SonyLIV

Last updated

Sony LIV
Sony LIV2020.png
Sony LIV logo
Type of business Streaming
Type of site
OTT platform
Available in
Headquarters
Country of originIndia
Area servedCanada, Europe, Middle East, Indo-Pacific, South Asia, and United States
Owner Sony Pictures Networks [Culver Max Entertainment Pvt. Ltd]
Industry
Products
Services
  • Film production
  • film distribution
  • television production
Parent Sony
URL www.sonyliv.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired [a]
Users Increase2.svg 33.3 million (paid; May 2023) [1]
Launched22 January 2013;11 years ago (2013-01-22)
Current statusActive

Sony LIV is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Culver Max Entertainment. Sony LIV was introduced in 2013 [2] as the first OTT service in India. [3] As a streaming service, it provides live sports, original titles, other content titles from its own networks and content titles in India licensed from third-parties such as Lionsgate and ITV among others. The Sony LIV content library includes films, TV shows and series, and sports.

Contents

History

Sony LIV was launched on 23 January 2013, [4] by Culver Max Entertainment.

LIV Sports

LIV Sports was launched on 1 June 2014 by Culver Max Entertainment [5] (as a new sports streaming service exclusively for sports properties). LIV Sports was the official mobile and internet broadcaster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup starting 12 June 2014. LIV Sports aired both live and video-on-demand match content with statistics and analysis. [6] However, this service was integrated into Sony LIV. Since then, LIV Sports has been a part of Sony LIV.

Sony LIV first revamp (2018)

Sony LIV logo from 2016 to 2020 Sony LIV2017.jpg
Sony LIV logo from 2016 to 2020

Sony LIV underwent its first revamp and started to stream live television channels. Since then, Sony LIV has added many shows and movies to its portfolio. On 1 November 2018, Sony LIV and Lionsgate entered a multi-year content [7] deal. As part of the deal, Sony LIV will offer an embedded Lionsgate Play with over 500 hours of premium-original series on its platform.

In 2019, Sony LIV started to stream live channels of other networks, including news channels.

Sony LIV second revamp (2020)

Sony LIV logo from 2020 to present Sony LIV2020.png
Sony LIV logo from 2020 to present

Sony LIV revamped its content and interface in May 2020 using AWS Cloud. [8] Sony LIV uses Amazon ElastiCache to support real-time, in-memory caching at scale, Amazon CloudFront as a low-latency content delivery network, and Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS) as a highly available message queuing service.

In June 2020, Sony LIV underwent a revamp for the second time, and this time they started to stream content from Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television Studios, ITV and Reliance Entertainment. Also, Sony LIV started to stream its own original movies and series. Since 2020, Sony LIV has taken more of an active role as a producer and distributor for both films and series, offering original programming content through its online library.

Sony LIV was launched as a streaming service in the United States on Sling TV, streaming all the shows available in India on the app. [9] [10]

On 15 January 2021, WWE Network [11] was launched in India through Sony LIV.

Sony LIV was launched in Canada on 14 October 2021. [12] It was launched in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore on 25 February 2021. On 12 June 2021, as part of Europe Phase-1, Sony LIV was launched in France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK (9 April 2021). On 1 October 2021, as part of Europe Phase-2, Sony LIV was launched in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden. [13] On 26 April 2024, Sony LIV was launched in the United States.

Content

Current broadcasting rights

Past broadcasting rights

Current content partners

Overview

Sony LIV's core library consists of 18+ years of content from Culver Max Entertainment's channels including Sony TV, Sony SAB, Sony Aath and Sony Marathi; and more than 700+ movies, which means a total of 40,000+ hours of television show coverage in Hindi and English. [4]

Since its launch, Sony LIV has streamed live sports events.

It also features content titles in India licensed from third-parties such as Lionsgate and ITV among others.

History

After Sony Pictures Networks India's acquisition of Ten Sports Network, all TEN Sports live programs became part of its broadcast. Since then, Sony LIV has been streaming WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown and other WWE pay-per-view events, and UFC.

