PARAMOUNT+ APPOINTS NEW EXECUTIVES AHEAD OF AUSTRALIAN LAUNCH

ViacomCBS’ new streaming service, Paramount+ has appointed two new executives ahead of its launch in Australia later this year. The new hires include Chris Ledlin, who was appointed Senior Director of Streaming. He will lead the commercial and development aspects of the industry, while Aaron Bishop has been promoted to Senior Director of User Acquisition and Retention.

Ledlin will report to the streaming platform’s senior vice president of revenue and operations, and Bishop will report to Marco Nobili, SBP of international marketing and growth for streaming. He will take on the company's business development, distribution, and commercial partnerships in Australia and New Zealand. In his new role, he is based in Sydney and reports to the senior vice president of marketing and growth, Marco Nobili, in the US. Angela Heckman, who is based in the US. 

Ledlin previously served as the head of operations and distribution at Nine Network-owned AVOD 9Now and has also held positions at social media giant Twitter and radio broadcaster Southern Cross Austereo. He spent an additional three years at Nine earlier in his career, before leaving for stints at Twitter and Southern Cross Austereo. He will now report to LA-based Angela Heckman, SVP of streaming revenue and operations for ViacomCBS Networks International. Bishop previously served as North American director of omnichannel media at Calvin Klein and has also served as digital media manager at UK newspapers The Times and The Sunday Times, as well as in-studio marketing for The Walt Disney Company.

Paramount+ launched in the US, Canada, and Latin America last week. In Australia, it will surpass its 10 All Access and offer original series and library content from ViacomCBS’s brands and production studios including CBS, Paramount Pictures, and Showtime. The streaming platform is actively recruiting for the rest of its Australian-based team, including building its marketing team from scratch.

Though it doesn’t launch in Australia until the middle of the year, the concept of Paramount+ was first announced last August, with its name and branding unveiled in September. It replaces Ten All Access and will host original series, Showtime premieres, Paramount Pictures movies, and CBS, CW, and Ten content.