Diversity Drives Creativity: International TV Leaders Redefine the Future

The international television industry has been in a state of flux in 2025, grappling with a range of disruptive forces. Streaming consolidation, skyrocketing production costs, and the rapid rise of AI have forced executives to rethink their 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, these challenges have gone hand-in-hand with transformation. Executives from Lagos to London, Munich to Mumbai, are not only navigating this upheaval but actively 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 new platforms to amplify African stories globally.

This commitment to diverse perspectives is directly tied to the questions raised by AI – whose voices are amplified, and whose are replaced? While concerns over the technology are widespread, these leaders see it as a creative collaborator, not an existential threat. The real test, they say, is whether original programming can still cut through in a crowded marketplace. And the results speak for themselves, with breakout hits arriving from every corner of the globe, from the anime sensation Kaiju No. 8 to Korea's record-breaking Queen of Tears.