STATEMENT ON COUNTERING SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
This statement is made on behalf of The Paramount UK Partnership (trading as Comedy Central) (“the Company”) pursuant to section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and covers the Company’s activities for the financial year ending 31 December 2024.
The Company is committed to maintaining the highest standards of business ethics and legal compliance globally and adopts a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and human trafficking within its operations and supply chains.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE, BUSINESS AND SUPPLY CHAINS
The Company is part of the Paramount group of companies, being ultimately wholly-owned by Paramount Global (“Paramount”) (NASDAQ: PARA, PARAA). Paramount, headquartered in New York, is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Its portfolio includes CBS, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, CMT, Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
The Company’s core business is television programming, broadcasting and related activities and therefore most of its suppliers operate in areas where the roles being performed are largely technical and/or professional in nature.
POLICIES IN RELATION TO SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Paramount maintains a group-wide Supplier Compliance Policy that requires suppliers to adhere to the same high standards Paramount applies internally. This includes compliance with labour standards covering wages, hours, overtime and benefits, health and safety, environmental impacts, and the elimination of improper discrimination, child labour, and forced labour. The Company has implemented the Supplier Compliance Policy with respect to its own suppliers and requires strict compliance with these standards.
Additionally, employees are subject to Paramount’s Business Conduct Statement (BCS), which must be reviewed and certified bi-annually. The BCS provides clear guidance on ethical business conduct and includes a dedicated section affirming Paramount’s zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and human trafficking. It states: "Paramount complies with all applicable laws that prohibit modern slavery and human trafficking. As such, we take a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and human trafficking, and we are committed to ensuring that modern slavery has no place within our operations and supply chains. These expectations would apply to both Paramount’s own sourcing activities as well as licensees, vendors, and production facilities involved in the manufacture of our products.”
Paramount also provides an international whistleblowing platform (OpenLine), through which employees and third parties may confidentially raise concerns, including any relating to unethical practices or potential human rights abuses.
DUE DILIGENCE PROCESS
To ensure that all suppliers adopt the same high standards we do, the Company conducts due diligence that includes screening new vendors and other third parties. Paramount uses an integrated platform with adverse media screening tools to help identify risks including those related to forced labour, trafficking, or other labour abuses.
RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT
Paramount recognises that modern slavery may exist to a greater or lesser extent in most, if not all, countries and industries. We are aware of the need to address the risk of modern slavery arising in our supply chains. Given the Company’s core business and the nature of its supply chain, the risk is assessed as low. Nonetheless, we apply strict and consistent standards when dealing with suppliers and continue to monitor our practices and suppliers accordingly. Where concerns are identified, Paramount will investigate and take remedial action as appropriate.
EFFECTIVENESS AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
The Company does not currently maintain formal performance indicators specific to modern slavery risks. However, the Company continues to monitor its suppliers through ongoing due diligence processes and internal reviews. Adherence to Paramount’s Supplier Compliance Policy and BCS serves as a measure of the Company’s effectiveness in upholding high ethical standards across its operations and supply chains.
TRAINING ON MODERN SLAVERY
All staff employees are required to complete electronic training on Paramount’s BCS and formally attest that they have read it and agree to comply with its policies. This includes adhering to the BCS provisions on modern slavery and human trafficking, as well as our broader human rights and ethical standards.
Date: June 30, 2025