Deadline: Paramount+ International Rollout Could Have Been Speedier, But Marco Nobili “Proud”

Story from Deadline:

Paramount+ is well ahead of its target to greenlight 150 non-U.S. originals by 2025 but international boss Marco Nobili wishes the streamer could have rolled out quicker.

Addressing Series Mania this afternoon, Nobili said “if I could have accelerated our rollout then I would have” when questioned on how he would have done things differently over the past two years.

“But you have to balance these things out,” he countered. “Sometimes staggering a launch proves to be the right recipe. If you show audiences the window you can get straight out the gate but could compromise on show quality.”

Nobili added: “We could maybe have done an even faster rollout but looking back it was a challenge and we are proud of how it has worked out.”

Paramount+ is now live in dozens of territories around the world and is well ahead of its target to greenlight 150 originals by 2025, Nobili revealed. He said half of streaming’s forecasted 8% growth over the next five years will come from the international market.

Nobili, who is Paramount+’s EVP and International General Manager, pointed to the likes of British/German co-production The Chemistry of Death, thriller The Blue and Australian hit Last King of the Cross, which featured as a Deadline Global Breakout earlier this week. Meanwhile, Paramount’s international deal with Korean powerhouse CJ ENM is beginning to bear fruit and Korean series Yonder will launch on the platform in numerous territories next month.

“Our international content is ready to step in and feed the service if we have less coming on the U.S. side,” he added, although he wouldn’t be drawn on the impact of the looming writers’ strike on the Paramount pipeline.

“We have so much content coming in that we really have to prioritize what we give to the market.”

He floated the potential for international franchises in the same vein as the Yellowstone and 1923 franchise.

“A prequel can amp something up for a potential franchise,” he added. “It doesn’t just have to be Taylor Sheridan. You can do this locally with both scripted and unscripted.”

He was speaking as Paramount+ unveiled an Italian version of RuPaul’s Drag Race.