The Women Reshaping Global TV

The international television industry has rarely faced a moment as unsettled as it does in 2025. Streaming consolidation, soaring production costs and the rapid rise of AI have forced executives to rethink business models and creative strategies. At the same time, political headwinds — from the rollback of diversity programs in the U.S. to battles over public funding in Europe — have tested the resilience of an industry built on inclusivity and storytelling.

For the women on THR‘s 2025 list of the Most Powerful Women in International Television — all of whom are based abroad at least part-time — challenge and transformation go hand in hand. From Lagos to London, Munich to Mumbai, these executives are not only navigating upheaval but shaping what comes next.

Diversity, long a rallying cry for international television, has become a point of resistance against renewed skepticism in some markets. “Diversity isn’t a program, it’s reality,” says Mo Abudu, CEO of Nigeria’s EbonyLife Media, who is preparing to launch the African-focused streaming platform EbonyLife ON Plus and open EbonyLife Place London, a new cultural hub in the U.K. “Our stories don’t need permission, they need opportunity.” Laura Fernández Espeso, general director of Spain’s Mediapro, calls diversity “not only a matter of social justice but also a strategic lever to drive creativity, innovation and competitiveness.” For German pubcaster ZDF, inclusion is nonnegotiable: “Representing our diverse society — both in our content and in our workforce — will lead to better results and better programs,” notes program director Nadine Bilke.

For many executives, the fight over representation feels directly tied to the questions raised by AI: whose perspectives are amplified, whose voices are replaced and how creativity itself is defined. While concern over the technology is widespread, Kate Ward, managing director of unscripted at BBC Studios, urges the industry to embrace AI as “one of our greatest untapped creative collaborators — not an existential threat,” pointing toward a future in which human creativity and machine intelligence coexist.

But tools alone won’t sustain the business. The real test is whether original programming can still cut through in a crowded marketplace. “Being able to commit to a brand-new series, not based on IP, with a two-season order requires a high level of creative risk-taking, too,” says Cécile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios, pointing to bold bets like The Day of the Jackal and The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

That risk-taking is paying off. Breakout titles are arriving from every corner of the globe: Netflix U.K.’s Brit coming-of-age hit Adolescence, RAI’s lush Italian literary adaptation La Storia, All3Media’s format juggernaut The Traitors, and German event dramas like Charité and Babylon Berlin. Asia is exporting some of the year’s most talked-about programming, from the anime sensation Kaiju No. 8 on Crunchyroll to Korea’s record-breaking Queen of Tears and Netflix’s world-conquering Squid Game.

Far from a market in retreat, these shows prove that international television is still capable of producing groundbreaking, culture-shaping series that travel across borders. As Jane Turton, CEO of All3Media, puts it: “Audiences’ appetite for brilliant content has never been greater.”

Mo Abudu

CEO, EbonyLife Media (NIGERIA)

Abudu is doubling down on her mission to take African stories worldwide. The EbonyLife founder has launched EbonyLife ON Plus, a lifestyle-driven streaming service, and is preparing to open EbonyLife Place London, a cultural hub in the British capital that will include the U.K.’s first African-dedicated cinema, alongside spaces for food, fashion and live performance. The ventures build on her $50 million Afro Film Fund, designed to finance, distribute and monetize African content at scale. “Diversity isn’t a program, it’s reality,” says Abudu. “Our stories don’t need permission, they need opportunity.”

Maria Pia Ammirati

Director, Rai Fiction (ITALY)

Ammirati won over Italian critics with La Storia, a historic miniseries that looks at the experience of fascism through a female lens. The show was voted series of the year by the Italian national syndicate of film journalists. “I work in an ever-changing market that presents structural problems to contend with,” notes Ammirati. “Well-capitalized global streamers entering the Italian market have forced everyone to raise their game,” she adds, but “on the downside, we have experienced a growth in costs that is forcing us to maximize the yield of the available budgets without this being detrimental to the quality of the product.”

Claire Basini

Deputy GM, TF1 Group (FRANCE)

Basini played a key role in striking TF1’s distribution deal with Netflix — the first time a European free-to-air leader will see its channels and on-demand service carried on the global streamer — starting in 2026. Basini says the best advice she can give young women entering the industry is to be curious: “Our work requires us to understand the times or, better yet, anticipate them. Seize every opportunity to learn, follow your passions and, if necessary, take risks!”

