 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 2012; 13 years ago (2012) |
| Defunct | 2019; 6 years ago (2019) |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | |
Number of employees | 18,000 |
| Parent | Sony Corporation of America |
| Subsidiaries | |
Sony Entertainment, Inc. was the umbrella entertainment division of JapanesemultinationalconglomerateSony Corporation from 2012 to 2019 that oversaw the corporation's ventures in film, television and music.[1]
On March 30, 2012, then-co-chairman and CEO ofSony Pictures Entertainment,Michael Lynton, and executive vice president and general counsel of Sony,Nicole Seligman, were respectively named as CEO and president of Sony Corporation of America to oversee all of Sony's global entertainment businesses.[2] On April 9, 2013, Lynton renewed his contract with Sony and was elevated to the presidency at Sony Entertainment.[3]
On February 18, 2016, Seligman resigned after a decade and half with the company but remained there until March 31.[4]
On January 13, 2017, Lynton announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Sony Entertainment and Sony Pictures and chairman of the latter to become chairman forSnap Inc.[5][6] and was later replaced by Sony Pictures chairman and CEOAnthony Vinciquerra on 11 May 2017.[7]
News outlets includingThe New York Post,Complete Music Update andTheStreet reported on December 19, 2016, about Sony was considering a restructuring of its American operations by merging Sony Pictures withSony Interactive Entertainment which would have placed Sony Pictures under Sony Interactive's then-CEO, Andrew House, though House wouldn't have taken over day-to-day operations of Sony Pictures.[8][9] However, a Sony spokesperson denounced any sort of planned merger or restructuring of any of the Sony media divisions at that time in an interview with the latter source.[10]
Sony Entertainment was dissolved in 2019, withSony Music Entertainment andSony/ATV Music Publishing consolidated underSony Music Group, which was assigned as a direct subsidiary of Sony alongside Sony Pictures.[11]
Other Sony entertainment umbrellas areSony Interactive Entertainment and theirPlayStation Studios, which have a presence on numerous platforms. Across all of Sony's electronics and thePlayStation brand, and is extremely diversified acrossAppleiOS,Android,Microsoft Windows,Nintendo Switch,Steam, andXbox.[12][13][14] This includes the apps for their streaming services such asCrunchyroll (includingFunimation),[15]Great American Pure Flix (withGreat American Media),[16]Sony Pictures Core (formerlyBravia Core),[17] and India'sSonyLIV.[18]
Sony Music Entertainment Japan and its subsidiaries, includingAniplex, operate independently of the US-based Sony Entertainment.
A Sony spokesman said no such merger is planned.