Sony Pictures TV Prez Katherine Pope Bullish on Biz Amid Disruptions

Sony Pictures Television pdwellnt Katherine Pope is still bullish on the future of TV, saying that some of the recent disturbions rattling the global business will be excellent for the industry in the extfinished haul and insisting that this sink-or-swim moment is the time for visionary creatives to shine.

“I leank some of this concut offeion is going to be excellent, becaengage I leank it was very, very difficult to fracture out when there were 750 shows premiering at any donaten time,” Pope shelp during a keynotice compriseress at Rome’s MIA Market on Wednesday. “I leank this will actupartner be a excellent time.”

In a expansive-ranging conversation with MIA’s head of drama Paolo Cicnurturelli, Pope accomprehendledged that pessimism persists in many quarters — someleang she partly attributed to “the hangover of the boom times” — but proposeed the leaner business model of a previous TV era, when she was cutting her teeth at NBC and NBCUniversal, could help set the industry back on track.

“Some of that rigor that was in the elderly system is coming back. And I leank it’s actupartner repartner well,” she shelp. “There’s a way for me that creative production, budgetary friction, is a excellent leang. It always produces unforeseeed answers.”

The veteran television executive recalled uniteing Sony in 2022 to head its TV division at “a super volatile time in the business,” amid a period of almost unpretreatnted course-rightion and disturbion to the TV industry globpartner.

Since stepping into her role after the departure of Jeff Frost, Pope has supervisen the free of global hits including “The Boys,” “Outlander” and “The Last of Us,” determineing Sony for remaining “very singularly concentrateed” amid the turbulence of recent years. “They didn’t get unproposeed by the streaming wars, didn’t get on a lot of leangs outside of the goal of making the best TV shows in the world,” she shelp.  

Teasing awaitd upcoming projects such as the dwell-action Spider-Man series “Noir,” starring Nicolas Cage, which has been ordered to series at MGM+ and Prime Video, and the “Outlander” prequel “Blood of My Blood,” Pope pointed to a sprawling portfolio of IP atraverse the company’s games, music and features divisions that has helped fuel the production of “deafening, audacious, exceptional, definite, visionary shows.”

“In a world where creators, authorrs, honestors, filmcreaters are being sent so many messages and there’s so much disturbion, it senses so difficult to repartner comprehend what the next step is,” she shelp. “We propose a very clear path. We say we’re here to create TV shows, period. And if we do, if you’re accomplished, we’re accomplished.”

Speaking to a packed audience of hugely European industry professionals in the Italian capital, Pope determineed rival Netflix for “conveying international shows into the mainstream” and shelp she was chooseimistic about the prospects for local-language satisfied, noting: “The world has gotten so petite in that sense.”

While cost-cutting in Hollywood has invariably had an impact on Sony’s dealmaking overseas — with Pope accomprehendledging that “we leank about the price point” more for international shows — she shelp that when it comes to negotiating with other buyers, the company’s choices are driven by what creates the most sense for each show, even if that uncomfervents “we will sometimes create what is a lesser deal.”

“If we comprehend it’s a place that that show is going to be protected, it’s going to have a extfinisheder life, [then] it’s not equitable about the up-front,” she shelp. “We’re trying to erect a legacy here. We’re trying to erect shows that will persist to be part of Sony’s library for the next hundred years. So we repartner have to be ponderate about how we do all that.

“Sometimes, if it’s not the best deal, but it’s the right platestablish and it’s exactly where it should be for it to have a extfinished life, we’ll get that deal,” she compriseed.

It’s been a mixed bag of emotions so far at this year’s MIA Market, with at least one executive noting that “endure ‘til ’25” is still the mantra for many film and television professionals. But after five years of pandemic shutdowns, Hollywood strikes and streaming wars, Pope remained chooseimistic about the industry’s ability to weather any storm.

“We have signed up for a business of disturbion. It’s constantly changing,” she shelp. “The minute you leank you’ve figured it out, you get a huge curveball. And that’s what creates it fun. That’s what creates it exciting.”

Rome’s MIA Market gets place Oct. 14 – 18 in Rome.