Nadine Bilke

Program Director, ZDF (GERMANY)

A former journalist who went on to run the youth channel of Germany’s public broadcast network ZDF before taking over as program director of the mother ship, Bilke is clear about where pubwebs stand in the streaming age. Rather than chasing Netflix or Disney+, Bilke insists on doubling down on the values of public broadcasting. “The relentless comparison of linear television to streaming — we need both, and we must have a deep understanding of our audience’s needs and usage patterns,” she notes.

Renata Brandão

CEO, Conspiração Filmes (BRAZIL)

Considered one of the most influential media executives in Brazil, Brandão took the reins of Conspiração Filmes in 2016. The production giant has earned 10 International Emmy nominations for its programming, more than any company in Latin America. Brandão also co-produced Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here, which won the 2024 best international feature Oscar in addition to becoming Brazil’s highest-grossing post-pandemic film. Brandão says the biggest challenge currently facing the industry is the need to “deeply and strategically” understand the reach and possibilities of AI. “It’s been an intense deep dive — understanding what’s hype and what’s real, testing practical applications and identifying how technology can enhance creativity without losing its human essence,” she says.

Carol Choi

Executive VP, Studios, Original Content Strategy, Integrated Marketing, The Walt Disney Co., Asia-Pacific (ASIA-PACIFIC)

Overseeing Disney’s marketing across Asia-Pacific, Choi has played a pivotal role in making Disney+ a leading streamer while helping secure regional box office success with Moana 2, Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2. She says she’s kept up at night by “staying ahead of rapidly changing consumer behavior and preferences, especially in a region as digital and diverse as Asia-Pacific” and believes the most resonant global hits “are deeply rooted in cultural specificity while exploring universal themes that connect us all.”

Julie Choi

CEO, TVING (SOUTH KOREA)

Choi made history as Korea’s first female streaming CEO, and she’s quickly reshaping TVING into one of the market’s most innovative players. Over the course of the past year, she spearheaded the controversial transition of KBO baseball — the nation’s biggest free sports property — into a paid model, pairing the move with new interactive features and companion content. “With the belief that sincerity truly resonates, all of us at TVING dedicated ourselves to providing baseball fans with a better service,” she says, pointing to record 10 million attendance figures and 50 percent year-over-year viewership growth. Choi also is reviving major IP, including a third season of the fan-favorite romantic drama Yumi’s Cells. Her advice for young women: “Growth is never-ending. The answers come from within and from intense self-reflection.”

Valerie Creighton

President and CEO, Canada Media Fund (CANADA)

Creighton’s mandate is to drive future hit series and innovation as the head of the public-private investment vehicle. She says instability in the industry has complicated her efforts to help to steer the TV sector through an unprecedented transition: “The modernization of Canada’s broadcasting system, combined with persistent economic headwinds and a fair share of instability, created both incredible opportunity and deep uncertainty. Balancing urgent short-term needs with long-term structural reform has been one of the most demanding tasks of my career.”

Laura Fernández Espeso

General Director, Grup Mediapro (SPAIN)

Fernández Espeso takes over this year as general director of Grup Mediapro, becoming the first woman to lead the Barcelona-based media giant in its 30-year history. She inherits a group whose business spans sports rights, broadcast services and an expanding global studio operation, with an ambitious slate of Spanish- and English-language titles, both fiction and formats. Central to her agenda is a firm commitment to diversity, which she calls the “heart of our corporate culture” and “nonnegotiable.” Asked for her advice to young women entering the industry, she encourages newcomers to “trust your talent, stay curious and see success not just as ‘getting there’ but as transforming the business for the better.”

Cécile Frot-Coutaz

CEO, Sky Studios; Chief Content Officer, Sky (U.K.)

Sky has continued its run of hit originals with The Day of the Jackal and Sweetpea, both of which will return for second seasons. Asked to highlight the biggest challenges facing the industry at the moment, Frot-Coutaz points to the uncertainty in both the U.K. and the U.S. “For our commissioning teams at Sky, the focus is on being consistent in our editorial strategy but also in maintaining our investment in creating original content at the same level as we always have,” she notes. “That’s the best thing we can do to support the industry and keep jobs and production moving forward.”

