Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter Three executives will step in to lead the international business as "interim heads." By Georg Szalai International Business Editor Paramount Global said Wednesday that its international boss Raffaele Annecchino was “on leave” from the company, effective immediately. “Effective today, Raffaele Annecchino, president, Paramount international studios, networks and streaming, is on leave from the company,” the company said in a statement.
The surprise announcement didn’t immediately detail a reason or say whether he had any role in the decision.
Company representatives didn’t provide further details.
Three executives will jointly run Paramount’s international business for now. “JC Acosta, president, international studios, streaming & networks for Southern Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, Maria Kyriacou, president, Australia, Canada, Israel and U.K., and Mark Specht, executive vp and managing director, Central & Northern Europe and Asia, will be stepping in as interim heads to lead the international business,” the company statement said. blogherads.adq.push(function () { blogherads .defineSlot( 'medrec', 'gpt-article-mid-article-uid0' ) .setTargeting( 'pos', ["mid-article1","mid-articleX","mid","mid-article"] ) .setSubAdUnitPath("ros/mid-article") .addSize([[300,250],[2,2],[300,251],[620,350],[2,4],[4,2]]) ; }); Related Stories TV Ted Sarandos Explains Why Netflix Will Add New Ad-Supported Tier to Streaming Service Business Europe's Theatrical Window Standoff Gives Studios Pause Over Strategy Annecchino has been a long-time right-hand man of Paramount Global president and CEO Bob Bakish.
The Italian has most recently been based in Madrid, reporting to Bakish.
In his role, he has overseen all of Paramount’s media networks and related businesses outside the U.S., including a portfolio of pay TV entertainment brands and broadcast networks across six continents.
These include Channel 5 in the U.K., Telefe in Argentina, Network 10 in Australia and Colors in India through a joint venture with Viacom18.
Annecchino has also overseen Paramount’s portfolio of international streaming products Paramount+, Pluto TV and Noggin.
Annecchino joined MTV Networks International in 1997 as distribution manager after holding positions at Turner International, Cartoon Network and CNN.
In 2002, he was made general manager of MTV Spain and later Iberia before continuing to rise through the ranks.
He became president and CEO of what was then known as ViacomCBS Networks International in December 2020.
The company rebranded as Paramount in February.
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