Sony Group CEO and President Hiroki Totoki has ruled out the possibility of acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, emphasizing that the company will instead focus on expanding its presence in the fast-growing global anime market.
With Sony Pictures Entertainment being one of Hollywood’s five major studios, speculation quickly arose over whether Sony would enter the bidding process.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Nikkei at the Paley International Council Summit held in Menlo Park, California, Totoki confirmed that Sony has no plans to make a proposal for WBD, which recently revealed that it is considering a potential sale after struggling with poor performance.
The CEO said the U.S. studio’s “size is too large” and that Sony is not currently interested in pursuing major mergers or acquisitions in Hollywood.
Totoki explained that the company sees limited benefit in combining film studios, noting that scale alone does not guarantee higher profitability in today’s changing media landscape.
Totoki called anime a “growth market still in its dawn phase,” predicting continued double-digit expansion in the coming years.
Anime’s cross-media potential has become a cornerstone of Sony’s content strategy, allowing the company to link its entertainment sectors, which include film, television, music, games and merchandise. This was underlined by their acquisition of stakes in Kadokawa late last year, and Bandai Namco earlier this year.
However, Totoki also noted that acquiring major Japanese publishers that own original manga IP is difficult because many are private companies. And so, Sony aims to strengthen collaborative relationships with existing partners including Kadokawa and Bandai Namco Holdings.
This strategy also comes at a time when Netflix and other global platforms are increasing their involvement in Japanese anime production.
However, Sony itself has been steadily strengthening its anime portfolio. Along with the strategic partnerships, the company is also aiming to streamline operations, and committing to improve the labor shortage issue faced by the industry.
Source: Nikkei
