Four new channels are coming to Freeview, Freesat, Sky and Virgin on Tuesday, May 25, dedicated to movies and TV shows. The channels, branded under the “Great!” name, will be replacing Sony’s old channels.
As we reported last week, Sony has sold its UK channels – “Sony Movies”, “Sony Movies Classic”, “Sony Movies Action”, “Sony Channel” and the “Pop” kids TV platform, to American investment firm Narrative Capital.
Sony’s channels, which were available for free on a variety of platforms, used to mainly offer old(ish) and classic movies, as well as classic (for lack of a better word) TV shows like Murder, She Wrote, T.J. Hooker, Hart to Hart and more.
The new channels will – for now at least – be rebranded versions of the same channels, with the same type of content, with Sony continuing to be a licensing and distribution partner for the channels.
Plus, as they did before, the new channels will only support Standard Definition content for now, with no HD broadcasts.
Something GREAT! is coming…
💜 #GREATmovies
❤️ #GREATaction
💛 #GREATclassic pic.twitter.com/1bs1VF5aoE— GREAT! movies (@greatmoviesuk) May 17, 2021
Reportedly, Narrative is planning to eventually build a free (with adverts) Video on Demand platform, presumably with additional content – but the company was not available for comment at this time.
Although the channels are keeping their old numbers, some Freeview devices might need a manual retune, in order to see the new names – but that depends on your specific device. See our recommended Freeview recorders here.
What’s On The New GREAT! Channels?
The four new content channels, which retain the same channel numbers as the Sony channels they’re replacing, are:
Great! Movies
Freeview: Channel 33 / Freesat: Channel 302 / Sky: Channel 321
Replaces “Sony Movies”. Free to watch blockbusters, contemporary hits, cult classics and feature film favourites, including:
- Blade Runner 2049, starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford.
- Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic featuring Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron.
- Fury, war drama starring Brad Pitt and Logan Lerman.
- Baby Driver: A heist comedy directed by Edgar Wright and starring Ansel Elgort and Jon Hamm.
GREAT! Movies Classic
Freeview: Channel 51 / Freesat: Channel 303 / Sky: Channel 319
Replaces “Sony Movies Classic”. Home for timeless cinema and modern movie making, with quality films available for repeated enjoyment including:
- Oliver!, the Oscar-winning musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale.
- Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn’s classic comedy.
- Shadow Of A Doubt, another Hitchcock classic, starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten.
- Psycho, the classic Hitchcock thriller starring Anthony Perkins.
GREAT! Movies Action
Freeview: Channel 41 / Freesat: Channel 305 / Sky: Channel 323
Replaces “Sony Movies Action”. A no-holds-barred action movie channel with favourite heroes from classic John Wayne westerns to cult Jean-Claude Van Damme actioners, and some you’ve never heard of before, including:
- The Mountain Road, a classic war film starring James Stewart and Lisa Lu
- Flight Of Fury, with action star Steven Seagal battling enemy terrorists.
Great! TV
Freeview: Channel 49 / Freesat: Channel 142 / Sky: Channel 157
Replaces “Sony Channel”. Drama and entertainment with a familiar mix of scripted series, nostalgic drama and popular gameshows, including series such as:
- Charlie’s Angels
- Starsky & Hutch
- Who Wants to Be A Millionaire
- M*A*S*H
Every year, in the run-up to Christmas, Sony also used to replace Sony Movies Classic with Sony Movies Christmas. The same will presumably happen this year, with Great! Movies Christmas.
