Paramount Ramps Up Day-and-Date VOD Plans for Indies

With the Toronto Film Festival a little over a month away, Paramount Pictures’ looks to be prepping its acquisition strategy by upping Syrinthia Studer (pictured) to senior VP, marketing and acquisitions and tapping IFC Films acquisitions vet Jeff Deutchman as director of acquisitions for the studio’s home media distribution division.

Studer will be responsible for acquiring films and licensed properties for worldwide distribution across multiple platforms. She will also continue to oversee home entertainment marketing efforts on behalf of Paramount’s network and cable brand partners.

She most recently served as V.P., brand marketing and was responsible for overseeing marketing strategy, product planning and development of home entertainment releases on behalf of Viacom Media Networks, CBS, Showtime and PBS as well as Paramount’s own original digital productions.

Deutchman, who comes to the studio after seven years at IFC, will head a small team within the division that will report to Studer and help develop a strategy to distribute films acquired by the studio.

These mark the first significant hires and promotions in the home media division since Paramount chairman and CEO Brad Grey decided to to restructure several of the divisions in the fall of 2011. In the restructuring, all post-theatrical distribution divisions were put under the home media distribution division including pay TV and VOD.

Among the titles Paramount has recently acquired for VOD release are horror comedy “Ghost Team One” and Sundance titles “A.C.O.D.” starring Adam Scott, which will be released theatrically by the Film Arcade, and “Adore” starring Robin Wright and Naomi Watts, formerly titled “Two Mothers,” to be released by Exclusive Media.

Among the distribs who have launched separate VOD labels are Universal arm Focus, which has Focus World, and the Weinstein Co., which has Radius-TWC.

Get more from Variety.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter