Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins is leaving to become Sony Pictures TV chairman, opening the door for Hulu board member Randy Freer to run the streaming service.
Hopkins, who has been atop Hulu since 2013, will take Steve Mosko’s old, vacant gig. Mosko left Sony last year after two dozen years with the company.
Freer, who will soon run things at Hulu from Los Angeles, was president and chief operating officer of Fox Networks Group for the past four years. He ran Fox Sports Media Group before FNG.
At Sony, Hopkins will oversee all television production, distribution and marketing operations globally for the studio, as well as SPE’s media networks business, per the company. Sony counts “The Goldbergs,” “S.W.A.T.,” “Shark Tank,” “Outlander,” “Better Call Saul” and a bunch of game shows among its current TV series.
Hopkins’ late-November move will also bring about a change at Sony Pictures Entertainment’s (SPE) TV business hierarchy. Going forward, the heads of Sony Pictures Television’s domestic and international TV production, distribution, advertiser sales and research, marketing and Sony Pictures Worldwide Networks will now report to Hopkins. He’ll report to Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of SPE.
Prior to Hopkins’ years at Hulu, he was president of Distribution for Fox Networks.