Sony LIV is the first Indian OTT media service platform to produce music content for a Hollywood feature film – producing music for the Hindi version of the blockbuster titled Passengers, starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. The singers for the original soundtrack titled Aadat included Jubin Nautiyal, Shirley Setia and Raftaar. Since then Sony LIV has produced more than 100 songs which are now available on the app, YouTube, JioSaavn and many other online music service platforms worldwide.

Varieties of anime originals from Animax were available on Sony LIV to stream. After shutting down a linear TV channel on 18 April 2017, Animax [16] was made available exclusively as a digital streaming channel in India from 7 July 2017 to 7 May 2020. [17]

Sony LIV also streamed cricket matches played by Pakistan, [18] Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe, and Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

Until early 2021, it also streamed the National Basketball Association.

Beginning with the 2022 US Open, Sony Pictures Networks India will have the exclusive live television and digital rights to the US Open in India through 2024. As of August 2023, US Open would livestream on Sony LIV. [15]

Sony LIV Originals

Sony LIV has streamed a number of original streaming television series. The first-ever original was a Gujarati web series titled Kacho Papad Pako Papad [19] and it is streaming since 2017.

Sony LIV underwent a revamp in its appearance in June 2020. [20] Since then, Sony LIV provides their original shows in 5–7 languages. Other than Hindi, Sony LIV releases originals in the other languages after 1–2 weeks from the release date.

Rocket Boys , Scam 1992 , Maharani , Avrodh: The Siege Within , Chutzpah , Undekhi , and Tanaav are some of the popular Sony LIV original shows.

Genres

Sony LIV features content in the following key genres: comedy, crime, drama, horror and action. [21]

Interface and features

Livestreaming

Select ongoing sports and related events to which the network or its partners have acquired rights, are also made available for livestreaming.

Sony LIV also livestreamed its own and partnered TV channels on the platform. As of August 2023, Sony LIV communicated to the subscribers that their Live TV channels will be discontinued from Sony LIV from 30 August 2023.

Play Along

Option to register for and then play certain games is available in the app. This includes games such as QOTY (Qizzer of the Year) and KBC Play Along. The KBC Play Along is the most popular game in Sony LIV .

Profiles

Up to 5 user profiles are available each with its own watchlist, play progress and watch history. Optional common PIN protection can be set for 'Adults' profiles. 'Kids' profile can be set without an option of setting any PIN.

Availability and access

Sony LIV is available based on location, subscription, and device hardware & software.

Locations supported

Sony LIV is available in Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bhutan, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom. It is also available in the United States via Sling TV and as a standalone app. Despite making it international. Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan is GEOBLOCKED

Subscriptions

As of August 2023, multiple subscription options are available based on screen size, devices, stream quality and duration. Apart from full featured 'LIV Premium'; a 'mobile only' subscription option is available.

Devices and platforms supported

List of Sony LIV supported devices and platforms includes the following:

Viewership

As of August 2015, Sony LIV had reached about 25 million views on a monthly basis. [22]

Sony LIV security flaw

On 20 December 2019, Bengaluru-based security researcher Ehraz Ahmed discovered a security flaw in the Sony LIV app, that allowed to fetch sensitive user information such as profile picture, email address, date of birth, name and phone number of its registered users. [23]

See also

Notes

  1. Optional in India, but monthly subscription is required to access additional content.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Entertainment Television</span> Indian Hindi-language pay television channel

Sony Entertainment Television is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel that was launched in 1995 and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a division of Sony Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animax (Asian TV channel)</span> Asian television network

Animax is an Asian pay television channel owned by KC Global Media Asia. The channel was originally owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and took its name from the Japanese satellite TV network; which was then-majority owned by subsidiary Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan. The channel would be sold to its current owners on January 1, 2020.

