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Turner eyes rescue deal for TruTV

UPDATE: Sony has apparently bought embattled channel (December 2016)

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RE
Rex
623058 posted:
Will it expand from its crime programmes? or will it just merge with True Crime?

Can you get True Crime on Freeview or is it one of the channel that is linked to Local TV band? so very few people know about?

It's on Freeview - but on the Local TV mux.

Either way - I can't see them running both channels side by side. Spreading content too thinly isn't an option - what TruTV currently has could expand the True Crime library. But it's beginning to look like soon enough that TruTV will be closed as new developments rise up.

Sony have a range of brands to choose from for a Freeview channel - Sony MAX, AXN, etc, or starting up yet another True 'insert genre' channel. Would have included Animax, but that will most likely stay as an on-demand service.
:-(
A former member
I deffo think a merge is on the cards, but did the channel included the content/rights or just the slots?
RE
Rex
623058 posted:
I deffo think a merge is on the cards, but did the channel included the content/rights or just the slots?

Definitely the slots - judging by today's events; however I'm unsure if Sony actually got rights to the content aired by TruTV. If it does though - where's the need for a channel that has been reduced to nothing more than crime tat - and has struggled in viewership?

The ideal option could be for True Crime to retain its local slot - while replacing TruTV with a brand that hasn't been in the UK. Another option; bring either True Crime or True Movies in the COM5 slot.
RE
Rex
Acquisition well and truly confirmed by Sony and Turner:
http://m.broadcastnow.co.uk/5115107.article
Quote:
Sony rescues TruTV from closure

16 FEBRUARY, 2017 | BY PETER WHITE

Sony Pictures Television has rescued TruTV UK – swooping in to buy Turner’s free-to-air channel to prevent its closure.

Sony has struck a deal to fully own and operate the channel after Broadcast revealed in December that Turner was on the brink of closing the digital channel.

The move is unusual as it is rare for one US media giant to acquire a channel from a rival.

Turner, which also runs CNN and Cartoon Network, had been negotiating to find a buyer for the digital network for the last few months.

The channel, which launched in 2014 and is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky and Virgin, airs series including tattoo format Ink Master and a raft of true crime programming.

TruTV has struggled to cut through in the competitive free-to-air market, averaging a consolidated all-hours audience of 28,000 (0.3%) over the past 12 months.

Its biggest show was America’s Got Talent, which averaged 175,000 (0.9%) in July, followed by an episode of Ink Master, which scored 150,000 (0.7%) in August 2015.

It also launched high-profile US talkshow Conan, but scrapped the show after it failed to rate.

Turner will continue to oversee ad sales for the channel, while Sky Media will continue to sell advertising on the other Sony channels.

The deal increases Sony’s channel presence in the UK with TruTV sitting alongside networks including Sony Channel, Sony Movie Channel, the True channels, kids’ channels including Pop and music networks including Scuzz.

Kate Marsh, executive vice president, Western Europe, international networks at Sony Pictures Television, said the acquisition increases the company’s “broad reach”.

“The channel’s strong mix of unscripted and original programming will be a great complement to our portfolio,” she added.

Ian McDonough, senior vice president and managing director of Northern Europe at Turner said he was “delighted” that UK viewers would be able to enjoy TruTV shows.

“Sony’s acquisition of the channel enables us to focus our energy on developing our own franchises and brands, delivering content across multiple touchpoints to our fans wherever and however they choose to engage,” he added.

16 days later

RE
Rex
Weeks after Sony bought TruTV - Turner reveals why they sold it. Apparently, they had struggled to keep the UK version plentiful with content.
Quote:
Elsewhere, Turner EMEA president Giorgio Stock defended the decision to sell TruTV UK to Sony.

Last month, Sony Pictures Television rescued the free-to-air channel – swooping in to prevent its closure.

Stock said that the Warner Bros-owned company wanted to focus its investment in brands including CNN and Cartoon Network.

He added that it had not cut-through and struggled to secure rights to some of the key shows that air on the US version of TruTV. “We didn’t quite have the supply of content that we thought [we] would have,” he said.
:-(
A former member
Its no great surprise WB were not able to get the rights, So there were plans to make the channel more like the US version.

If there is no great amount of content, then Sony wanted it for the slot, I wonder how long before the channel closes.

30 days later

RE
Rex
A few changes have happened since the acquisition;
Quest Red's launch has proved that Turner didn't actually sell all of the slots to Sony. On Sky, it was moved up to EPG 186, rather than be able to keep EPG 198. Freeview however, is a more interesting case. Turner actually sold their 24 hour slot to Discovery so that their new channel could be guaranteed a 24 hour stream on the platform, hence why TruTV broadcasts from 3am to 4am and 5am - midnight. This means that Sony bought the channel, but not the slots on Sky and Freeview (unsure about Freesat). Virgin leases out the slots to broadcasters until they decide to close a channel, by which the slots are reverted to Virgin themselves.

The first signs of Sony's control are being set in motion - programming from 3am to 6am is now being replaced by Teleshopping, whilst the DOG disappears during adverts and idents, rather than staying the whole time.

14 days later

:-(
A former member
Is the channel being kept? if so what is being planned for it?
RE
Rex
623058 posted:
Is the channel being kept? if so what is being planned for it?

There's nothing concrete regarding TruTV, aside from the news that one of Turner Europe's higher ups, Ian McDonough, has effectively resigned recently.


Sony has now been running it under their control as mentioned before, but the content has not changed as is. The schedule still remains with a diet of crime programming, with the likes of RuPaul's Drag Race and Ink Master being the exception. When it launched in 2014, I felt that there was potential for such a channel to be a decent addition to Freeview, judging by the content they showcased (Container Wars, South Beach Tow, Killer Karaoke, etc). Throughout last year that didn't seem to be the case (save for Adult Swim Laughing ), because much of the content was riddled with crime programming. The plan for original programming based on their acquisitions never materialised - they merely gave up once it became clear that it wasn't pulling in the success it needed.

It's essentially the UKTV Bright Ideas/Ftn of modern-day Freeview.
:-(
A former member
The channel had Adult Swim content? how did I miss that.
RE
Rex
623058 posted:
The channel had Adult Swim content? how did I miss that.

From September 2016 to the end of that year, Turner set up a block to be broadcast from 11pm to 2am on Fridays on the channel - showcasing the likes of Rick & Morty, Robot Chicken, The Eric Andre Show and Mr. Pickles to Freeview viewers. It was a breath of fresh air from the crime shows that were on (and incidentally the only time I bothered to watch TruTV, of course).

Presentation wise, the Adult Swim block had its own DOG, idents, stings and trail end boards, as such. Here's a link of continuity, courtesy of RegularCapital:
Last edited by Rex on 17 April 2017 1:18pm - 3 times in total
:-(
A former member
I never know that. Cheers for the details. IF you do spot Adult swim again tell everyone Wink

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