Sony Entertainment Television (India)

Sony Entertainment Television, popularly known as SET, Sony TV or simply Sony, is the flagship TV channel of Sony Pictures Networks India and one of the oldest and most popular Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) in India, having been launched on 30 September 1995. Sony TV, along with Sony Sab, competes with Star Plus, Zee TV, Colors, Star Bharat and &TV in the Hindi GEC genre, the most-watched in the country.1

1995–2001

When the channel was launched on November 19, 1995, the logo bug consisted of a plain green-blue-red ‘S’ logo, without any words, in the bottom right corner of the screen.

2001–2007

Designer: 

Unknown

Typography: 

Clarendon Bold and Helvetica Black (logo)
Futura BT Condensed (on-air graphics)

Launched: 

Unknown

Introduced on 3 November 2001, this logo is the same as that used by the other Sony Entertainment Television channels at the time. However, the on-screen logo bug was simply the green-blue-red ‘S’ logo, without any words. This had been moved from the bottom right corner to the more conventional top right corner, where it has stayed ever since.

The Futura BT Condensed font was introduced across Sony’s Indian TV channels at the time, except AXN (SET, SET Max and later SAB TV and SET Pix), and lasted until 2007.

S Max Sony TV India Broadcast Design by Belief

Skip to 0:30 to see SET 2001 idents.

Sony Entertainment

Ident (2004-2007)

Sony Entertainment Tv

Ident (2004–2007)

2007–2011

Designer: 

Unknown

Typography: 

Clarendon Bold (logo)
Trade Gothic (on-air graphics, 2007–2009)
Helvetica Condensed (on-air graphics, 2009–2011)

Launched: 

Unknown

Sony Entertainment Television channels worldwide changed their logos in 2007, moving the word Sony below the ‘S’ logo and changing the font of the words Entertainment Television from Helvetica Black to the Clarendon font used in the logo of Sony. SET India followed suit on 13 November 2007 along with a new graphics package using the Trade Gothic font, as well as new graphics for SET Max, SAB TV and SET Pix using this font.

However, while the other SET channels changed their logos to become completely blue and white, SET India retained the green-blue-red colours. The on-screen logo bug contained the full logo, including the words Sony Entertainment Television, for the first time.

[1]

End screen logo (2007–2009)

2011–2016

Designer: 

Unknown

Typography: 

Clarendon Bold (logo)
Helvetica Condensed (on-air graphics, 2011–2013)

Launched: 

Unknown

When the now-defunct Sony Mix was launched on 1 September 2011, Sony TV, Sony Sab, Sony Max, Sony Pix and Sony Aath added the word Sony in a black rectangle on top of their logos, and the graphics were slightly changed.

HD: 2012–2013

An HD feed was launched on 28 May 2012, making Sony TV the fifth Hindi GEC to launch an HD feed, after Star Plus, Zee TV, Life OK (now Star Bharat) and Colors, which had launched HD feeds in 2011.

This was Multi Screen Media’s second HD channel, the first being Sony Six HD, which was launched on 7 April 2012 in time for that year’s edition of the Indian Premier League.

2013–2016

Designer: 

Ink Project

Typography: 

Gotham

Launched: 

Unknown

Sony TV introduced a new graphics package on 11 October 2013, designed by the Australian branding and design agency Ink Project. The graphics made use of the popular Gotham typeface, which is now used by sister channels AXN and Sony Sab, as well as Zee TV, one of Sony TV’s biggest direct competitors. Accordingly, the HD wordmark in the logo was changed to use Gotham, leaving the main logo unchanged.

Apna Sony, Hamara Sony

Channel promo video (Your Sony, Our Sony).

SonySET Package Montage

Graphics reel.

SonySET Idents 45

Idents.

2016–2022

Designer: 

Medialuna and Naranja y Canela

Typography: 

Clarendon Bold (logo)
ITC Bookman (Latin) and Aparajita (Devanagari) (on-air graphics)

Launched: 

Unknown

During an episode of The Kapil Sharma Show on 19 November 2016, SET rebranded to celebrate its 21st anniversary, dropping its green-blue-red colours for the first time since its launch in 1995 and introducing a new logo and graphics package using orange, violet and gold. This rebrand came less than two weeks after that of competitor Star Plus, which rebranded on 7 November.

2D version, not commonly used.

HD logo.

Logo animation.

Logo against orange background.

Logo against violet background.

The graphics were designed by Argentine design agencies Medialuna and Naranja y Canela, which had previously designed the graphics package for the now-defunct Sony Le Plex HD (Medialuna had also rebranded Sony Pix in 2013). They later merged to form the Tónika agency.

Sony Entertainment Television India Rebrand 2016

Graphics montage, incorrectly using the Gotham font instead of ITC Bookman.

Sony Entertainment Television – Naya Sangeet

Brand song featuring elements of the new graphics package.

The on-screen font is now ITC Bookman, a serif font never used before in TV channel branding. This is in great contrast to the sans-serif fonts Kohinoor and Gotham, which Star Plus and Zee TV, respectively, use in their graphics packages, in addition to many of their respective sister channels.

HD logo against background graphic elements.

[2]

Channel manifesto.

2022–present

All Sony channels rebranded on 24th October 2022 with new logos and graphics.

HD Logo

1. Sony TV also has the rare distinction of having more than 100 million subscribers on its YouTube channel, thereby being among the three most-subscribed YouTube channels in the world. Fellow Indian YouTube channel T-Series is the most-subscribed YouTube channel in the world.

References