Brian Robbins, who heads Nickelodeon as president, kids & family entertainment at ViacomCBS, is expected to be named head of Paramount Pictures as ViacomCBS gears up to create more content for Paramount Plus.
Robbins would replace Jim Gianopulos, now chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, and retain his oversight of the kids business, according to a source, confirming a report in the Wall Street Journal.
An official announcement was said to be imminent, but officials had no comment.
Robbins joined Nickelodeon as president in 2018. Before he started the multiplatform media company Awesomeness, which was purchased by Viacom in 2018. Before that he was an actor, writer and producer of movies and television shows.
When ViacomCBS announced a new streaming content leadership structure in June, Robbins was tapped as chief content officer, kids and family for Paramount Plus. In July Robbins was tapped for global responsibilities for the company's kids businesses.
There have been questions about whether ViacomCBS was big enough to generate enough content to compete in the streaming wars. One of Paramount Plus’ strengths was its Nickelodeon kids franchises and the company appears to be counting on Robbins to deliver more content that will appeal to younger audiences.