Helen Gregory

Joint Managing Director, See-Saw Films (U.K.)

Gregory has continued to platform the best of British talent with the Emmy-winning spy thriller Slow Horses and Netflix’s joyous coming-of-age series Heartstopper. She’s drummed up more acclaim among critics and fans alike with the Ella Purnell-starring Sweetpea (renewed for season two) and the Aussie limited series Apple Cider Vinegar with Kaitlyn Dever. Business shows no signs of slowing down.

Jay Hunt

Creative Director of Worldwide Video, Europe, Apple (U.K.)

Australia-born British TV connoisseur Hunt has continued to balance an enormous slate of Apple TV+ hits (Slow Horses, Bad Sisters, Prehistoric Planet) with being the British Film Institute chair, a role she has held since February 2024. The former BBC and Channel 4 executive is behind some of the most popular shows to come out of the U.K. in the past two decades, including Sherlock, Luther, Derry Girls and Black Mirror, but has settled in well at Apple, swiftly earning her keep as one of the streamer’s savviest commissioners.

Emiko Iijima

VP Anime Production, Crunchyroll (JAPAN)

With anime exploding internationally, Iijima has been instrumental in positioning Crunchyroll as the industry’s premier global partner. Based in Tokyo, she oversees anime production, helping bridge Japanese creators with their teeming worldwide fan base. Over the course of the past year, she highlighted the platform’s range by championing offbeat titles like Nyaight of the Living Cat, a zombie horror parody that turns humans into felines. “One of Crunchyroll’s core missions has been to become the biggest global ally for the anime industry, particularly for the creators who are the source of such incredible creativity,” she says.

Minyoung Kim

VP Content for Asia-Pacific (ex-India), Netflix (SOUTH KOREA/JAPAN/TAIWAN/SOUTHEAST ASIA/AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND)

Kim has become Netflix’s most influential creative voice across Asia-Pacific. The executive credited with greenlighting Squid Game — still one of the streamer’s most watched titles — now leads teams across eight offices, managing local-language hits like Alice in Borderland, Boy Swallows Universe and Hunger. Her remit spans Korea to Australia, Japan to Southeast Asia, making her responsible for much of Netflix’s global non-English slate. Kim says her biggest fear is “not seeing the true core of an issue — being distracted by the positives and missing the hidden possibilities beneath.” Still, she insists bold bets are needed to move the industry forward. For young women entering the field, she advises: “Establish your own principles and philosophy — not only how you do your work but also what kind of person you want to be. And make sure to be yourself in all circumstances.”

Janice Lee

CEO, Viu & PCCW Media Group (HONG KONG)

Lee has built PCCW’s media arm into one of Asia’s most diversified entertainment groups, overseeing Viu, Hong Kong’s free-to-air channel ViuTV, music streamer MOOV and talent agency MakerVille. She spearheaded Viu’s international rollout, now reaching markets across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, with Asian originals from Korea to Indonesia. Under her leadership, the service has become a surprisingly formidable regional rival to the big global streamers, investing in local-language hits while nurturing fandom through Viu Scream Dates, in which fans get to meet with stars of its originals.

Miky Lee

Vice Chairwoman, CJ Group (SOUTH KOREA)

A tycoon and tastemaker, Lee boasts a legacy that includes helping finance DreamWorks SKG and producing the Oscar-winning Parasite, but her current focus is future-proofing Asian stories. This year, she launched production banner First Light StoryHouse with allies like Janet Yang and Dominic Ng to uplift Asian and Asian American creators. “Finding the right balance with AI” is what keeps her up at night, she says — ensuring innovation doesn’t overwhelm storytelling’s humanity. Her mantra to newcomers: “This industry is a marathon, not a sprint. Embrace every high and low with humility, resilience and compassion.”

Marie Leguizamo

Managing Director, Banijay Mexico & U.S. Hispanic (LATIN AMERICA)

As managing director of Banijay Mexico & U.S. Hispanic, a division of Banijay Americas, Leguizamo oversees one of the biggest TV brands in the U.S. and Latin American markets. That includes running a production facility in Mexico City to meet the demand for premium Spanish-language TV series. Says Leguizamo: “Managing multiple markets and cultures while maintaining a singular creative vision is no small feat — but it’s also what makes this work so rewarding.”

