Why It Matters
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is lobbying on industry production incentives as a bipartisan bill to create a federal film and television tax credit was introduced Sept. 24. The Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, introduced by Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA-38) and Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), would provide a 20% federal, labor-based tax credit to U.S. film and television productions, with bonus allowances raising the credit to a maximum of 30%.
By the Numbers
Sony Pictures Entertainment's combined third-quarter 2026 lobbying spend totals $252,038, split between a $172,038 in-house filing and an $80,000 filing by outside firm Smith-Free Group LLC. The in-house amount is down $21,283 from the $193,321 Sony reported in the second quarter of 2025. The in-house amount of $172,038 has held flat for three consecutive quarters: the first, second, and third quarters of 2026.
The in-house filing lists one lobbyist: Andrew Reinsdorf, Sony Pictures Entertainment's head of global public policy and external affairs, who holds no prior congressional staff experience on record. The Smith-Free Group LLC filing names Mike Mullen and John Christie III.
Broader Context
Judicial site blocking
H.R. 10364, the American Copyright Protection Act of 2026, was introduced Sept. 14, 2026, and listed as introduced with no further action as of Oct. 20, 2026. Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) announced the DEFEND IP Act on Sept. 28, 2026, a bipartisan, bicameral proposal targeting foreign online piracy sites, with Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Rep. Cline leading in the House.
Supporters of the DEFEND IP Act, whose endorsers include the Motion Picture Association (MPA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), SAG-AFTRA, and CreativeFuture, argued that court-supervised blocking of large-scale foreign piracy sites would protect creators and consumers while preserving due process and free speech; CreativeFuture cited an industry estimate of 2.01 million U.S. film and television workers and said evidence from nearly 60 countries showed site blocking shifts traffic toward legal services. The Electronic Frontier Foundation opposed the act, arguing a court order could make an entire website inaccessible based on an infringement allegation, with inadequate remedies for bad-faith blocking.
Industry production incentives
S. 5552, the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, was introduced Sept. 24, by Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), and referred to the Senate Finance Committee, with no further action as of Oct. 20. The bill's sponsors' release attributed to MPA chief Charles Rivkin an estimate of $250 billion in economic activity and nearly 145,000 new jobs annually.
Endorsers of the House and Senate bills include:
- Labor: American Federation of Musicians, Directors Guild of America (DGA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), SAG-AFTRA, Teamsters, Writers Guild of America East (WGAE), Writers Guild of America West (WGAW)
- Studios and producers: MPA, Producers Guild of America (PGA), Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA)
- Other: NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, CreativeFuture, Coalition for American Production (CAP), ASCAP, FilmUSA, Television Academy, U.S. Film and Television Production Coalition
The Bottom Line
S. 5552 was referred to the Senate Finance Committee, with no later action as of Oct. 20, while the announcement of the DEFEND IP Act did not state that bill's legislative status. Sony Pictures Entertainment's in-house fee has been flat since the first quarter of 2026, with the outside firm roster unchanged at Smith-Free Group LLC.
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