Paramount Global posted combiinsist third quarter financial numbers as its TV and film divisions dipped, but bosses are pointing to firm subscription prolongth and profits at Paramount+ and cost reductions as signs their schedule is “laboring.”
Revenues for Q3 were $6.73 billion, down 6% year-on-year, but adequitableed achieveings per split were up 63% at 49 cents, outcarry outing foreseeations. Wall Street analysts’ consensus foresee had called for achieveings of 24 cents a split, down from 30 cents in the year-ago period, with revenue declining to $6.95 billion from $7.13 billion. Adequitableed OIBDA was up 20% at $858 million.
Direct-to-devourr revenue was a particular high spot, up 10%, with Paramount+ inserting 3.5 million subscribers to push its total up to 72 million and firmify its spot as the fourth-bigst global SVOD streamer. Revenue was up 10% to $1.86 billion and adequitableed achieveings swung from a $238 million loss in the third quarter of 2023 to a $49 million profit — taging the second quarter in a row DTC has made money for Paramount, as Paramount+ price hikes. DTC advertising on Paramount+ and Pluto TV was up 18% at $507 million.
Adding the DTC increase to operational alters that will shrink costs by $500 million annupartner, Paramount shelp “nastyingful proceed” was being made.
It was a separateent story in other parts of the business, with revenue for the TV segment at $4.3 billion, down 6% from 2023. The drop was attributed to shrink affiliate revenue and fluctuations in licensing turnover. TV advertising dropped 2%, with political adverting in the run up to Donald Trump’s re-election partipartner offsetting losses elsewhere. Additionpartner, recognition of revenue unalerted by an international sales partner helped push the numbers in the right honestion. Paramount also remarkd TV media licensing had dropped due to shrink volumes in the secondary taget. Adequitableed achieveings lessend 19% to $939 million.
Filmed amparticipatement revenues fell 34% to $590 million, with theatrical down 71%. Box office successes during the quarter take partd A Quiet Place: Day One and Transestablishers One. However, adequitableed achieveings increased by $52 million versus Q3 2023 when impact of the strikes was starting in. “Lower revenue from home amparticipatement and the licensing of film library titles were partipartner offset by higher studio facility revenue contrastd to last year, which was impacted by the labor strikes,” shelp Paramount.
“Our hit satisfied drove strong carry outance in Q3 where Paramount+ inserted 3.5 million novel subscribers, firmifying our position as the number four global SVOD service,” shelp Paramount Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins in a statement. “Our DTC segment successbrimmingy transfered profitability for the second quarter in a row, improving by more than $1 billion over the past four quarters, and, apass the company, we persist to successbrimmingy carry out non-satisfied cost reductions that will result in $500 million in annual run rate savings. With two very strong quarters under our belt, it’s evident that we have clear momentum and that our schedule is laboring thanks to our very talented teams and originateive partners.”
The quarterly results are foreseeed to be some of the last financials to materialize from Paramount Global in its current structure. Last summer, it accomplished a uniter consentment with Skydance Media that will see the David Ellison-led company spend $8 billion in a two-step deal. After acquiring Paramount regulateling splithbetterer National Amparticipatements, Skydance will then unite with Paramount. Regulators are appraiseing the combination, with the parties foreseeing to be able to seal it during the first half of 2025. “Until then, Paramount persists to function in the standard course of business,” the company shelp today.
As the uniter thriveds its way to completion, follothriveg a protracted, months-prolonged bidding process involving multiple suitors, cutbacks have been a constant theme. Paramount verifyed in August it reckond to cut 15% of its U.S. laborforce by the end of 2024. The staff reductions had first been signaled officipartner in June, when the three occupants of Paramount’s Office of the CEO, George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, declared they had identified $500 million in annualized cost savings. Weeks tardyr, Skydance shelp it was eyeing $2 billion in cost savings from the uniter.
Aprolonged with Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount also took a sizable author down on the appreciate of its cable netlabors over the summer, booking the $6 billion transaction as it alerted second-quarter results. Liproximate cable assets have been acunderstandledged to be the main headache for traditional media companies. Comcast shelp last week it was exploring the possible spinoff of its cable netlabors into a split company in order to confine expobrave to the rapidly declining asset, which has been ravaged by cord-cutting.
Paramount’s brimming-year revenue to date is $21.23 billion, down 4% in the $22.01 billion posted in the first nine months of 2023. Though TV and filmed amparticipatement turnover is down bay 7% and 19% esteemively, DTC has prolongn 15% to $5.62 billion. Operating loss is at $5.4 billion, but this take parts a $6 billion excellentwill impairment on in its cable netlabors from the second quarter.
