Pierluigi Gazzolo to Leave ViacomCBS Networks International

ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI), a division of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC), has today confirmed the departure of one of its longest serving executives, Pierluigi Gazzolo, who will step down from his role as President, Streaming and Studios for VCNI at the end of this month to focus on other interests.

During Gazzolo’s tenure as President of Streaming and Studios for VCNI, he successfully established the content proposition, team and go to market strategy for the international launch of Paramount+ and expanded the roadmap for Pluto TV internationally.

VCNI Streaming Leadership

Reporting to David Lynn, President and CEO of VCNI, and working closely with Tom Ryan, President & CEO of ViacomCBS Streaming, Kelly Day, Chief Operating Officer of VCNI, will take over leadership of the division’s streaming business as President of Streaming and COO of VCNI. In this new role, Day will have oversight of the international roll-out of Paramount+, a new premium SVOD service due to launch in 2021 across Australia, Latin America, and the Nordics; as well as the ongoing expansion of Pluto TV, following its successful launch in Latin America.

Regarding Day’s expanded remit, Lynn added, “We are in the fortunate position of going from strength to strength with this transition. With a truly global streaming organization, it’s a pivotal moment in the evolution of our streaming strategy, with the expansion of Paramount+ and Pluto TV, both of which are critical to our future growth. Kelly has an enviable track record of launching and growing streaming businesses and has added a layer of extraordinary digital expertise to our management team in a short space of time. Now, also, working closely with Tom Ryan, I’m confident Kelly will accelerate our transition to becoming a more digitally-led business, while seizing our global streaming opportunity.”

ViacomCBS International Studios Leadership

ViacomCBS Studios International (VIS) will supply original content to the new Paramount+ service in some markets, while continuing to supply scripted, comedy and reality series to VCNI’s free and pay TV networks as well as third party streamers and broadcasters.

Also, reporting to Lynn, JC Acosta, who oversees VCNI’s operations in Latin America and Canada as President, VCN Americas, will take on additional responsibility as President, ViacomCBS International Studios.

Lynn added, “One of our biggest achievements in recent years has been the formation and expansion of VIS, which really couldn’t have happened without Pier’s vision. In the past year, under Pier’s leadership he doubled the global development slate, setting VCNI up for continued global success in the studios arena.”