Paramount Global has promoted executives Marco Nobili and Olivier Jollet to help drive the company’s international growth plans for streaming service Paramount+ and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service Pluto TV.
With the new appointments, Nobili is now EVP and international general manager. Jollet was elevated to EVP and international GM of Pluto TV. Both will dual-report to Raffaele Annecchino, Paramount president and CEO of International Networks, Studios and Streaming, and to Tom Ryan, president and CEO of Streaming.
In his new role Nobili will lead all operations for Paramount+ outside of the U.S. including content, marketing, distribution, data and operations. Nobili’s most current role was SVP of international marketing, data & analytics for Paramount’s streaming division and has held previous gigs at Netflix and Amazon.
Jollet, meanwhile, was former SVP of Pluto TV international and now will lead a coordinated approach to continue to expand the FAST service outside of the U.S. He will oversee divisions including ad sales, content, distribution, data and operations. Pluto TV is currently live in 30 countries and territories globally.
Annecchino said in a statement that the chance to expand Paramount’s streaming business internationally “is tremendous” and that “2022 will be a crucial year for our strategy.”
“With Paramount+ and SkyShowtime expected to expand to 60 markets by end of 2022 and Pluto TV continuing to expand worldwide, I’m confident Marco and Olivier’s leadership will enable us to seize the opportunity and build on our progress towards our integrated global streaming business,” stated Annecchino.
Paramount has outlined plans to expand Paramount+ into the U.K. and South Korea this June. Launches in several European markets, including Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, will follow in the second half of the year. The company is targeting a launch in India in 2023. The continued international push comes after the subscription streaming service made its way into 25 new markets during 2021, across Latin America, Canada and Australia.
Paramount+ added 6.8 million global streaming subscribers in the first quarter, bringing its total to nearly 40 million.
Pluto TV in Q1 gained 3.1 million subscribers, bringing monthly active users to 67.5 million. In the first three months of 2022, Pluto TV launched over 102 channels internationally. Plans for Pluto TV’s expansion include a May 18 launch in the Nordics through a partnership with NENT Group.
"Through Paramount’s differentiated streaming playbook, we are focused on leveraging our broad strength in key areas to thrive, attract and retain consumers globally,” said Paramount’s Ryan in a statement. “Marco and Oliver have already driven Paramount+ and Pluto TV to new heights and with their continued leadership we are confident in our ability to become a leader in global streaming.”