Steve Mosko - S 2015
Courtesy of NABThere’s another shakeup at a top TV studio.
A day after Bela Bajaria’s exit from Universal Television, longtime Sony Pictures Television chairman Steve Mosko is set to exit, sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter. It’s unclear who will take over Mosko’s post, though SPT presidents of programming and production Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg remain potential candidates.
Mosko had just been promoted from president to chairman last September, but sources tell THR his contract was not renewed after he and the studio could not agree on terms. The TV veteran had been at SPT for 24 years. SPT declined comment.
The departure comes weeks after the broadcast upfronts, which saw SPT sell five studio shows to the networks, up one from last year. Those new sales include a Blacklist spinoff, time-travel drama Timeless from Shawn Ryan and Erik Kripke — both for NBC — and Kevin James’ new CBS multicamera comedy Kevin Can Wait.
Given the increased push for ownership as broadcast networks continue to vertically align themselves with their studio counterparts, independent studios like Sony Pictures TV have found retaining full ownership to be increasingly challenging. Key to SPT’s sales this year was the studio’s willingness to do co-productions in which they share ownership of the series with the broadcast networks.
News of Mosko’s departure comes as SPT had contributed more than 60 percent of parent Sony Pictures Entertainment’s operating income. SPE CEO Michael Lynton announced in 2013 that the company planned to make a major shift from film to higher-margin TV.
SPT has a large roster of programming across broadcast, though it has yet to sell to Fox. The company boasts NBC’s key performer The Blacklist as well as ABC’s The Goldbergs, with reliable unscripted hit Shark Tank at ABC. On the cable and streaming side, the studio produces Masters of Sex, Preacher, Better Call Saul, Bloodline, Outlander and The Get Down, with Powers set up at PlayStation as well as several other series for digital platform Crackle.
Mosko also oversaw the studio’s syndicated fare, including Jeopardy! and Days of Our Lives.
