ViacomCBS Announces Leadership of Global Streaming Organization - Seite 2

“ViacomCBS has a unique opportunity to combine the best of our brands in a seamless ecosystem of must-watch, direct-to-consumer services for audiences around the world,” said Bob Bakish, President and CEO, ViacomCBS. “As we plan for the launch of Paramount+, bringing together the leaders of our streaming platforms to create a unified global organization will enable us to execute a holistic strategy across both free and pay. We will draw on the breadth and depth of ViacomCBS’s franchises and branded IP to deliver an extraordinary collection of diverse content with the convenience consumers want.”

Bakish continued, “Tom is a pioneering streaming executive who has demonstrated extraordinary talent in creating a differentiated, consumer-centric service that resonates with global audiences. He will bring this same digital expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and strategic, collaborative mindset as we deliver the very best of ViacomCBS to Paramount+ and our portfolio of streaming platforms. I’m thrilled to work with him, Kelly and the team to unify, strengthen and scale our industry-leading digital offering.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to work with this talented team and build on their momentum, especially as we approach the launch of Paramount+,” said Ryan. “Together, we will leverage ViacomCBS’s beloved portfolio of brands, strong content pipeline and extensive network of partners to deliver must-watch on-demand, live and exclusive original programming to viewers everywhere.”

Bakish added, “I’m grateful to Marc for his many contributions to ViacomCBS’s success. Over the course of his tenure with CBS and then ViacomCBS, he has set the course for our digital businesses and laid a strong foundation for us to build on as we prepare for the next phase of our streaming strategy.”

Of Gazzolo, Bakish commented, “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Pier for many years. He has played a pivotal role in ViacomCBS’s international growth, launching our international studio production business, establishing us as a key OTT player abroad and, more recently, shepherding the successful global rollout of Pluto TV.”

Ryan has served as CEO and Co-Founder of Pluto TV since early 2014. Under his leadership, Pluto TV has become the leading free, ad-supported streaming TV service in the U.S. and rapidly grown its presence in international markets, reaching 33 million monthly active users globally. He also led Pluto TV through its acquisition by Viacom in January 2019. Earlier in his career, Ryan served as CEO of Threadless, an online art community and e-commerce company, from 2008 to 2012. Previously he was Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy and Business Development at EMI Music and was part of the early team at Virgin Mobile USA. He also co-founded Cductive, a pioneering online music service that merged with eMusic in 1999.