Sony Entertainment eyes Jason Kilar for top job

Former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar is a contender for the top job at Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to Hollywood Reporter.

Former Sony CEO Michael Lynton stepped down in January to focus full-time on his new job as chairman of Snap. Sony Corp. CEO Kaz Hirai is expected to meet with potential successors this week.

Kilar ran Hulu (a joint venture of ABC, NBC Universal and NewsCorp) for five years and grew the business to more than 5 million subscribers. He later founded a streaming video startup, Vessel, which Verizon purchased last fall.

Why it matters: Kilar is seen as a disruptor to traditional media and has first-hand knowledge of scaling digital video businesses. Sony management has been trying to reinvigorate its studio unit. The company earnings took a hit last year after major write-downs due, in part, to a weakening home entertainment market. It's TV production and global networks operations have performed well, but its film segment has faced challenges. And the company had to deal with a devastating email hack three years ago.