Sony Sports Network

History

In January 2001, Taj Television Ltd was formed in Dubai with Abdul Rahman Bukhatir as a backer. Bukhatir had various business interests and was known for transforming Sharjah as a major international cricket venue. The company launched the channel as TEN Sports (as part of its Taj Entertainment Network) on 1 April 2002. As of March 2004, the company was headed by Chris McDonald as the CEO and had 100 employees.

In June 2005, Zee Telefilms Limited launched Zee Sports, reportedly India's first private sports channel. Zee Telefilms acquired a 50% stake in TEN Sports for 800 crore (₹) in 2006, and eventually acquired the remainder of its Indian operations in 2010. The sale did not include its Pakistani operations, which were retained by the Essel Group via its subsidiary, Tower Sports. In 2010, Zee rebranded Zee Sports as Ten Action which featured adventure sports and non-cricket content. In 2011, Zee launched a new channel called Ten Cricket, exclusively for cricket matches.

In April 2012, Sony India, then called, Multi Screen Media (MSM) launched their sports entertainment channel, Sony Six. In January 2016, Sony launched two new sports channels, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD, in collaboration with ESPN.

In March 2016, all channels in the Zee network were rebranded as Ten 1, Ten 2, and Ten 3 respectively.

In August 2016, Sony Pictures Networks India announced its intent to acquire Zee's sports networks for US$385 million; the first phase of the sale, which included equity stakes in the holding companies Taj Television (India) Pvt Ltd and part of Taj TV Limited Mauritius, was completed in February 2017 for US$350 million. On 18 July 2017, all of Sony's sports channels in India were rebranded as Sony TEN, and the high-definition feeds of Sony TEN 2 and 3 were also launched. The remainder of the sale was completed in September 2017.

The networks, along with new sisters Sony Six and Sony ESPN, were branded under the umbrella name, Sony Pictures Sports Network and began to phase in a rebranding as Sony Sports in 2020. Sony ESPN was shut down on 30 March 2020.

In June 2021, Sony launched Sony TEN 4, which broadcasts in the Telugu and Tamil languages. Actor Rana Daggubati served as a promotional ambassador for the network's launch.

On 24 October 2022, the Sony Pictures Sports Network was rebranded as the Sony Sports Network, as part of a wider rebranding of all Sony Pictures Networks channels, under the versions of the global Sony television branding. Its channels were likewise rebranded under the new prefix Sony Sports Ten, and Sony Six was brought under the Ten branding for the first time as Sony Sports Ten 5.

On July 10, 2025, Sony Sports Ten 4, which previously broadcast content in multiple audio formats on both SD and HD feeds, underwent a rebranding. The HD feed was rebranded as Sony Sports Ten 4 Telugu, while the SD feed became Sony Sports Ten 4 Tamil. Also, Sony Sports Ten 3 (both SD and HD) was renamed Sony Sports Ten 3 Hindi (SD and HD), resulting in a total of four rebranded channels.

Owned channels

Current Channels

Sony Sports Ten 1

Sony Sports Ten 1 is an English-language channel that broadcasts events from the World Athletics Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Sukma Games. Its programming schedule also consists of live coverage of tennis, rally, horse racing, beach volleyball events and basketball.

Sony Sports Ten 2

Sony Sports Ten 2 is an English-language channel that broadcasts football matches from European football leagues such as Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, DFL-Supercup of Germany and MMA promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in English Super League Kerala (football).

Sony Sports Ten 3 Hindi

Sony Sports Ten 3 Hindi is a Hindi-language channel, available in SD and HD format, that airs cricket matches from the Asia Cup, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England cricket boards. It also broadcasts football matches. and UFC matches in the Hindi language.

Sony Sports Ten 4 Tamil

Sony Sports Ten 4 Tamil is a Tamil-language channel launched on 10 July 2025. It broadcasts Sony Sports Programme in Tamil commentary.