Anna Marsh

CEO, StudioCanal; Deputy CEO, Canal+ Group (FRANCE)

Marsh has emerged as one of the most influential executives in European media, balancing her role as CEO of StudioCanal with that of deputy CEO of Canal+ Group. Under her watch, Canal+ completed its $2 billion takeover of Africa’s MultiChoice this year, giving the French giant a dominant footprint across the continent — just as the global streamers are pulling out — while also strengthening its European position by boosting its stake in Nordic streamer Viaplay and entering exclusive talks to buy 34 percent of French theatrical exhibitor UGC.

Carolyn McCall

CEO, ITV (U.K.)

Balancing “navigating the rapid evolution in viewer behavior” in the digital age with “maintaining the strength of our core business” has been top of mind for the boss of the U.K. TV giant. After all, she is a big believer that the “idea that linear is already dead” is misguided. “Despite viewing declines due to the explosion of choice for viewers, TV reaches mass quality audiences simultaneously, which is highly valued by advertisers.” Touting streamer ITVX’s “strong viewing and digital revenue,” McCall argues ITV’s stock should better reflect that: “This should be valued properly.”

Anne Mensah

VP U.K. content, Netflix (U.K.)

One word summarizes Netflix’s U.K. success like none other: Adolescence. Not only did the hit drama starring Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper become the streamer’s second most popular English-language series of all time, behind only Wednesday, it also made U.K. history as the first streaming show to top the country’s weekly TV ratings. “Standing out from the crowd” was Mensah’s biggest professional challenge over the past year: “There are so many great shows in the U.K. and across the world — ensuring we have and hold the attention of the audience is the hardest thing. We have to work hard to be deserving of our members’ time. It’s not about repeating past successes — it’s about building toward the next big thing.”

Cathy Payne

CEO of Banijay Rights (UK)

Payne oversees all distribution activity for Banijay Entertainment’s catalogue of almost 190,000 hours, and the proof is in the pudding: among the brands to obtain global popularity on her watch are Survivor, Big Brother, MasterChef, Peaky Blinders and Black Mirror. Before this, she spent a decade at Endemol and later Endemol Shine, captaining a six-territory team. One industry trend Payne is eager to wave farewell to? “Social media, over-processed content that is intended to achieve an immediate response over connection.”

Kate Phillips

Chief Content Officer, BBC (U.K.)

In June, the BBC unveiled the 12-year-plus BBC veteran as the successor of Charlotte Moore. “In that time, she has brought innovation, outstanding creativity and an absolute focus on our audiences,” BBC director-general Tim Davie lauded. Case in point: She commissioned such hits as The Traitors in her most recent role as director of unscripted. Phillips calls “ensuring that our content continues to make an impact in an increasingly competitive market” her biggest professional challenge, including beyond the U.K. borders.

Gabriela Rodríguez

Head of Company, Esperanto Filmoj (U.K.)

Rodríguez heads up Alfonso Cuarón’s London-based production outfit Esperanto Filmoj, responsible for 2024’s Apple TV+ hit Disclaimer with Cate Blanchett. She does admit that she worries “about the homogeny of TV” and expresses an urgency for “distinct and truly fresh work.” Away from Cuarón’s empire? She’s got her head in romantasy books: “I spend most of my free time between dragons and fairies.”

Georgette Schlick

CEO Northern Europe, Fremantle (NETHERLANDS)

Schlick’s promotion to CEO of Northern Europe at Fremantle in 2023 gave her oversight of operations across the Netherlands, Belgium, the Nordics and Poland and a mandate to shake things up. Fremantle continues to generate fresh formats — from Norway’s Heist Academy to Denmark’s Exposed — but Schlick says the bigger challenge is modernizing production processes that have “remained largely unchanged for many years.” For her, innovation is inseparable from inclusion: “Storytelling thrives on different perspectives, and the more inclusive we are, the more relevant and powerful our content becomes.”

Monika Shergill

VP Content, Netflix India (INDIA)

Under Shergill’s leadership in 2025, Netflix India unveiled a sweeping lineup of six films, 13 series and five unscripted titles, bolstering its footprint in multiple Indian languages. This year also saw Khakee: The Bengal Chapter — Netflix’s first show of Bengali origin — debut in March, marking a strategic expansion into new linguistic territory.

