Sony Pictures Entertainment(SPE) has renamed its domestic and international television concerns, removingthe Columbia TriStar moniker and rebramding them with the Sony name. ColumbiaTriStar Domestic Television and Columbia TriStar International Television willnow operate as Sony Pictures Television (SPT) and Sony Pictures TelevisionInternational (SPTI).

The move is calculated tocapitalise on the strength of the Sony brand during a banner year for SPE'sfilm divisions, said SPE chairman John Calley in a statement.

SPE's television divisionsproduce or distribute around 60 programmes worldwide in addition to SPE'slicensing deals with international television stations and local languageprogramming interests. SPT's programming features prime time series like Dawson'sCreek (WB) and The King Of Queens (CBS), the game show Wheel Of Fortune and made-for-cable content that includes TheShield (FX) and Ripley's BelieveIt Or Not! (TBS). On theinternational side, SPTI encompasses more than 30 channels worldwide and itsproduction slate is a key factor in SPE's global marketplace aspirations. SPE'stelevision library includes more than 275 series, 35,000 episodes and 22,000game show episodes.