ViacomCBS : Paramount+’s Global Expansion Strategy

Local Capabilities and Great Global Content

Paramount+ in the UK and Ireland includes some of the most popular content from the Paramount portfolio, like SpongeBob SquarePants, HALO, Dexter, South Park, NCIS, and the Star Trek franchise. It will also include original UK dramas Sexy Beasts, A Gentleman in Moscow, Flatshare, The Burning Girls, The Ex-Wife, and The Blue, and unscripted series Haunted, The Box, and Rise of the Tech Titans.

"We often say we have something for everyone, but I like to say that we have something great for everyone. We have great content across every content pillar," says Nobili. Paramount+'s content mix includes scripted dramas, sci-fi, reality shows, kids & family, adult animation, movies, and music content, plus live sports and news in some markets. "I don't think any other service on this planet is great at doing all of those things at the same time. I think we are."

Paramount+ announced earlier this month that it plans to commission 150 international originals by 2025. Paramount's production footprint includes a dozen studios in more than 20 countries, which feed the company's content ecosystem across its streaming platforms, as well as its linear and broadcast TV networks. This global content strategy led it to become one of the top producers of Spanish language content in the world.

"Without our established global production capabilities, it would be impossible to produce 150 titles in the next three years, particularly in a market that's as competitive as it is right now," says Nobili. "We have the infrastructure, we are good at what we do, and we have the know-how."

Paramount's connection to creative communities in different regions of the world also gives it unique access to local projects and talent, which is important when creating entertainment to attract local and global audiences. The upcoming Taylor Sheridan series 1923, for example, includes British star Helen Mirren. VIS, the international studio division of Paramount, inked deals with more than two dozen international storytellers, including Paco Cabezas, Manolo Cardona, Noah Stollman, Penelope Cruz, and John Leguizamo. It has an exclusive deal with the Oscar-winning, Argentinian director Juan José Campanella, whose Paramount+ original The Envoys is the leading Spanish-language original in the U.S.

As with distribution, Paramount+ tailors its content approach for the audiences in each market, weighing the costs of production and acquisition against the potential returns. "We have definitely taken big swings," says Nobili, mentioning, as an example, Paramount's acquisition of the rights to the English Premiere League in Mexico and Central America.