Paramount Global is changing its international focus as it rebrands Paramount Television International Studios. The studio wishes to better align with international audiences and feature new content from creators within its streaming reach to accelerate growth.
Paramount Television International Studios is run by Maria Kryaicou with a focus on studio and broadcast operations outside of the United States. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kryaicou said:
“We are mobilizing the business, its resources, its creative know-how behind the strategic priorities, and those strategic priorities are to grow our streaming business and to maintain the strength we have got in our TV media business…. And that sort of mobilizing requires us to refocus and make sure that we are delivering amazing, fantastic, the best possible creative dramas and scripted shows for Paramount+, shows that are going to sit really comfortably next to the U.S. content.”
She aims to grow Paramount’s audience by filling the platform with content focused on local audiences in multiple countries “to bring life to those local stories”. Instead of finding creators outside these areas to create content about “what they think a country represents”, Kryaicou plans to establish connections with creators who live in those areas and truly know what current events said areas are focused on in terms of entertainment.
Paramount’s vast content library is dominated by United States content which, while fun and relevant for citizens here, doesn’t fully represent a universal view of everyone. With more “authentic” content being produced by local people in a number of countries, Paramount has a better chance of enticing new subscribers and keeping current ones worldwide.
“Our international shows have to sit beside these shows, these brands, and these movies. And at the same time, they need to do a different job. They need to reflect the local culture and the local history and the local stories of each of the countries we are now present in with Paramount+.”
Paramount’s new focus will center around what attracts local audiences while also engaging audiences globally to bring more fresh, original content to the international streaming community. A number of new content is in the works or already complete with creators from France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Argentina, to name a few.