Sony Pictures Television Networks To Launch getTV (1 Viewer)

Sony Pictures Television Networks To Launch getTV


CULVER CITY, Calif., April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks today announced plans to launch getTV, a new US digital broadcast television network airing classic movies, in the fall of 2013. The third wholly owned Sony-branded channel in the US, getTV will premier on the digital subchannels of Univision Television Group owned television stations. SPT is in active discussions with other stations groups in advance of launch. The announcement was made by Andy Kaplan , president, worldwide networks, SPT.


"The over the air market provides a significant growth opportunity for our channels business," said Kaplan. "We recognize the demand for premium content that appeals to audiences of all ages, which is exactly what getTV will offer."

getTV will bring viewers the best movies from Hollywood's golden era. Programming will be primarily from the Sony Pictures library, featuring more than 3,500 films, including 12 Best Picture Academy Award® winners. A sampling of movies from the library include: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT and THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI. The channel will be managed by Superna Kalle, senior vice president, US networks, SPT and general manager, Sony Movie Channel, Cine Sony Television and getTV.

getTV will be carried on the digital subchannels on Univision Television Group owned television stations in 24 markets, including 17 of the top 20 DMAs. These DMAs account for 44% of all US television households, representing more than 50 million homes.
Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Now, if we could get a similar major network of classic TV shows. I know there is TV Land, but they LONG ago sold out to reality TV and about 5 TV shows they endlessly repeat. They sure were something else though, "back in the day".

Here in KC we are getting unique OTA channels. ChrisTV is mostly oldies, but also stuff like MeTV etc.. it's definitely becoming a marketspace.

If people would use OTA, they'd be shocked what is out there that isn't part of their cable or satellite.

schan1269 said:

If people would use OTA, they'd be shocked what is out there that isn't part of their cable or satellite.

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If it weren't for TCM, I'd pull the plug on DirecTV this very minute.

Last place I was OTA, and enjoyed Twilight Zone reruns on MyTV (or was it MeTV?), and the occasional Odd Couple or Newhart Show. And for a while, I was getting Rocky and Bullwinkle! The biggest problem was rain caused outages a few times a year (I was only using indoor antennae).


Now that I've got cable, I don't think there's any going back to OTA. And even if I wanted to, new Tivos don't support OTA.

Ronald Epstein said:

CULVER CITY, Calif., April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks today announced plans to launch getTV, a new US digital broadcast television network airing classic movies, in the fall of 2013.

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Sounds like they're following the model of ThisTV, which was one of the earliest digital-broadcast "splinter" networks (for local affiliate stations to put on an additional X.2 channel on their digital broadcast), and if so, I'm all for it--ThisTV was MGM's attempt to clean up their back catalog of obscure Warner-Archive titles and Orion acquisitions, and it's now one of the first stations I turn to when it's on.
(For a while, even Universal and Fox were lending out some of their vintage catalog to ThisTV, and they were becoming the closest thing to a real old-fashioned late-nite movie station again.)

Sony tried following the Hulu online streaming market by putting their classic pop Columbia hits on Crackle.com but lost interest after "Exclusive original programming" didn't catch fire--Crackle is now a gutted ghost-town, and there's no place to find "The Last Dragon" or "Three Stooges: Have Rocket, Will Travel" anymore.
Like MGM, Sony already has its own catalog of obscure Archive titles that need a little airing, so if we can get a little more traffic in the digital-splinter market, we might conceivably see more stations or even a merger.

Richard V said:

Now, if we could get a similar major network of classic TV shows. I know there is TV Land, but they LONG ago sold out to reality TV and about 5 TV shows they endlessly repeat. They sure were something else though, "back in the day".

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All the Viacom networks (MTV, VH-1, Nick at Nite) now seem to have a distinctly....pink vibe to their programming now, focusing more on celebrities, celebreality, sexy cougars, and other such winking pokes at pop culture, than in their own particular programming niches of classic-TV and music-video. (They say it all started with Bravo... )
And with more parent corporations circling the wagons for classic-rerun disk sales and distribution, other studios won't play with Viacom anymore, and TVLand is now left with promoting its own Viacom-owned properties, reducing the channel to whole 2-hour Paramount blocks of Bonanza and Beverly Hillbillies at a time. While Nick at Nite had long since declared itself as a channel of just Paramount-owned syndicated 80's-90's reruns that were playing ex-UPN stations anyway.

Now, if we could get a similar major network of classic TV shows. I know there is TV Land, but they LONG ago sold out to reality TV and about 5 TV shows they endlessly repeat. They sure were something else though, "back in the day".

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[color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:'Merriweather Sans', sans-serif;font-size:12px;background-color:rgb(247,247,247);]There is Me-TV which I have on my Fios system. Sounds exactly like what you are [/color]
yearning for.

From what I understand, it is not available on the Dish systems but there is a form on their
website for readers to write and ask for it.

But this channel won't be like TCM, more like Sony's other sub-channel, Antenna TV, with advertising and possibly compromised aspect ratios?

Professor Echo said:

But this channel won't be like TCM, more like Sony's other sub-channel, Antenna TV, with advertising and possibly compromised aspect ratios?

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AntennaTV was more of a rerun mix, but yes, this sounds like it's a commercial channel for local digital affiliates and not satellite, VOD or premium cable like TCM.
But then, we need more democratically free random-programming on the free channels. Too much of the good stuff is hidden away, and I'd like to watch something at late nite besides all-night news.

If it weren't for the old late night movie, I would have never been exposed to such great films as Jubal, White Heat, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Gun Crazy, Detour, The Killers, and many others. I sure do wish that there were more channels besides TCM that keep these excellent movies alive. Glad that Sony recognizes that there are a lot of classic movie lovers alive and that there are just as many classic TV lovers as well.

Yeah I don't know what my movie life would have been like if I was'nt able to see all those great late night Sci Fi and monster movies, or Charlie Chan films, Ch 5 in Boston, Ch 11 and Ch 9 in new york, Ch 38 in Boston, and USA's Up All Night.. I was Weened on Late Night TV often still being up when my Parents awoke and getting Chided for Staying up all night, Of Course I would Wake up in time for ch 56's Creature Double Feature.

Dave Scarpa said:

Yeah I don't know what my movie life would have been like if I was'nt able to see all those great late night Sci Fi and monster movies, or Charlie Chan films, Ch 5 in Boston, Ch 11 and Ch 9 in new york, Ch 38 in Boston, and USA's Up All Night.. I was Weened on Late Night TV often still being up when my Parents awoke and getting Chided for Staying up all night, Of Course I would Wake up in time for ch 56's Creature Double Feature.

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Ah, the double-duty "Movie Loft" on both Chs. 5 and 38 in Boston.
Ch. 5 would show the 40's movies after midnight, and 38 would show the 60's-80's classics in primetime, and Dana Hersey hosted both.
http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrFtnFvDZGA

Think it summed up what happened to the industry when Ch. 38 was taken over as a UPN station, left high and dry when the WB Ch. 56 got the CW merger, and 38 became one of the unaffiliated "orphan" stations with nothing left to show but all their old syndicated Everybody Loves Raymond reruns.
They tried bringing back "The Movie Loft" as local-station pride, only now it was hosted by two goofy mancave-guys showing The Wedding Singer. What happened to movies on TV is what happened to the perception of movies' audiences on TV.

(If you want to find out where things first went wrong, I blame Ted Turner/TBS, and his Chuck Norris-Clint Eastwood "Movies for Guys Who Like Movies". Male programming has paid the price ever since. )