While streaming giants such as Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery have signaled a slowdown in content spending, Sony Pictures has not yet felt a change.
“I don’t think the spending on content has changed dramatically. The way the companies are being managed has changed dramatically,” said Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Speaking at the Bank of America Securities 2022 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference Thursday, Vinciquerra said Sony Pictures, which has a five-year, first-pay-window licensing deal with Netflix, and a similar deal with Disney, is not “terribly concerned” about the rhetoric and has not shifted its production plans. That being said, Vinciquerra believes the level of content spending will change once his predicted consolidation of streaming platforms begins.
“The world doesn’t need six or seven general subscription video services,” Vinciquerra said.
Sony Pictures is able to survey the streaming landscape as a self-described “arms dealer” for the industry — a position Vinciquerra notes he’s happy to be in given the amount of money streamers are spending to compete. In addition to its deals with Netflix and Disney, the company also licenses and makes content for Amazon, Apple, Peacock and Warner Bros. Discovery. (Sony Pictures notably produced the series Gordita Chronicles at HBO Max, a critically acclaimed show that was recently canceled after one season, in a decision Vinciquerra said he was “scratching [his] head about.”)
The studio is in the midst of negotiating a deal with Netflix as the streamer prepares to launch a new advertising-supported tier. For the ad-supported tier, Netflix has access to the Sony Pictures content it has commissioned, but there is “a lot” of library content it currently does not have access to, Vinciquerra said.
Asked how large of an opportunity this could be for Sony Pictures, Vinciquerra declined to discuss specifics, since the studio is in the midst of negotiations, but said he believes it will be “something significant.”
Looking to the theatrical releases, Vinciquerra said he views the 45-day window as a guide, but ultimately believes in flexible windows for films, citing the example of Spider-Man: No Way Home remaining in theaters for more than 90 days, while lower performing films have been pulled earlier than 45 days.
Within the studio, Vinciquerra said he’d like to produce 15 films a year within the coming years, but will likely reach 12 as decisions around what theatrical films to greenlight has become pressured by the pandemic and the rise in streaming platforms.
