Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra has recruited a former lieutenant, Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins, to fill the top Sony Pictures Television job that had been vacant since the departure of Sony Pictures TV chairman Steve Mosko 17 months ago. The news of Hopkins’ exit from Hulu and arrival at Sony is being shared with the staffs of both companies right now.
At Hulu, Hopkins will be succeeded by Randy Freer, president and COO of Fox Networks Group and current Hulu board member, who has been named new CEO.
Hopkins has been named Chairman, Sony Pictures Television, overseeing all television production, distribution and marketing operations globally for the studio, as well as SPE’s media networks business. He will start in late November and report to Vinciquerra.
Hopkins had been president of distribution for Fox Networks Group under FNG chairman and CEO Vinciquerra until Vinciquerra’s 2011 exit from Fox. Hopkins was named CEO of Hulu in 2013 amid turmoil at the streaming service, co-owned by 21st Century Fox, Disney, NBCUniversal and Time Warner, which at the time had been run by an interim CEO while its owners were exploring a sale. Over the past four years, Hopkins has built up the company, which doubled revenue and tripled its market valuation and recently made Emmy history with 10 statuettes, becoming the first streaming service to land a Best Series Emmy for breakout drama The Handmaid’s Tale.
“I’ve known Mike for years and can think of no better person to lead our television businesses during a time of such extraordinary evolution and opportunity,” Vinciquerra said. “Mike is a proven and innovative leader who has played a key role in redefining today’s television landscape, both for consumers and for how content producers reach them.”
