Canal Sony (Latin America)

Canal Sony
Launched	September 30, 1995 (Latin America) March 1996 (Mexico) September 4, 1996 (Brazil)
Owned by	Sony Pictures Entertainment
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Slogan	Spanish: Llamar, Ver. Portuguese: Ligar, ver. ("Turn on. To see.")
Country	Venezuela
Language	English Dubbed and subtitled in: Spanish and Portuguese
Broadcast area	Latin America
Headquarters	Perú, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil and Miami
Formerly called	Sony Entertainment Television (1995-2014)
Sister channel(s)	AXN
Website	canalsony.com
Availability
Satellite
Dish Network Mexico	Channel 211 Channel 908 (HD)
SKY México	Canal 202 Digital Canal 1202 (HD)
IPTV
UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones	Channel 54

Canal Sony ("Sony Channel", in both Spanish and Portuguese; formerly called Sony Entertainment Television), is a general entertainment channel co-based in Perú, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil and Miami, Florida, United States. It airs in 26 countries in Latin America,^[1] and is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. In the region, it is distributed by HBO Latin America Group. It was the first pan-regional basic channel that offered programming in its original English language with subtitles and became an award-winning trend setting network.

Sony Entertainment Television Logo used from 1995 to 2007

Canal Sony began transmission in August 1995, as a basic cable television channel. Its first launch in Mexico was on Televisa's Cablevision cable TV system in March 1996 followed by its launch in Brazil that same Spring. Unlike most national television networks in Latin America, which air all imported shows dubbed in Spanish or Portuguese, Sony started airing its programming with subtitles which led to its role as a regional leader.

Canal Sony shows new or recent American comedy, drama and reality series such as Will & Grace, American Idol, 'Til Death, 30 Rock, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Falcon Beach, America's Next Top Model, Scrubs, My Wife and Kids, Everybody Hates Chris, Medium, Ghost Whisperer, Saturday Night Live, Charmed, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Grey's Anatomy, According to Jim, Desperate Housewives, That '70s Show, Ugly Betty, Big Day, Samantha Who? and reruns or previous seasons of shows such as Seinfeld, Mad About You, Dawson's Creek, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills, 90210, Married... with Children, The Nanny, My Wife and Kids and Frasier. Recently it has been broadcasting several hard comedy series, particularly from the UK such as Balls of Steel and Da Ali G Show.

The channel's biggest production so far is: Latin American Idol. The first season included 20 countries, with auditions in Caracas, Venezuela, Bogotá, Colombia, Mexico City and finishing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the host country. The show did not include Brazil, because the country already has their own version on terrestrial television. The winner of the first season was Mayre Martinez from Venezuela, winning, amongst other prizes, a record deal, a car and a record contract.

On June 12, a redesign of the channel welcomed three new original productions by SET. Nada Que Ver was the first one, but it aired for a very short period of time, and was replaced with The IT Crowd due to unpopularity and criticism. Recently the first season of The IT Crowd finished and Nada Que Ver, returned to the programation of P.I (Politically Incorrect, also named after the sound of a bleep in Spanish diction). FusionA2 (Fused) is a reality show in which two bands are brought together for two days to prepare and play a song together. And Ya es 1/2 Día en China (It's Noon in China) A late night show in the format of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The show is currently hosted by Luis Chataing.

Canal Sony regularly cooperates with popular brands, like Sony Ericsson, or Sony's competitors, like Philips, to present new products in their mini-show "Los Huevos de Oro" (The Golden Eggs), which is shown during commercial breaks. SET also shows music videos, as occasional time-fillers. Another popular feature the channel has been known for is Si Se Lo Perdió (in Portuguese, Vale o Bis), which means "In Case You Missed It", a block that would re-air any new episodes of prime time shows that aired during the week on Sundays, convenient for those that missed the original airings during the week.

Nada que Ver is not aired in Brazil and is not on air currently.

Ugly Betty was aired in Mexico, starting April 2008.

Sony started airing movies in Tuesday's prime time. Although the name of the slot refers to Hollywood-produced humor, the movies aired are all romantic comedies, such as Little Black Book, America's Sweethearts, and My Best Friend's Wedding. In December 2009, this space was moved to Saturdays, until it was eventually dropped in 2010, though a movie block will return to the Brazilian feed on Thursdays, starting in April 2011, as Cine Sony. At the same time, this block returned to the other regional feeds in Spanish, but on Fridays, as EPH: Espacio Producido Hollywood ("Hollywood-Produced Space").

The channel has aired original shows, such as Mexico's Next Top Model and Brazil's Next Top Model (Both based in America’s Next Top Model, which airs on the channel). Other original Latin-American series that premiered on the channel are Los Simuladores and Los Caballeros las prefieren Brutas.

In 2011, the Sony Pictures channels in Brazil gained greater independence from the Spanish-language feeds,^[2] and as part of that, it was announced that CSI: Crime Scene Investigation would return to Canal Sony in Brazil, while in the rest of the region, that show remains on sister channel AXN. In October 2011, CSI: Miami would make such channel switch in Brazil. CSI: NY remains seen on AXN in the entire region.

Programs

References

External links

• SET Canal Sony