Sony Liv


Sony Liv is an Indian general entertainment, video on demand service that is owned by Sony Pictures Networks India, based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Overview

The service was launched on 23 January 2013. Sony Liv is a part of the network of television channels owned by Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd. in India. The network's other channels include: Sony TV, Sony SAB, Sony Ten, Sony Max, Sony Max 2, Sony Six, Sony Pix, and Sony Yay. It has access to 18 years of content from channels that are part of the Sony Entertainment Network. That translates to more than 700 movies and 40,000+ hours of television show coverage in Hindi, English and Tamil. It also offers original web series like Lovebytes, Married Women Diaries, etc.
The application underwent a revamp in its appearance in June 2020.
Anime is now part of Sony Liv with the inclusion of Animax as a live channel.
Sony Pictures Networks bagged the Indian subcontinent telecast rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The network will also have dedicating channels to broadcast in Russia, which includes Sony SIX, Sony TEN 1, Sony TEN 2, Sony TEN 3. Sony Liv is the official mobile and Internet broadcaster for streaming all 2018 FIFA World Cup live matches starting 14 June.
In June 2020, Sony Liv launched as a streaming service in United States on Sling TV, with all the shows available in India available on the app. The service costs USD $6 per month and is included for free in multiple Hindi-language packs.

Programming

Content

Sony Liv's Library consists of 18 years of content from the Sony Entertainment Network channels in India: Sony TV, Sony SAB, Sony Ten, Sony Max, Sony MAX 2, Sony PIX and Sony Six.
Along with a wide selection of English, Hindi and regional movies, Sony Liv also has Animax that broadcasts a wide range of Japanese animations.
Sony Liv consists of regional offerings like the first ever Gujarati web series titled Kacho Papad Pako Papad, an extremely popular multistarer on the platform.
Sony Liv is the first Indian Over-the-top media service platform to produce music content for a Hollywood feature film - producing music for the Hindi version of the blockbuster titled Passengers, starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. The singers for the original soundtrack titled Aaadat included Jubin Nautiyal, Shirley Setia and Raftaar.
After shutting down a linear TV channel on 18 April 2017, Animax was made available exclusively as a digital streaming channel in India from 7 July 2017.
Recently Sony revamped its app and has officially entered the original content space. Platform is also planning to launch international content, including For Life and Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For The Bone Collector.

Live channels

The network owns 31 channels including Sony Entertainment Television, one of India’s most popular Hindi entertainment channels. The other entertainment channels it owns include Sony PIX, Sony MAX, AXN and Sony SAB. It has a particularly strong sports channel portfolio, comprising 11 channels, such as Sony SIX, Sony ESPN, Sony TEN1, Sony TEN2 and Sony TEN3.

Regularly updated

Sony Liv features programming in the following key genres: comedy, crime, drama, horror, action.

Availability

Sony Liv is available in India, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain.

Content partners

Sony Pictures Networks India signed a deal with Times Internet's BoxTV to make its video content available on BoxTV's website. The service will be available to BoxTV users worldwide and DD Free DTH.

Viewership

Sony Liv has reached about 25 million views on a monthly basis on its website, app and YouTube channel.

Platforms

Hardware supported

List of Sony Liv-ready devices:
Supported web browsers by platform:
Windows 8.1 through web browser.
Other software options:
On 1 June 2014, Sony Pictures Networks India launched LIV Sports, a digital sports entertainment property.
Liv Sports was the official mobile and Internet broadcaster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup starting 12 June. Liv Sports aired both live and video-on-demand match content with statistics and analysis.
It also broadcasts Serie A, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League.
It broadcasts international cricket matches played by Pakistan, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe, Grand Prix motorcycle racing, WWE RAW, Smackdown and other WWE pay-per-view events, UFC and NBA.
After Sony's acquisition of Ten Sports Network, all TEN Sports live programs also began broadcasting on Sony Liv.

SonyLiv Security Flaw

On 20 December 2019, Bengaluru-based security researcher Ehraz Ahmed discovered a security flaw in SonyLiv App that allowed to fetch sensitive user information such as profile picture, email address, date of birth, name, and phone number of its registered users.