Meet Entertainment's Future Leaders: Esme Pitts

Esme Pitts is unashamedly a film fan. “I’m a fanatic,” she says, so when she became Commercial Manager of Sky Store, it was a dream job.

Her role involves managing Sky Store’s relationships with all its film studio partners. “I’m the first port of call if a studio has a film coming out or something needs taking down or a price needs changing or all the many things that might change,” she says. “You get pulled in a lot of directions.”

Esme joined Sky Store in July 2023 from one of those very studios she now liaises with, NBC Universal, and the move has given her a new insight into the broader video business.

“At Universal, I helped manage all of the UK retailers and Sky was one of the main ones. Now I account manage all of the film studios for Sky Store. It’s the reverse of what I was doing before. It has been so beneficial having experience of things at both ends.

Looking back I think I undervalued just how much work goes into putting a film on a service.

“We distribute a lot of new films every week. The amount that comes through is incredible. We have to filter through it and work out what our priorities are. Whereas at Universal you have like one film a week.”

A recent highlight for her was a Christmas advent calendar promotion she put together for Sky Store, complete with onscreen “windows” to open.

“Christmas is one of our biggest opportunities every year,” she says. “People watch far more films during those weeks than they do at any other time. The advent calendar campaign was the first of its kind in the UK, offering a heavily reduced film every day for 24 days. It was a really fun idea. I got all the studios involved, negotiated pricing with them and then had to work quite hard with the team who produce the assets that went on the UI (user interface), the merchandising team, and then with the marketing team and that took a lot of project management.

“At times it was super-difficult, but I’m really pleased with how it turned out. It looked amazing and the results were great.”

So what was it like to be selected for ERA’s Future Leaders Programme?

“I am super happy and honoured to be selected, she says. “We all want to improve and evolve the industry we work in, and we want to feel like we have a voice in the room and our ideas are valued. It’s clear from the meetings I’ve had with ERA already that it’s a safe space and a real place for collaboration. It’s an industry body I want to be associated with and I want to help.”

Your all-time favourite video/film?
I go back and forth but right now I would say it's Get Out. Directed by the horror genius that is Jordan Peele (he can do no wrong in my eyes)! The film perfectly intertwines horror with comedy, which is no small feat. It has such a powerful commentary on racism with a blinding performance by Daniel Kaluuya who is one of the best British actors working right now! 

A new film/video to look out for? I'm super excited to see 28 Years Later which is out on 20^th June in cinemas! I recently saw the first film which was pretty revolutionary when it first came out - the trailer for this new one looks epic so I cannot wait to see that one.

The biggest issue facing the video industry?
I would say that Piracy remains a massive challenge for us, it costs the industry millions in lost sales which affects both major studios and independent filmmakers. I've read the stat that 20% of UK internet users admit to illegal streaming which is pretty staggering. It really devalues our content, undermining the work of creators and reducing the perceived worth of a film or TV show.