The story
It was founded on 30 September 1995 as Sony Entertainment Television India Private Limited (SET India Pvt Ltd.). The first channel from the company was Sony Entertainment Television.
In 1999, SET India Pvt Ltd., launched its second channel Sony Max which broadcast Hindi movies and sports events along with Sony Entertainment Television. In 2005, SET India Network bought SAB TV from Sri Adhikari Brothers and rebranded as Sony SAB. In 2006 SET India launched the English movie channel Sony Pix.
In December 2007, SET India Private Limited was renamed as Multi Screen Media Private Limited.
In December 2015, the company was renamed as Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN).
On 24 October 2022, nearly all of Sony's networks underwent a rebranding coinciding with Diwali, replacing the cropped "S" logo used by SET since its launch with the S-curve logo template used by Sony's television networks worldwide since 2019, and first used locally by SonyLIV.
Attempted merger with Zee
On 22 September 2021, Zee Entertainment Enterprises announced that it had reached an agreement in principle to merge its television networks, production operations, digital assets, and program libraries with SPN; the combined company would be majority-owned by Sony, and led by Zee CEO Punit Goenka. On 21 December 2021, the two companies reached a definitive agreement to merge; it was stated that the combined company "should be well-positioned to meet the growing consumer demand for premium content across entertainment touchpoints and platform[s]." Under the agreement, Sony will hold a 51% stake in the combined company, and inherit Zee's public listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The companies set a two-year deadline of 21 December 2023 to complete the merger, with a one-month grace period ending 20 January 2024.
In 2022, SPN changed its corporate name to Culver Max Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.; the name is used exclusively by the holding company, which continues to otherwise do business as Sony Pictures Networks. In October 2022, the merger was approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI); it was reported that Zee had voluntarily agreed to divest or shut down one general entertainment channel as a condition of the approval.
In June 2023, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) prohibited Goenka from holding directorial positions in any listed company for one year, amid an investigation into allegations of insider trading; the action was considered to be a potential impediment to the closure of the merger, as he was expected to lead the combined company On 10 August 2023, the merger was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). In September 2023, Sony stated that the merger would be delayed for unspecified reasons. In November 2023, the SEBI lifted its ban on Goenka after an appeal.
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On 9 January 2024, amid rumors that Sony was seeking to call off the merger, Zee issued a statement that it was still committed to completing the agreement, and called the reports "baseless". However, on 22 January 2024, Sony issued a notice to Zee effectively terminating the merger proceedings due to, among other reasons, the closing conditions to the merger not being satisfied by the given deadline of 21 January.
From Wikipedia’s article on Sony Pictures Networks, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4