Tribune Media's CEO Liguori to Advise Sony Board

Sony Corp. has retained Tribune Media Chief Executive Peter Liguori as an adviser to its board of directors.

A veteran television executive who has held senior positions at 21st Century Fox and Discovery Communications Inc., Mr. Liguori is providing counsel on the entertainment industry to the company's board, a Sony spokesman said.

The tapping of Mr. Liguori as an adviser comes six months after Sony restructured its television unit in the wake of the company's decision not to renew the contract of long-time head Steve Mosko. Mr. Liguori traveled to Sony's Japan headquarters earlier this month to meet with the board. Also there was Sony Entertainment and Sony Corp. of America Chief Executive Michael Lynton, people familiar with the gathering said.

Sony declined to elaborate specifically on what sort of counsel Mr. Liguori would be providing to the company, which is a major producer of content for both traditional television networks and streaming services. His adviser role could be a precursor to joining the Sony board, which lacks executives familiar with the media industry in the United States. Such an appointment would likely come next June at the earliest, people close to the matter said.

A Tribune Media spokesman declined to comment. Sony declined to comment on whether Mr. Liguori is in line for a board seat.

Mr. Liguori and Tribune already have ties to Sony, which produces the dramas "Outsiders" and "Underground" for its WGN America Network. "Outsiders," about a violent rural Kentucky family that lives by its own code, has become WGN's biggest hit.

Tribune also buys rerun content from Sony for its local television stations including "The Goldbergs," an ABC comedy that is going into syndication next fall. In addition, Tribune bought Sony Corp.'s music database Gracenote Inc. in 2013 for $170 million.

Other Sony shows include NBC's drama "The Blacklist," ABC's comedy "The Goldbergs" and AMC's "Better Call Saul." It also makes "Bloodline" for Netflix and made the recently canceled "Good Girls Revolt" for Amazon.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 12, 2016 16:05 ET (21:05 GMT)

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