Sony Boss Talks Wildfires, NBC Exec Brags About ‘Sunday Night Basketball’

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In their inaugural conversation as studio head, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s newly appointed CEO, Ravi Ahuja, discusses his early days on the job amidst unexpected natural disasters like the destructive wildfire outbreaks that hit Los Angeles, on the latest installment of the “Strictly Business” podcast on EbMaster.

This month, Ahuja conducted his initial interview since assuming leadership at SPE, during EbMaster’s Entertainment Summit, which was held concurrently with the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. At the same conference on January 8th, NBCUniversal’s head of ad sales, Mark Marshall, sat down for a chat with NBC Sports host Maria Taylor to discuss their sports and entertainment plan for the next two years. Marshall referred to this period as “the most exceptional 730 days any media company has ever experienced.

Upon learning about the devastating wildfire in the Pacific Palisades region of Los Angeles, including Altadena, which lies to the north of Pasadena, Ahuja pondered over the decision-making process when it comes to both strategic planning for businesses and ensuring public safety.

When faced with the news of the destructive wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles and Altadena, a town north of Pasadena, Ahuja contemplated the process of decision-making that encompasses both business strategies and public safety considerations.

Listen to the podcast:

https://omny.fm/shows/strictly-business/leadership-and-a-few-laughs-in-a-moment-of-crisis/embed

Ahuja stated clearly that the current situation is constantly changing. He expressed concern for everyone’s well-being, acknowledging that while some of our employees have lost their homes and many are displaced, there are parts of the city that remain unaffected. The dilemma is whether to close our premises or not. Our premises have its own power supply and serves as a refuge for some people in these difficult times. Therefore, we strongly advise employees to work from home if possible, but we will keep the premises open.

In the afternoon, Marshall and Taylor injected some humor into the gathering through a lively discussion on sports, tactics, and hairstyles, or rather Marshall’s absence of it. Marshall showed excitement about the NBA rights moving to NBC and Peacock from the 2025-26 season onwards.

Marshall mentioned that our company will have a basketball game every Monday night on Peacock, followed by games on Tuesday nights on NBC. After ‘Sunday Night Football,’ there’ll be a shift to ‘Sunday Night Basketball‘ [on NBC]. A branding study was conducted and it was decided this new segment will be called ‘Sunday Night Basketball.’ This change will significantly alter the appearance of NBC, making its live programming even more dominant from morning till night.

Every week, EbMaster presents ‘Strictly Business’, a podcast where he chats with influential figures in the media and entertainment sector about their business endeavors. (Don’t forget to sign up for our free newsletter!) The latest episodes are released every Wednesday and can be found on platforms like Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Play, SoundCloud, and many others.

(Shown above: Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO, Ravi Ahuja, along with EbMaster’s Co-Editor in Chief, Cynthia Littleton)

The idea is to keep the structure and meaning of the original sentence intact but use simpler language that is easier for a wider audience to understand.

Todd Longwell contributed to this report.

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2025-01-16 21:48