Sony Pictures launches new channel in Vietnam

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks will launch a new channel called GEM, which will feature popular general entertainment content from across Asia. The all-new Asian channel is set to launch in January 2014.GEM is the second Asian content channel offering from SPT Networks, and is also SPT Network's second channel in Vietnam.According to a recent study by Media Partners Asia, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing pay-TV markets in the region, while pay-TV subscribers are projected to grow from 4.8 million in 2012 to 8.1 million by 2020, with both cable and direct-to-home (DTH) remaining critical growth platforms in Vietnam. Pay-TV advertising is also anticipated to grow during the same time period, from US$108 million to US$209 million.“While there is an increasingly strong interest in Vietnam for scripted and non-scripted Asian general entertainment content, programming is available only intermittently on various platforms. With GEM we are bringing Vietnamese audiences the best and most popular shows from across Asia on one dedicated channel,” Hui Keng Ang, senior vice president, business operations, Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia said.GEM adds to SPT Networks’ presence in Asia, where it currently offers five wholly-owned pay-TV channels; AXN, Sony Entertainment Television, beTV, ONE and Animax.