Executive Vice President, Business Affairs, International TV Production

Note that this role is based in the United Kingdom. To meet statutory and regulatory obligations of the UK immigration system, you must have the appropriate immigration permission needed to work and reside in the UK for the duration of the employment.

Role Summary

The Executive Vice President, Business Affairs – International TV Production is responsible for leading and overseeing the negotiation, structuring and management of complex business and legal agreements relating to television development, production, financing, and distribution. The EVP serves as a strategic advisor to the President, International TV Production, senior leadership team, individual production labels, finance, and distribution teams to ensure television projects are structured to maximize business value while minimizing legal and financial risk.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead the Business Affairs team across the international production business (UK, EMEA, LatAm and APAC) responsible for development, production, and distribution agreements.
• Advisor to President, International Production on emerging issues in Business Affairs negotiation and collaboration with divisional leadership in developing studio go-to-market strategies.
• Provide strategic leadership to STIP’s production labels in developing creative and innovative deal structures to maximize commercial opportunities and holistic deal value to the studio.
• Develop and maintain a structure that empowers and enables the BA team to negotiate, structure, draft and administer development and production related deals across the international SPT business.
• Establish and maintain key external relationships with Business Affairs teams from buyers around the world – FTA, streaming, cable and Digital.
• Build a collaborative culture with US Studio BA to ensure best practices and market insights are shared across SPT.
• Similarly, develop relationships with BA teams in Sony Music and PlayStation to minimize internal friction and create OneSony opportunities.

Deal Negotiation & Contract Management

• Oversight and overall sign off on negotiation and structure of a wide range of agreements, ensuring our negotiation strategy and standard practices reflect the studio’s market positioning, creative strategy and commercial strategy.
• Development agreements with writers, creators, and producers.
• Showrunner and executive producer agreements.
• Talent agreements (actors, directors, hosts).
• Production services agreements.
• Co-production and joint venture agreements.
• Financing and deficit financing arrangements.
• Distribution, licensing, and platform agreements.
• First-look and overall deals with producers and production companies.
• Analyse, review, and interpret contracts; provide thoughtful legal advice on potential risks and issues.
• Look for innovative approaches to new deals with talent, IP and production partners.
• Stay ahead of market trends, ensuring the studio is adopting industry best practice in how we negotiate, how the BA team operates, and how we structure deals for optimal value.

Television Production BA Oversight

• Leadership / Counsel for global business affairs team throughout the production lifecycle.
• Act as a point of escalation, support and thought partnership where issues arise, deals deviate from standard processes and team members ask for assistance.
• Script development and rights acquisition.
• Production contracts and vendor agreements.
• Talent guild compliance (WGA, SAG‑AFTRA, DGA, Equity, etc.).
• Production insurance and risk management.
• Clearance and chain-of-title verification.
• Credits, royalties, and profit participation structures.

Intellectual Property & Rights Management

• Oversee acquisition and protection of underlying rights for TV projects.
• Ensure proper chain of title and intellectual property ownership.
• Oversight of rights exploitation across international territories and platforms.
• Guidance on format licensing and franchise development.

Oversight of Financing & Business Structuring

• Overall decision maker on structuring TV production financing and investment agreements.
• Collaborate with finance teams on budgeting, tax incentives, and financial risk management.
• Negotiate revenue participation and backend compensation structures.

Risk Management & Compliance

• Identify and mitigate legal, financial, and operational risks associated with television production.
• Oversee and guide team members managing disputes, claims, and litigation matters relating to SPT projects.
• Ensure compliance with industry regulations, guild agreements, and company policies.

AI Policies

• Provide leadership on the introduction of AI strategy and policies for the ITVP division.

Fostering Cross-Department Collaboration

• Ensure optimal collaborative information flow on current deals both within BA and amongst the various teams with SPT and Distribution.
• Encourage and foster interdepartmental partnership with internal teams including US Studio, Sony Music, PlayStation, Finance and Strategy, Distribution and Sales, Marketing and Franchise Management, and Strategy & Business Operations.

Team Development

• Cultivate a culture of continuous learning, nurturing employee development, and maintaining a pipeline of emerging talent to mentor into future BA Executives.
• Ensure seamless partnership within the international Business Affairs team, including information flow, transparency and thought partnering on negotiation strategy.
• Identify and implement training programs to ensure internal competency in policies, requirements, and procedures, and external competency in leading industry practice in negotiation and deal structuring.
• Provide leadership and guidance to the BA Admin team to ensure the studio can administer and comply with contractual and union/guild obligations.

Supervisory Responsibility

• Direct reports: SVP Business Affairs (UK), Head of BA Latin America (Miami).
• Oversight of BA teams in UK and Latin America.
• Mentoring responsibility for BA teams in SPTV's individual production labels across the UK and APAC territories.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in entertainment law or business affairs.
• A proven leader with impeccable judgment who acts with a sense of urgency.
• Extensive experience in television production and deal negotiation.
• Experience working at a major studio, streamer, broadcaster, or entertainment law firm.
• Collaborative style with proven ability to quickly grow and maintain strong internal relationships with multiple business lines.
• Proven ability to manage complex relationships (internally and externally).
• Experience leading a variety of transactions, i.e. acquisitions, divestments, renegotiations.
• Willingness and ability to quickly learn new areas of the business as required.
• Ability to work closely with and win trust of senior (President and above) executives in London and LA.
• Proven network among international buyers’ BA teams.

What you have

• Excellent organisational and time management skills to manage multiple training initiatives simultaneously.
• Strong communication skills to interact effectively with employees, managers, and external vendors.
• Previous solid learning coordination experience.
• Proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite, Canva and learning management systems (experience with Cornerstone is desired).
• Detail-oriented with a focus on accuracy and data integrity.
• Ability to work independently, proactively and as part of a team in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to handle high-pressure situations in a professional, flexible & customer-focused manner.
• A global perspective and the ability to work with diverse audiences and cultures, adapting style to effectively communicate.

Benefits

• Competitive salary, with annual bonus eligibility.
• A choice of comprehensive health plan options that fit your lifestyle, including private medical insurance.
• Rest and recharge during a week off during the winter holidays, in addition to 25 days of paid annual leave.
• Participate in extensive learning & development opportunities at all levels, including curated instructor-led classes and high-impact online resources.
• Build your community by joining our Employee Business Resource Groups, and/or Sony Pictures Action – our racial equity and inclusion strategy.
• Access to an employee online store filled with a variety of discounted Sony products.
• Watch the newest movies and TV shows at our exclusive employee screenings at work.
• Entitlement to apply for an interest-free season ticket loan.
• Automatic enrolment in the Company’s Pension Plan.
• Free counselling and advisory service.
• You will be automatically enrolled in the Company’s Life Insurance and Group Income Protection Plans, subject to any applicable service requirements.
• The opportunity to attend various social events in our state-of-the-art offices in Paddington.

In addition to the above, we have a range of other optional discounted benefits that are reviewed regularly (e.g., gym memberships, travel insurance, activity passes, car leasing, experience days and many more!). If you require any reasonable adjustments with any part of the recruitment process, including the application or interview process, please contact us at uk_-_peopleandorganisation@spe.sony.com. Please put "Reasonable Adjustment Request" in the subject line of the email. Sony Pictures Entertainment is committed to equal opportunity in all its employment practices, policies and procedures. No worker or potential worker will therefore receive less favourable treatment due to their race, age, creed, sexual orientation, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, religion, gender, marital status or trade union membership (if applicable).