SPNI follows JioStar footsteps, prices six of its HD channels at Rs 30

New Delhi: Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India) has priced six of its high-definition pay channels at Rs 30 a month in its latest reference interconnect offer (RIO), taking them above the Rs 19 bouquet-eligibility ceiling under the tariff framework.

The six channels priced at Rs 30 are Sony Entertainment Television HD, Sony SAB HD, and four sports HD feeds – Sony Sports Ten 1 HD, Sony Sports Ten 2 HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 Hindi HD, and Sony Sports Ten 5 HD.

Under the tariff rules notified by TRAI, only pay channels with an MRP of Rs 19 or less can be included in bouquets, which effectively pushes any channel priced above that threshold into an a-la-carte lane.

The move follows JioStar’s strategy to push “must-have” regional general entertainment channels beyond the Rs 19 threshold, widening the a-la-carte band.

However, instead of taking key regional GECs out of bouquets, SPNI has placed a premium on HD versions of its national flagships and sports network, while keeping several other HD channels at Rs 19 in the same RIO, including Sony Max HD, Sony Pix HD, Sony BBC Earth HD, and the proposed Sony Vizha HD and Sony Telugu HD.

The sports pricing surprise

Four of the six Rs 30 channels are sports HD feeds.

Sony Sports Network continues to hold a strong football portfolio. Sony renewed its UEFA club competition rights deal through 2026-27, covering the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, among other properties.

It has also locked in long-cycle cricket inventory through its New Zealand Cricket rights deal running from May 2024 to April 2031, which includes bilateral home series and India tours of New Zealand in the cycle.

In combat sports, UFC has publicly described Sony Pictures Networks India as its exclusive broadcast partner for the India subcontinent, with UFC programming carried on Ten feeds, alongside SPNI’s long-running WWE partnership.

The question for distributors and advertisers is whether this portfolio can carry a sustained premium at a time when sports rights economics are under stress across the market.

A KPMG report had pegged sports broadcasting revenues in India at about Rs 7,560 crore in FY22, while also flagging the sector’s dependence on advertising cycles and the scale economics of premium rights.

Globally and in India, even the biggest cricket properties, including IPL, have thrown up profitability questions.