Erik Gruenwedel

June 20, 2018

Sony Pictures Television has revamped internal operations to combine networks, distribution and home entertainment into single business units operating under separate territorial management and reporting to Keith Le Goy, president of worldwide TV distribution at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Le Goy is also president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, a position he assumed in February, when he was tapped to replace Man Jit Singh, who had helmed the home entertainment business unit for four years.

Tin addition to the U.S., Sony territories include Europe, headed by Mark Young, SVP, distribution & sales U.K., Ireland, Africa and Iberia, and John Rossiter, GM Central Europe; Asia-Pacifc, headed by Ken Lo, SVP, international distribution; and Latin America and Canada, headed by Alex Marin, EVP of international distribution; and

In a June 20 employee memo, SPT chairman Mike Hopkins, former CEO of Hulu, said Sony is also ramping up over-the-top video initiatives (including Crackle.com) to be headed by chief digital officer Eric Berger.

Changes affecting home entertainment include a centralized “consumer insights and innovation unit” focusing on sales strategy, data and process engineering led by Kim Overall, EVP of the consumer strategy group at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Lexine Wong, EVP of worldwide marketing at SPHE, will continue to spearhead home entertainment marketing.

Jason Spivak,  EVP of worldwide digital distribution at SPHE, will oversee management of domestic home entertainment, pay-TV and SVOD sales, while Paul Littmann,  EVP of worldwide distribution at Sony Pictures, will continue to oversee global deals and emerging clients across the distribution, home entertainment and networks businesses.

“Broadly speaking, the new territory management model brings together, under a single local leader, businesses that have been historically separate,” Hopkins wrote in the memo as reported by Deadline.com. “With this approach, we gain a more efficient structure giving regional leaders, along with their direct reports in each country, the ability to make smart, strategic business decisions, while keeping local consumers at the core of what we do.”

Home entertainment reported third-quarter revenue of $331 million, which was up $3 million from revenue of $328 million during the previous-year period. Through nine months of the fiscal year, revenue topped $692 million compared to $764 million during the previous-year period.

Top 10 titles released in the quarter included Baby Driver, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Emoji Movie, The Dark Tower, Jungle,  All Saints and Flatliners.