Sony Pictures Networks India Unveils Sweeping Content Slate as KBC Season 18 Premieres
Sony Pictures Networks India pulled back the curtain on its most ambitious content slate in years on 10 August 2026, a line-up spanning Hindi-language television, regional streaming originals, live cricket and a long-delayed drama that looked, for a time, like it might never get made.
The announcement landed the same evening that Kaun Banega Crorepati — India's long-running adaptation of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? — returned for its 18th season on Sony Entertainment Television and the Sony LIV streaming service, with Amitabh Bachchan back in the host's chair and more than 25 sponsors attached, according to an SPNI press release. The season premiered at 9 pm Indian time. (ANI; SPNI Press Release)
Behind the programming blitz is a structural shift. SPNI — until recently operating as Culver Max Entertainment and owned by Sony Corp — moved in January to bring its digital streaming assets closer to its long-established TV business, collapsing the old wall between what airs on broadcast and what lives on the Sony LIV app. Managing Director and CEO Gaurav Banerjee is now pitching both as a single, unified machine. (Deadline)
The new slate leans heavily on star power. Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn will host Crime Patrol 2026, the latest instalment of a true-crime franchise that has run on Sony channels for over two decades. Cricket captain Rohit Sharma is getting his own show on an SPNI network. Comedian Bharti Singh and writer Harssh Limbachiyaa will front Indian Game Show, a celebrity-challenge comedy series. (Deadline)
Regional-language content carries real weight in the line-up. Madhuri Dixit will host Kon Honar Crorepati, the Marathi-language version of KBC. Sony LIV will launch Tamil-language editions of MasterChef and Idol, with composer A.R. Rahman leading the search for Tamil Nadu's top singing talent. (Deadline)
Perhaps the most striking confirmation was Scam 2010, director Hansal Mehta's next chapter in the acclaimed Scam anthology series. The show was first unveiled in 2024 but appeared unlikely to proceed after a legal threat. SPNI confirmed the project is now in the slate, though no production timeline was disclosed. (Deadline)
On the sports side, Sony Sports Networks' "Festival of Sports" programming block will run from 15 August to 1 December, covering India's cricket tour of Sri Lanka, the Women's T20 Asia Cup, the Asian Games, and India's all-format tour of New Zealand. That is live cricket plus multi-sport event coverage compressed into a single window — a scheduling play designed to keep audiences cycling between Sony's sports channels and its entertainment output through the autumn. (Deadline)
For viewers, the immediate effect is a packed schedule that moves from a flagship quiz show on a Sunday evening to cricket tours, Tamil talent searches and a true-crime comeback — all under one corporate roof, designed to feed both a television set and a phone screen.
