Sony Crime Channel was a

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television channel, focusing on crime television programmes and documentaries. It was launched on 6 February 2018 and was owned by Sony Pictures Television. It aired crime programming targeted at a female audience.

History

Sony Crime Channel launched in February 2018, replacing the original

Sony Channel Sony Channel is a brand of general entertainment television channels, owned by Sony Pictures Television. It was previously known as Sony Entertainment Television (SET), but many of the channels, except the Indian television channel, were rebrand ...

on all platforms, including

Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...

and

Freesat Freesat is a British free-to-air satellite television service, first formed as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc and now owned by Digital UK. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008. F ...

. At time of launch, it broadcast a range of crime dramas, including the free-to-air premiere of

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as well as reruns of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and

Hustle Hustle or The Hustle may refer to: Film * ''Hustle'' (1975 film), an American crime film starring Burt Reynolds * ''Hustle'' (2004 film), an American television film about Pete Rose * ''Hustle'' (2008 film), a film starring Bai Ling * ''The H ...

. In June 2019, ultimately due to low ratings,

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announced that the channel would be downgraded, reducing its output to reality crime programming, akin to its now defunct sister channels

True Crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

and

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that f ...

. Prior to these changes, a month earlier, the channel was withdrawn from

and was moved to the G-MAN multiplex on

, reducing availability to Manchester only and moved to channel 60. Additionally, its broadcast hours were cut down to 4:00 - 6:00 and its +1 service was replaced by Movies4Men +1. These

changes occurred as a result of

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and

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moving to the local multiplex. In September 2019, as part of a revamp of

's entertainment portfolio in the UK, Sony Crime Channel was the only channel without any sign of change. The channel swapped places with

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prior to

's re-launch in the UK. The channel was replaced by Sony Channel +1 on

, and at the end of the following month, Sony Crime Channel +1 closed on

. The channel abruptly closed on 9 June 2020. On 13 August 2020, an editor on the site ''TV Channel Lists'' noticed Sony Crime began broadcasting again with colour bars. This indicated that Sony Crime may make a return in the near-future. However, as of 10 September 2020, the channel's slot on Sky was occupied by

Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...

References

{{Media in the United Kingdom, television Sony Pictures Television Defunct television channels in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 2018 Crime television networks Television channels and stations disestablished in 2020 2018 establishments in the United Kingdom 2020 disestablishments in the United Kingdom