Sony's Holly Jacobs on the Return of Nostalgia in Programming

Holly Jacobs, Executive Vice President of U.S. Reality and Syndicated Programming for Sony Pictures Television, oversees and directs all non-scripted TV programming development for broadcast, cable and first run syndication. Her efforts have created such landmark programs as the multiple Emmy Award-winning shows “Shark Tank” on ABC and “The Dr. Oz Show” for first-run syndication. She has deep experience in program development with stints at Fox Television Studios as Executive Vice President of Alternative Development; Buena Vista Productions as Executive Vice President, Programming and Development, and ABC Daytime as Vice President, Programming where she had oversight for “The View.” In addition to her professional responsibilities, Holly also devotes time to mentoring as part of the Women in Entertainment Big Sister program. “Mentoring has to be part of one’s internal job description,” she told me during a recent conversation. “It has to be more than just your own corporate climb. It is also who you are lifting up.”