LA SCREENINGS: President of international content licensing Lisa Kramer discusses the expansion of second-window rights for Paramount+ originals, LA Screenings titles including workplace comedy DMV and spin-off NCIS: Tony & Ziva, and forging ahead while the industry awaits a decision on the Skydance merger.

Paramount execs and talent L-R: David Stapf, Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo, Lisa Kramer, Donnie Wahlberg and Dan Cohen

It feels like everything and nothing has changed for Paramount Global over the past 12 months.

Rewind to the LA Screenings 2024 and much of the industry conversation revolved around the potential merger of Sony and Paramount. Had it come to fruition, it would have meant the combination of two major studios in an already highly consolidated Hollywood landscape.

But, to the relief of many, it was not to be. The companies backed away from talks, with Paramount Global ultimately agreeing to an US$8bn takeover by David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

The Skydance deal – backstopped by Ellison’s father, billionaire investor Larry Ellison – is expected to unlock billions in new spending at a time when Hollywood needs it most. But the consummation of the transaction has dragged on as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) undertakes a lengthy review.

In the meantime, Paramount has operated with a business-as-usual approach – easier said than done at a time of such industry flux and with so much riding on obtaining FCC approval.

Workplace comedy DMV has created a buzz with buyers

While some parts of the business remain in something of a holding pattern, the company’s distribution arm Paramount Global Content Distribution (PGCD) is forging ahead. And despite the challenging market backdrop, the tailwinds behind the international licensing business are strong, particularly for companies with large libraries of well-recognised brands and IP – something Paramount has in spades.

Trying to gaze too far into the future may be a futile exercise in Hollywood these days, however. So, for now, the memo for PGCD is simple: keep selling.

“We know almost as much as you do. I get my information from the newspapers as well,” Kramer, president of international content licensing for PGCD, tells C21 here in LA. “So we’re hopeful that the transaction will resolve soon, but meanwhile, it doesn’t stop what we have to sell, and the programming that our clients need.”

Paramount was screening two new shows to buyers over the weekend: DMV, a workplace comedy set in the department of motor vehicles, and NCIS spin-off NCIS: Tony & Ziva.

The former landed well with buyers during a Saturday morning screening, in much the same way that Australian comedy Colin From Accounts resonated during Paramount’s screening three years ago. Kramer highlights the importance of launching new shows that aren’t attached to existing IPs, adding that DMV will be an “excellent companion piece” to Ghosts, adapted from the UK sitcom, in CBS’s schedule.

NCIS spin-off NCIS: Tony & Ziva

The new entry to the NCIS universe – which Kramer notes is “so critical to the company” – also drew a positive reaction, with stars Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo meeting and greeting the buyers during lunch. Donnie Wahlberg, star of Boston Blue, the upcoming Blue Bloods spin-off, also participated in a Q&A with Dan Cohen, Paramount’s chief content licensing officer and the president of Republic Pictures.

Other shows featured in Paramount’s presentation included a first look at M.I.A., the drug-running drama for Peacock created and executive produced by Ozark co-creator Bill Dubuque, as well as upcoming seasons of Sherlock Holmes spin-off Watson; FBI spin-off CIA from Dick Wolf; Fire Country spin-off Sheriff Country; comedy Ghosts; and historical drama King & Conqueror.

One of the ongoing talking points at this year’s LA Screenings has been the continued widening of what is available for licensing in second windows. That is welcome news for all involved, particularly at a time when the acquisition budgets for international buyers are stretched.

“People are starting to believe that it has benefit,” says Kramer. “You don’t have to pay the tremendous premium of the first window, but also you can have great success with it, drive ratings, retain subscribers – and it’s good for us as well because it exposes the content to more players.”

She concedes that it does add some “complexity” but that is par for the course in a licensing market that has become far more intricate over the past three years.

Donnie Wahlberg (left) stars in Boston Blue

Free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) continues to be an area of focus for Paramount. During the LA Screenings, the company announced that it was launching a new professional wrestling-focused FAST channel, Wrestling Central, via The Roku Channel across North America. It features new weekly matches from WOW – Women Of Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance, along with an extensive library of never-before-seen matches, specials and documentaries. Another key FAST launch set for this year is a channel dedicated to content from Tony Robbins.

The benefit of these two channels, says Kramer, is that they don’t require rights clearances in multiple markets and can therefore be rolled out internationally. It can be “very difficult to find a pan-territorial footprint, so it’s a new space for us,” says Kramer, adding that Paramount sees continued growth opportunities in the FAST space.

There are also shifts afoot in how Paramount licenses some of the big, glossy, star-studded originals that were previously the exclusive purview of Paramount+. Recent deals have seen shows such as Yellowstone spin-off 1923, starring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, being licensed to Netflix in markets including Canada.

Kramer says it is not part of a wholesale strategy shift, and rather that the company is “carefully exploring second-window opportunities for Paramount+ originals” as a means of broadening the reach of certain titles.

“We want to make sure we get the balance right, especially when you have something that is an iconic, super-premium show like 1923. We’re trying to be very careful with placement, is what I would say. We haven’t set up a new model where everything is going to [be licensed]. We’ll make those decisions on a title-by-title basis.”

This inevitably leads to internal discussion and debate about what to license out and what to keep exclusively for Paramount+. Despite all the changes that have taken place across the Paramount organisation over the past 18 months, the streaming and licensing teams still work collaboratively to decide where to draw a line between the two strategies.

“It’s not like it’s a gladiator cage fight. It’s about finding an opportunity, finding out what the opportunity is from a value aspect – whether it’s just purely money or exposure – and then bringing that back to senior leadership to make the jump ball,” she explains.

“If we cannot resolve it between Paramount+ and ourselves, we of course open it up internally to a larger conversation. And we’re happy with whatever the result is, because we’re not making wholesale broad strategic decisions and policies today. We’re being very opportunistic and flexible.”