently occupied by True Entertainment once its replacement, Sony Movies Christmas ends, unless they relaunch Sony Crime Channel.
TT
TellyTime
Although the About Us page does indeed state that Sony Movies Christmas will be on Sky 179, the promotional trailer for the channel states it will be on Sky 319: https://www.sonymovies.co.uk/special/sony-movies-christmas

Either it will be on both, or one of them is wrong!
:-(
A former member
Why have there bothered? if most people on Freeview can't view the channels?
PF
PFML84
Going by the first days listings, is that really what they want their flagship UK channel to look like? All repeats of programmes already repeated to death on TV? Changing the name and giving it a fresh look isn't gonna improve ratings if they aren't showing anything people would want to watch.
TT
TellyTime
Going by the first days listings, is that really what they want their flagship UK channel to look like? All repeats of programmes already repeated to death on TV? Changing the name and giving it a fresh look isn't gonna improve ratings if they aren't showing anything people would want to watch.


As I said previously, due to the success of other channels airing archive content on a constant loop like Gold, ITV3 and Drama, I can see it doing quite well, but I'm not sure the brand is right.
SH
Sh1ruba
Sony's former music channels, now owned by TRACE Music are set to undergo a major overhaul this November!
Chart Show TV will become TRACE Urban, so the end of an era for this channel. Also the pop/top 40 music will be dropped for more R&B/grime/rap videos.

The Vault will become TRACE Vault, with music and shows from the past 20 years including Nickelodeon's Kenan and Kel.

And finally, Chart Show Hits is turning Latin as it becomes TRACE Latina, the first ever channel in the UK dedicated to Latino music.

The fate of Starz however is still unknown, but TRACE Music did state a rebrand of the channel in October was on its way in a statement to Ofcom earlier this year, as part of an investigation by the regulator over a breach in UK broadcasting rules made while the station was still owned by Sony. A recap of what happened to cause this breach is down below.

https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/09/trace-music-to-launch-new-uk-services.html
https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/07/why-starz-is-being-punished-for-viewers.html
KE
kernow
Sony's former music channels, now owned by TRACE Music are set to undergo a major overhaul this November!
Chart Show TV will become TRACE Urban, so the end of an era for this channel. Also the pop/top 40 music will be dropped for more R&B/grime/rap videos.

The Vault will become TRACE Vault, with music and shows from the past 20 years including Nickelodeon's Kenan and Kel.

And finally, Chart Show Hits is turning Latin as it becomes TRACE Latina, the first ever channel in the UK dedicated to Latino music.

The fate of Starz however is still unknown, but TRACE Music did state a rebrand of the channel in October was on its way in a statement to Ofcom earlier this year, as part of an investigation by the regulator over a breach in UK broadcasting rules made while the station was still owned by Sony. A recap of what happened to cause this breach is down below.

https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/09/trace-music-to-launch-new-uk-services.html
https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/07/why-starz-is-being-punished-for-viewers.html


The first article only confirms that The Vault will rebrand as Trace Vault.

It doesn't actually confirm which channels will rebrand as Trace Urban and Trace Latina.

They may decide to keep Chart Show TV, and rebrand Chart Show Hits and Starz.

When they removed the interactive service from Starz, although they said it would return in the autumn, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will.

It's also possible that this will be a full rebrand of all of their channels, meaning that one of them will close, most likely Starz.
Last edited by kernow on 8 September 2019 7:23pm
SH
Sh1ruba
Sony's former music channels, now owned by TRACE Music are set to undergo a major overhaul this November!
Chart Show TV will become TRACE Urban, so the end of an era for this channel. Also the pop/top 40 music will be dropped for more R&B/grime/rap videos.

The Vault will become TRACE Vault, with music and shows from the past 20 years including Nickelodeon's Kenan and Kel.

And finally, Chart Show Hits is turning Latin as it becomes TRACE Latina, the first ever channel in the UK dedicated to Latino music.

The fate of Starz however is still unknown, but TRACE Music did state a rebrand of the channel in October was on its way in a statement to Ofcom earlier this year, as part of an investigation by the regulator over a breach in UK broadcasting rules made while the station was still owned by Sony. A recap of what happened to cause this breach is down below.

https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/09/trace-music-to-launch-new-uk-services.html
https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/07/why-starz-is-being-punished-for-viewers.html


The first article only confirms that The Vault will rebrand as Trace Vault.

It doesn't actually confirm which channels will rebrand as Trace Urban and Trace Latina.

They may decide to keep Chart Show TV, and rebrand Chart Show Hits and Starz.

When they removed the interactive service from Starz, although they said it would return in the autumn, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will.

It's also possible that this will be a full rebrand of all of their channels, meaning that one of them will close, most likely Starz.

Oh right, my bad.
TT
TellyTime
Sony Crime Channel is still limping along on Sky and Virgin Media with its old brand following the relaunch of the other Sony channels today. Its days must be few!
JA
james-2001
At least WWTBAM no longer has a PG rating after the relaunch. That was one of the strange things about True Entertainment, the put a rating at the start of everything,

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