Amazon Prime Video, or simply Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered both as a stand-alone service and as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios or licensed to Amazon, as Amazon Originals, with the service also hosting content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events, and video rental and purchasing services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My5</span> Video-on-demand brand name

My5 is the brand name of video-on-demand services offered by Channel 5 in the United Kingdom. The service went live on 26 June 2008. It is owned by Paramount Global and operated by their Paramount Networks UK & Australia division.

Crackle was an American video streaming service. It was founded in 2004 as Grouper, before the service was purchased by Sony Pictures in 2006 and renamed Crackle. In 2018, the name was changed to Sony Crackle. Sony sold a majority stake to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment in March 2019, and the name was changed back to Crackle.

Xumo, LLC is an American internet television and consumer electronics company. It is a joint venture of Charter Communications and Comcast that operates the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) and advertising video on demand (AVOD) service Xumo Play, and develops digital media players and smart TVs. The Xumo Play platform's service operations are based in the Orange County suburb of Irvine, California. As of October 2020, Xumo Play has 24 million monthly active users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MGM+</span> American pay television network

MGM+, is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the MGMPlus Entertainment subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which is itself a subsidiary of Amazon MGM Studios. The network's programming consists of recent and older theatrically released motion pictures, original television series, documentaries, and music and comedy specials.

An over-the-top media service is a digital distribution service offered directly to viewers via the public Internet, rather than through an over-the-air, cable, or satellite-based provider. The term is synonymous with "streaming platform", such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video which provide access to subscription-based film and television content (SVoD).

PlayStation Vue was an American streaming television service that was owned by the Sony Interactive Entertainment subdivision of the Sony Corporation of America division of Sony. Launched with a limited major-market rollout on March 18, 2015, the service – which was structured in the style of a multichannel video programming distributor – combined live TV, on-demand video, and cloud-based DVR to stream television programs, movies, and sporting events directly to a PlayStation console or other supported device – including smart TVs, digital media players and apps – without a subscription to a cable or satellite television provider. Targeting cord cutters, PlayStation Vue was designed to complement subscription video-on-demand services. As of August 26, 2018, the service had approximately 745,000 subscribers. On October 29, 2019, Sony announced PlayStation Vue would be ending service on January 30, 2020, because "the highly competitive Pay TV industry, with expensive content and network deals, has been slower to change than we expected".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sling TV</span> American streaming television service

Sling TV is an American streaming television service operated by Sling TV LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dish Network. Unveiled on January 5, 2015, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor aims to complement subscription video on demand services for cord cutters, offering a selection of major cable channels and OTT-originated services that can be streamed through smart TVs, digital media players and apps. The service is available in the United States and Puerto Rico as of 2015.

HBO Now was an American subscription video on demand streaming service for premium television network HBO owned by WarnerMedia subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. Officially unveiled on March 9 and launched on April 7, 2015, the service allowed subscribers on-demand access to HBO's library of original programs, films and other content on personal computers, smartphones, tablet devices and digital media players. Unlike HBO Go, HBO's online video on demand service for existing subscribers of the linear television channel, HBO Now was available as a standalone service and did not require a television subscription to use, targeting cord cutters who use competing services such as Netflix and Hulu. In February 2018, HBO Now had 5 million subscribers.

The Apple TV app is a line of media player software programs developed by Apple Inc. for viewing television shows and films delivered by Apple to consumer electronic devices. It can stream content from the iTunes Store, the Apple TV Channels a la carte video on demand service, and the Apple TV+ original content subscription service. On iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Vision Pro, and Apple TV devices it can also index and access content from linked apps of other video on demand services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local Now</span> American subscription television network

Local Now is an American over-the-top internet television service owned by The Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Entertainment Studios. A spinoff of The Weather Channel, Local Now primarily provides a cyclic playlist of weather, news, sports, entertainment and lifestyle segments, incorporating localized content through feeds geared to a user-specified area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animax India</span> Television channel

Animax India was an Indian television channel owned by Sony Pictures Networks India that launched in 2004. The channel primarily aired anime series and films dubbed in Hindi and, for a period, English, as well as with subtitles. It was the only channel in India to simulcast anime series on the same day as Japan.

