MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Entertainment is uniting its domestic and international television divisions as part of its strategy to produce and distribute content on a worldwide basis.
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) president Steve Mosko will head the unified division, which retains the same name. Michael Grindon will remain president of international television and will continue to manage those operations, reporting to Mosko.
The unification of the television divisions will take effect on 1 April. In the fall, SPT employees located in the Los Angeles area will be moving into new offices being constructed on the Sony Pictures studio lot in Culver City, increasing opportunities for intra-divisional collaboration.
“The globalization of entertainment makes it possible for us to create movies and television shows with worldwide appeal. There’s a profound sea change in the way people around the world experience entertainment, and the television industry is changing rapidly to meet new audience demands,” said Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal.
“This strategic move will allow us to be more united in pursuit of the opportunities presented by this new age of internationalization. We want to give people everywhere an even wider variety of formats and programs, so it makes sense to have one television division overseeing this global phenomenon,” added Sony Pictures chairman and CEO Michael Lynton.
“Steve is a tremendously talented leader who has taken a US television division that was virtually on life-support not so many years ago and turned it into a strong and growing business for our studio. We know he’s the right person to bring our domestic and international groups into one global team. And Michael and the great team he leads have built and run one of the best distribution, production and channels businesses in the world, with record success. By joining these divisions together at this moment in history, when television entertainment is more global than ever, we know even greater success lies ahead,” said Pascal.
“With the reciprocal content flow between domestic and international markets, these two businesses are naturally intertwined. This integration of effort will allow us to innovate and create quality entertainment with international appeal, to act more quickly in response to an evolving global market for entertainment, and to expand upon our successes and grow our production and distribution business globally,” said Mosko.
“With Michael and Amy’s support and under Steve’s leadership, the unified TV division will be an even more efficient entity that will allow us to better serve our clients on a worldwide basis. Steve and I have worked together for many years and I believe this new structure will improve our ability to quickly capitalize on market opportunities,” said Grindon.
Lynton and Pascal believe that by putting two strong and successful divisions together, the studio can function even more effectively in exploiting opportunities on a truly global scale. “This is a case of one-plus-one equaling three or more. They say politics stops at the water’s edge, but television certainly does not in this 21st century digital and satellite age,” said Lynton.
Sony Pictures has previously acted to integrate its motion picture marketing and distribution businesses on a global scale, bringing domestic and international staffs together under a unified leadership. As a result, its international box office receipts have grown in recent years by such hits as The Da Vinci Code, Quantum of Solace, Spider-Man 3, Casino Royale and Hancock.
