Lisa Kramer ViacomCBS
The Paramount+ platform is at the center of Paramount’s corporate strategy. The more premium contents go there, however, Paramount Global Content Distribution continues with the sales of programs to third parties and their income continues to increase.
“The business has certainly changed and our income has grown, however, the way we obtain that income is different. There is a thought school that indicates that if you are too cautious when screening some content, you may add new audiences and improve the brand profile, as long as you do not sell your key franchises wholesale. This is something our CFO always reminds us of. The business of television has always been very complex in terms of windows and rights, but never as much as now. Trying to discover windows and make the most of your content is a much greater effort” explained Lisa Kramer, President of International Sales for TV at Paramount Global Content Distribution.
Kramer’s career, which began at The Walt Disney Company in 1983, has always been linked to content distribution. In these almost four decades there have been several changes in the business, but none has been as disruptive as the arrival of Netflix.
“When Netflix began selling content through the mail, we had no idea of what was coming. When it took off, it changed the home entertainment business and altered our television business. It was disruptive, not only due to its business model but to the amount of money it paid for the content” commented Kramer.
She added that, in recent years, technology accelerated changes. “Today, the focus is on FAST channels like Pluto TV, which is the largest service of its kind and has tremendous growth year after year… AVOD and FAST also have a direct impact on our open TV business, but I think the rollout will be slower”.
