By Kenneth Li
(Reuters) – Brian Robbins, head of ViacomCBS Inc’s children’s network Nickelodeon, will take over as the chairman and chief executive of the media company’s Paramount movie studio, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Robbins will succeed Jim Gianopulos, Paramount Pictures’ current CEO.
The move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Friday, comes as ViacomCBS is pushing into online streaming to catch up with the likes of Netflix Inc and Walt Disney Co’s Disney+.
Its notable kids’ movie and TV franchises such as “Paw Patrol,” “SpongeBob,” and “iCarly,” are key to ViacomCBS’ efforts to take on Disney in the streaming wars.
(Reporting by Kenneth Li; Editing by Mark Porter)
