Kenichiro Yoshida To SPE Leaders: Studio Will Remain Big Part Of Sony Portfolio

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Corp President and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida paid a visit to the Sony Pictures Entertainment lot today to meet with 75 senior leaders and managers from across the company and give more execs a chance to personally meet the chief. In a meeting that lasted around an hour after Yoshida was introduced by Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Tony Vinciquerra, his most important gesture was to give a vote of confidence on Japan’s long term commitment to the movie and TV businesses.

After providing general observations on the current entertainment landscape and the rise of tech companies and the recent studio mergers, he said that Sony Corp’s commitment to the entertainment business remains strong. Yoshida reminded the crowd that SPE has been in the Sony family since 1989, and that it would continue to remain an important part of Sony’s Entertainment portfolio. That is significant, given the current merger frenzy and some recent streamlining.

Yoshida praised Vinciquerra’s efforts to strengthen the core business and praised the studio’s creation of strong IP from Breaking Bad to The Crown, Jumanji, Men in Black, and Hotel Transylvania and stressed the need to continue in that direction.

Finally, he highlighted the importance of synergies between Sony Group sister companies, citing the intersection of Sony technology and content creation, the spreading of IP across platforms, with synergy opportunities between movies and games and the importance of direct to consumer initiatives that have included Funimation, and should include potential opportunities working with PlayStation.