Riding high on the success of the cricket World Cup 2003, Sony Entertainment Network has decided to rework its entire programming strategy.
SET Max, which earned around Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) from the mega cricket event and logged a revenue growth of 25 per cent during the year, would now be re-repositioned as a premium Hindi entertainment channel.
Rohit Gupta, executive vice-president, SET India, said: "The cricket World Cup 2003 has elevated SET Max to a platform that commands quality viewership. We have changed the branding strategy of SET Max and repositioned it as a mass entertainment channel."
Movies that were previously premiered on SET would be now be premiered on SET Max. The idea is to retain the viewers interest in the channel after the World Cup.
Interestingly, the revenue SET Max earned through advertisements during the World Cup is around 200 per cent more than what ESPN-Star Sports earned during the previous cricket World Cup.
The World Cup 2003 and the Champion's Trophy have together helped SET Max garner around Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion). Sony has broadly segmented its programming into two categories - Hindi and English entertainment. As far as the English category is concerned the movie focus would be taken out of AXN and shifted to HBO.
The action movies on AXN would now be confined to its weekend programming. AXN's India operations has reported a more than 25 per cent growth in revenue from advertisements.
