Sony 2002 Annual Report Download - page 9

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 9 of the 2002 Sony annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 84

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84

7
Message from Top Management
In the Pictures business, structural reforms were the main theme,
particularly for the production of TV programs. Largely due to the
striking growth in the DVD market, we were able to raise operating
income in this segment more than seven-fold.
In the Financial Services business, an increase in policyholders led
to higher life insurance income. Losses in the non-life insurance
business decreased as we expanded the policyholder base in what
was the second year of operations. This segment also includes Sony
Bank, which began operations in June 2001.
Management Strategy for the Broadband Era
Question: Mr. Idei, would you explain how Sony views the upcoming broadband era and in what
ways this perception is shaping management policies?
Idei CEO Television, radio, newspapers, and magazines are media that have
been around for a long time. Over the past five to seven years, the
Internet and mobile phones, for example, have grown remarkably in
value as media. The next five years promise more developments. As
both media transmission speeds and bandwidth increase, people will
be able to distribute data volumes on par with those of high-
definition TVs, over hundreds of channels. In other words, I think we
can view the advent of the true broadband era as a time when high-
speed and large-bandwidth media will be added to the range of
existing media.
I think broadband will take hold in Japan and South Korea over
the next three years and it will spread quickly in geographically
smaller regions and countries like Hong Kong and Singapore. For
Sony, this spells new opportunities for broadband related businesses
in terms of both hardware and software, and I believe that these
businesses will become a full-fledged business unit.
In the broadband era, people will be able to freely view and
exchange high-resolution and high-quality content using mobile
phones and other wireless devices. In order to protect copyright of
content creators and content holders, it is essential that content and
hardware providers cooperate to develop technology and systems
that will permit the distribution of this content.
This is a highly attractive opportunity for Sony as a supplier of
electronic products and of content, such as games, music and movies.
Some time ago, we began holding meetings between the content
and technology sides of our organization. I am very pleased at how
well this has been working.