Sony India to revamp SET, plug content gap
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), under its new CEO Gaurav Banerjee, is undergoing a strategic overhaul to revitalise the company, with one of the primary focuses being to revamp Sony Entertainment Television (SET), its flagship Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC), according to multiple executives familiar with the developments.
SET holds only 8% of the market, trailing behind competitors like Star Plus, Colors, and Zee TV. While SET has a strong lineup of non-fiction shows such as Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Shark Tank India, and MasterChef, it lacks a strong fiction show, a staple for Hindi GEC audiences.
Banerjee, with over a decade of experience managing Hindi and regional entertainment channels as well as Disney+ Hotstar's entertainment portfolio, is expected to address this content gap.
«SPNI's main problem is content. That is one of the key reasons the Sony top brass picked him to succeed NP Singh. The company's fortunes in India are to a large extent linked to SET's turnaround,» said a high-level media executive on condition of anonymity. As part of its revamp strategy, several underperforming shows Kavya, Jubilee Talkies, and Pukaar have been axed, and SET is airing reruns of those shows alongside new episodes of its popular non-fiction show, Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Banerjee's second priority is to strengthen SAB TV, which had an 18% market share of the pay Hindi GEC market during weeks 34 to 37. To bolster SAB TV, the company has moved Shrimad Ramayan from SET to SAB, positioning it as a
