Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has unveiled its latest content slate, as its bosses talked up a “much more cohesive” TV and streaming business.
Among the highlights unveiled today are Season 18 of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), the local remake of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, which premieres this evening on Sony Entertainment Television in India and the Sony LIV streamer, which operates in countries around the world.
Indian cricket icon Rohit Sharma is getting his own show on an SPNI network and actor Ajay Devgn is to host true-crime series Crime Patrol 2026, while celebrity challenge-focused comedy entertainment series Indian Game Show will see Bharti Singh and Harssh Limbachiyaa hosting.
Also announced was confirmation of Hansal Mehta’s Scam 2010, which was unveiled back in 2024 but appeared unlikely to go into production following a legal threat.
On the multi-lingual front, Madhuri Dixit will now host Kon Honar Crorepati, the Marathi version of KBC, while Sony LIV will launch Tamil-language versions of MasterChef and Idol, with musician A.R. Rahman leading the search for Tamil Nadu’s best singing talent.
Elsewhere, Sony Sports Networks’ Festival of Sports stunt will run from August 15 to December 1, and feature India’s cricket tout of Sri Lanka, the Women’s T20 Asia Cup, the Asian Games and India’s all-format tour of New Zealand.
“India’s entertainment landscape is increasingly being shaped by audiences who move freely across languages, genres and screens,” said Gaurav Banerjee, Managing Director and CEO of SPNI. “Our focus is therefore on building compelling intellectual properties and stories that can connect with audiences wherever and however they choose to watch. This festive slate brings that approach to life. It combines some of our most enduring franchises with new formats, marquee talent, a growing regional portfolio and an exceptional calendar of live sport.
“From Kaun Banega Crorepati and our new Hindi entertainment properties to our offerings in Marathi and Tamil, we are building a wider and more diverse content portfolio, with our television network and Sony LIV working together to take it to audiences across India.”
Year of change
It has been a year of change Sony Corp-owned SPNI, which was until recently operating as Culver Max Entertainment. Following a series of management changes, in January the company said it was switching strategy to bring its digital streaming assets closer to its long-established TV business.
During a roundtable today, Deadline questioned Banerjee on how the new model was working. “Earlier, the organization of the company was done for a time when our television business was [driving business], and the digital business was a small startup,” he said. “Therefore, it had been kept aside as a separate business unit so that it could really do everything that it needed to do to find find early growth unencumbered by the network.
Now, our reality is that digital has grown beautifully, and it’s part of the new core, and will drive the tremendous future growth of this company. Equally, what we wanted to do was build on the specialization on the core functions of SPNI, and that is content creation and monetization. Therefore, the new structure brought both those things together.”
He claimed the new structure allowed Sony’s networks and streaming assets to do more subscription and advertising deals. “There are tons of opportunities if we can take a view which is more of a holistic and network view.”
Banerjee added, “Yearly results have been really good,” and that some portions of the slate “are a result of teams working together, and in a much more cohesive manner. “We’re encouraged by what has happened in the last six months or so, but [have] a lot more hope and expectations… over the next two to three years.”
International plans
Banerjee also talked to international plans for Sony LIV, which operates in the likes of the U.S. and Europe, and the linear channels, saying “the Indian diaspora all over the world is our natural first place to call.”
In regards to the UK and North America, which have significant Indian populations, Banerjee said: “We are constantly thinking about how we improve our distribution and marketing efforts in those markets, Because I do know that a lot of our core content connects very well, as it does in India with premium audiences.
“We have to do more and think harder about how we focus our marketing efforts and brand efforts better there. That’s something which we are deeply thinking about, and you’ll hear more about that in the weeks ahead.”
