Q2 Profit for Paramount

As it nears the closing of its Skydance merger, Paramount reported Q2 revenues of $6.8 billion, a 1 percent gain, with the company emerging from last year’s loss to deliver an operating profit of $399 million.

Direct-to-consumer remained a bright spot, with revenues up 15 percent to $2.2 billion. Subscription revenues were up 22 percent to $1.7 billion, while ad revenues slipped by 4 percent to $494 million. Paramount+’s overall revenues rose by 23 percent, with the platform reaching 77.7 million subs, a decrease of 1.3 million subs.

TV media revenues took a hit, sliding by 6 percent to $4 billion as ad revenues fell by 4 percent to $1.7 billion, affiliate and subscriptions dropped by 7 percent to $1.8 billion and licensing fell by 9 percent to $574 million.

Filmed entertainment inched up by 2 percent to $690 million, as an 84 percent boost in theatrical revenues was offset by a 19 percent decline in licensing.

“Over many years, Paramount established itself as an enduring industry leader in media, news and entertainment,” said Shari Redstone, non-executive chair. “Despite an increasingly challenging environment, the talented co-CEOs and teams across the company have continued to strengthen and grow the business. As a testament to their success and driven by the power of exceptional content, we have seen the impressive growth of Paramount+, the ongoing leadership of CBS and the continued stream of franchise growth at Paramount Pictures. At the same time, substantial progress has been made in streamlining the company’s cost structure. I am proud that when the Skydance transactions close, we will be turning over a healthy business with a strong foundation for long-term growth and value creation. I will be forever grateful to the people of the company and the shareholders who have supported us.”

Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, added: “Our goal when we became co-CEOs was to transform Paramount into a streaming-first company and today we are substantially better positioned with streaming revenue growth outpacing linear declines, driven by exceptional performance at Paramount+. We saw the largest viewership growth among all subscription services in the U.S., up 26 percent vs. the first half of 2024, driven by continued strong content at Paramount+, where we again had the most top 10 SVOD originals, behind only the market leader, and churn achieved a record low. CBS content drove nearly half of all viewing on Paramount+ and ranked as the most watched broadcast network for the 17th consecutive season. These impressive results are thanks to our talented teams and creative partners for whom we are very grateful for their continued creativity, dedication and hard work.”