JioTV is an Indian streaming television service owned by Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. JioTV offers more than 1000 live channels with 7 days of catch up content, as per the website.

Peacock is an American over-the-top subscription streaming service owned and operated by Peacock TV, LLC, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal Media Group. Named after the NBC logo, the service launched on July 15, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Binge (streaming service)</span> Australian streaming service owned by Hubbl

Binge is a video streaming subscription service available in Australia, owned by Hubbl. The service offers on demand and live entertainment, lifestyle, reality and movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haystack News</span> OTT platform for news videos

Haystack News is a free ad-supported streaming service for local, national and international news video available on smart TVs, over-the-top platforms and mobile apps. Haystack uses data from each user—such as location, topics of interest and favorite publishers—to create a personalized playlist of short news clips. The platform also hosts live channels from local, national and international news outlets.

The Roku Channel is an over-the-top video streaming service available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the U.K. It was launched in 2017, and is owned and operated by Roku, Inc. As of 2023, the service leads U.S. viewership for free ad-supported streaming television (FAST), reporting 120 million viewers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vidgo</span> American streaming television service

Vidgo was an American streaming television service that offered over 100 channels of English- and Spanish-language sports, news and general entertainment content. In addition to its live television packages, Vidgo offered a cloud-based digital video recorder and thousands of hours of on-demand programming.

References

  1. "SonyLIV has 33.3 mn paid subscribers globally, 40,000 hours of content: NP Singh". 18 May 2023.
  2. Laghate, Gaurav (2013). "Sony Launches Video on Demand". Business Standard India.
  3. "avatar - Gravatar Profile". En.gravatar.com. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 Deb, Debabrata (15 July 2018). "The ultimate SonyLIV review: Everything you need to know". finder India. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  5. "Multiscreen Media Launches Liv Sports". The Hindu Business Line. 2 June 2014.
  6. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Live Online Streaming Available Through Sony LIV Application". Indiantvinfo.com. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  7. Laghate, Gaurav (1 November 2018). "Sony LIV, Lionsgate India partner to offer premium content". economic times.
  8. "Sony LIV Grows Subscriber Base Tenfold and Enhances Streaming Platform Supported by AWS".
  9. "Watch Live Indian TV Channels - Shows and Movies Online | Sling TV". Sling.com. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  10. Palermo, Philip (31 May 2020). "Sling TV Adds Sony Pictures Networks India's SonyLIV VOD Service". Cord Cutters News. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  11. Dua, Priyanka (16 January 2021). "SonyLIV Launches WWE Pack At Rs. 299; Offering Five Profiles And Offline Content Download". Gizbot.com. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  12. Ramachandran, Naman (14 October 2021). "Indian Streamer SonyLIV Launches in Canada with Family Saga 'Tabbar' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  13. Ramachandran, Naman (18 June 2021). "Indian Streamer SonyLIV Sets Global Expansion Plans With 40-Strong Slate (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  14. https://olympics.com/en/news/asian-games-hangzhou-preview-schedule--how-to-watch-live [ bare URL ]
  15. 1 2 "Sony Pictures Networks India to air US Open in India through 2024".
  16. "Sony to shift Animax channel to SonyLiv". Indian Television Dot Com. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  17. "Animax Asia Channel Removed from 'Sony LIV' Streaming App". Animenewsnetwork.com. 17 May 2020.
  18. "Cricket Archives PSL 2021 Live Streaming & TV Channels, Pakistan Super League 2021". Cricketzine.com. 31 January 2021.
  19. "2017: The year OTTs went regional in India". Indian Television Dot Com. 4 January 2018.
  20. "SonyLIV". Sonyliv.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  21. "Frequently Asked Questions". sonyliv.com. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  22. "Sony to move its video streaming service SonyLIV to a fee-based model". 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  23. "SonyLIV Fixes Flaw That Could Allow Attackers to Fetch User Information". NDTV Gadgets 360. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.