Maria Kyriacou Exits Paramount

Maria Kyriacou, Paramount’s president of broadcast and studios for international markets, has decided to depart the company, which is pulling back on international originals.

Kyriacou joined Paramount in 2020 as president of international to oversee the U.K., Australia, Canada and Israel. Previously, she spent a decade at ITV Studios and was at Disney for 15 years. Her last day at Paramount is today, but she will continue to work with the team through the end of March 2024.

“We are sharpening our international content strategy to focus more heavily on our Hollywood franchises, films and series, which have mass global appeal, are in high demand with our partners and perform strongest with audiences worldwide,” Pam Kaufman, president and CEO of international markets, global consumer products and experiences, and George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer for news and sports at Paramount+, said in a memo to staff. “As we focus on maximizing our content investment, we will produce fewer international originals, apart from our leading free-to-air networks in the U.K., Australia, Argentina and Chile, which will continue to have a strong pipeline of local content.”

The memo continued, “We recognize that Maria’s departure, as president of our international broadcast and studios business, will mean redefining how we work together as ‘One Paramount’ across these lines of business.”

With Kyriacou’s departure, Paramount Television International Studios will be overseen by David Stapf, president of CBS Studios, who will continue to report to George. Channel 5, Network 10, Chilevisión and Telefe continue to be led by local leadership.