Sony Sports Ten 4 Telugu

Sony Sports Ten 4 Telugu is a Telugu channel launched on 10 July 2025. It broadcasts Sony Sports Programme in Telugu commentary.

Sony Sports Ten 5

Sony Sports Ten 5 is an English-language channel originally launched as Sony Six in April 2012, before the acquisition of TEN. It has historically featured international cricket.

Former channels

Sony ESPN

Main article: Sony ESPN

Sony KIX was launched on 8 April 2015, by what is now Sony Pictures Networks India, it was the second sports television channel launched by the company after Sony Six. The channel was rebranded as Sony ESPN on 17 January 2016.

Sony and ESPN would partner together on website and app efforts, with ESPN providing and producing content such as cricket, football, tennis, basketball, badminton, field hockey, golf, rugby union, motorsport along with other events. Sony Six and Sony ESPN, which were launched before Sony's purchase of Ten, effectively became part of the group when the acquisition was completed. Sony ESPN was shut down on 31 March 2020.

Sony Ten Golf HD

It was an HD, golf-focused channel launched on 7 October 2015. It had the broadcasting rights to the European Tour, Asian Tour, Ryder Cup, LPGA Tour, Royal Trophy, US PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship, Professional Golf Tour of India, and Ladies European Tour. The channel was closed on 31 December 2018.

References

References

1. (16 March 2004). "Who owns Ten Sports?".
2. Borkakoty, Rituraj. (3 November 2021). "Meet the Kerry Packer of the Arabian Gulf".
3. Chakraborty, Alokananda. (26 March 2002). "TEN Sports to hit airwaves on April 1".
4. (25 March 2002). "Ten Sports launching 1 April".
5. (2002-03-26). "Bukhatir's Ten Sports To Go On Air From April 1".
6. (9 June 2005). "Zee launches India's first private sports channel 'Zee Sports'".
7. (10 June 2005). "Zee launches its sports channel".
8. Malvania, Urvi. (2016-09-01). "ZEE sells Ten Sports to Sony for $385 mn".
9. (2020-07-23). "Indian monopoly over Pakistan Cricket broadcast rights".
10. "Sony’s sports channel Six to go on-air on 7 April {{!}} Media".
11. "Sony ESPN TV channels to air from Jan 17".
12. (29 March 2016). "Zee Group follows Star in rebranding Ten Sports channels". The Economic Times.
13. Menon, Bindu. (31 August 2016). "Sony Pictures acquires Ten Sports for $385 m".
14. (2017-02-28). "Zee completes 1st phase of sale of TEN sports to Sony Pictures".
15. "Sony rebrands sports business; launches 2 new HD channels". The Economic Times.
16. PTI. (18 September 2017). "Zee Entertainment completes sale of TEN Sports to Sony".
17. "ZEE Entertainment Completes Sale Of TEN Sports To Sony".
18. (14 March 2020). "SPNI to discontinue Sony Mix and Sony ESPN; to go off-air from 31st March".
19. Karhadkar, Amol. (2021-06-01). "Sony launches new sports channel in Tamil and Telugu".
20. "Sony Sports Ten 4 HD to rebrand as Ten 4 Telugu, SD as Ten 4 Tamil from July 10".
21. "Sony Ten 1 TV Programmes, Popular Shows". [[The Times of India]] trwtu.
22. "UFC 264 , Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor". [[The Indian Express]].
23. "West Indies Cricket Board production and International broadcast rights from 2012-2019 contract". www.espncricinfo.com.
24. Shah, Kartik. (23 March 2017). "Ten 3 Broadcast Emirates T20 Live Telecast in India, UAE, Pakistan country". Sports24Hour.com.
25. "Sony Ten 3 TV Programmes, Popular Shows". The Times of India.
26. (11 January 2016). "Launch date set for Sony ESPN channels in Indian subcontinent".
27. Choudhary, Vidhi. (7 October 2015). "ESPN returns to India in tie-up with Sony".
28. "Sony Ten 1 HD TV Programmes, Popular Shows".