Sony Pal rubbishes reports of turning FTA; to revamp content

Reportedly, the channel will take its current shows off-air on February 13.

Sony Pal, the newest female-centric Hindi general entertainment channel from the MSM Network, has rubbished media reports that said it will soon stop airing all its shows, turn into a free-to-air (FTA) channel, and start airing old content from Sony Entertainment Television's library.

However, reportedly, the channel has sent notices to the producers of its current shows, and will take its current shows off-air on February 13. It will soon launch new shows, in line with its new content strategy.

The channel spokesperson said in a press statement, "Sony Pal was launched five months ago subsequent to which the channel carried out extensive research. Basis the research, the channel is in the process of realigning its content strategy. Sony Pal has achieved extensive distribution as a pay channel and will continue to be an important asset for the MSM Network."

Of the nine fiction shows the channel launched in September 2014, the channel axed five of them in December 2014, owing to their poor performance. Consequently, the channel's original programming content was slashed by one-and-a-half hours.

For the record, Sony Pal was launched in September 2014 as the third GEC from MSM stable after SET and Sab TV. The channel was launched with the tagline 'Yeh Pal Hamara Hai' and is targeted at the 'traditional, yet modern' Indian woman. However, the shows of the channel have failed to appeal to the Indian audiences.

As per the latest TAM report, Sony Pal grossed 25595 GVTs in week 4 of 2015 (that is, the week ended January 24).

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