Nicola Shindler

CEO, Quay Street Productions (U.K.)

Shindler’s been attached to some of the most exciting TV to come out of Britain over the past five years, including the police procedural Happy Valley and the heart-wrenching queer drama It’s a Sin. As founder of indie TV outfit Quay Street Productions, however, she’s soared to new heights on adaptations of Harlan Coben’s Fool Me Once (Netflix’s most watched streaming original of 2024) and Missing You. An industry trend she’d like to see the back of? “The idea that every drama needs an incredibly well-known cast,” she says. “Some do, but it isn’t the only way to make a successful show.”

Christine Strobl

Program Director, ARD (GERMANY)

Faced with budget cuts and increasingly vocal — and increasingly hostile — far-right critics, Strobl has been focused on doubling down on the selling points of public broadcasting, from reliable, unbiased reporting to top-shelf drama (see the fifth and final season of Babylon Berlin), shored up by the values, including diversity, that have always formed the network’s foundation. “What matters to me is that diversity is actually lived — not whether it is written into programs,” she says.

Karen Thorne-Stone

President/CEO, Ontario Creates (CANADA)

Besides offering up financing, Ontario Creates is charged with driving innovation and collaboration across the homegrown film, TV, interactive digital media, music and book publishing sectors. The agency also promotes the province to the major studios and streamers and other foreign producers looking to shoot movie and TV originals locally. “Industry and budget contraction, financing and the need to break into new markets are all connected challenges that are not unique to Canada,” says Thorne-Stone. “But Ontario has exceptional companies, top-tier talent and great incentives across all the creative industries, which position us well to compete internationally and be industry leaders into the future.”

Jane Turton

CEO, All3Media (U.K.)

At one of the world’s largest production and distribution companies — responsible for more than 4,000 hours of content a year globally — Turton has steadied the ship at All3Media through an immense amount of change, including the $1.45 billion sale of All3Media to Jeff Zucker and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird IMI last year. “The market is shifting constantly — platform models, financing structures, consumer behavior,” Turton says. “But at its heart, this business depends on bold ideas executed brilliantly.”

Kate Ward

Managing Director, Unscripted Productions BBC Studios (U.K.)

As managing director at BBC Studios Unscripted, Ward is in charge of growth and strategy for the main commercial arm of the British public broadcaster. This includes BBC Studios Productions’ world-renowned natural history unit (see: The Americas, narrated by Tom Hanks), documentary unit (Tucci in Italy) as well as the science unit and wholly owned BBC Studios independent label Voltage. “Whether it is fostering creative collaboration, crafting multiparty commercial deals or building global launch strategies, there is complexity at every turn,” confesses Ward. “But it is through partnership that we do some of our best and biggest work.”

Kylie Watson-Wheeler

Senior VP and Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand; Head of ESPN, Asia Pacific, The Walt Disney Co. (AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND/ASIA-PACIFIC)

In the past year, Watson-Wheeler spearheaded the integration of ESPN into Disney+ for ANZ subscribers — the first markets outside North America to do so — delivering more than 10,000 hours of sports content. “It’s our biggest game-changer yet,” she says, noting that sports-crazed Australia now has access to both Disney’s entertainment crown jewels and live ESPN coverage on one platform. Watson-Wheeler, who began in marketing and consumer products, says she hopes to champion a broader vision of Australian storytelling, rejecting “stereotypical creative frames” like outback-set dramas in favor of globally appealing narratives.

Yang Xiaopei

Founder and CEO, Xixi Pictures (CHINA)

Since launching Xixi Pictures in 2020, Yang has become one of China’s most prolific television producers, delivering both critical and commercial favorites. Her 2025 hits included Six Sisters — CCTV-1’s Spring Festival primetime opener — alongside the historical drama Si Jin and the youth drama Reborn. Looking ahead, she’s experimenting with short vertical dramas for mobile and AI-assisted production while pledging to keep story at the heart of her work. “Only by telling the story better can we truly achieve our original big-picture goals,” she says.

Profiles written by Patrick Brzeski, Lily Ford, Scott Roxborough, Georg Szalai and Etan Vlessing

This story appeared in the Oct. 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.