Paramount+ drops 1.3 million subs, but financial data solid
Paramount+ drops 1.3 million subs, but financial data solid
Ahead of the closing of its merger with Skydance Media, Paramount reported a mostly strong second quarter.
Paramount Global headquarters is a busy place these days. The company is preparing to finally close its merger with Skydance Media, but amidst all that hustle and bustle, Paramount still found time to drop its 2025 second quarter earnings report on Thursday afternoon. The company lost streaming subscribers, but most of its other numbers point to a strong quarter for Paramount.
Key Details:
- Small backslide: Paramount+ lost 1.3 million subscribers in Q2.
- Better financially: Streaming revenue growth outpaced linear declines at Paramount.
- Better days ahead?: Paramount is due to close its merger with Skydance on Aug. 7.
The top-line statistic for Paramount+ in this quarter’s earnings report is that the service ended Q2 with 77.7 million subscribers, a decline of 1.3 million from last quarter’s total of 79 million. But the results on the next line for the company’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) segment are a little better; revenue brought in by Paramount+ rose by 23% in the quarter, and the division generated $157 million in adjusted OBIDA.
In fact, Paramount’s DTC revenue growth in the second quarter outpaced losses from its linear segment. The TV and Media segment of the company saw a 6% decrease in revenue, while DTC’s revenue grew 15%. Overall, Paramount pulled in a net profit of $57 million in Q2, compared with a $5.4 billion loss in the year-ago quarter.
Just before the end of the quarter, Paramount made a relatively minor — but still meaningful — change to its top streaming service. Paramount+ changed the name of its ad-free plan from Paramount+ with SHOWTIME back to Paramount+ Premium, its original name.
The most obvious recent big news for Paramount technically happened after the start of the third quarter, but it’s worth mentioning nonetheless. In July, after settling a lawsuit with President Trump, Paramount gained approval from Trump’s FCC to move ahead with its merger with Skydance. That deal will now close on Aug. 7.
Paramount also agreed to a new “South Park” streaming deal at the end of July, ensuring the series will stream exclusively on Paramount+ for the next five years. The arrow appears to be pointed upward for Paramount Global, but that ultimately rests in the hands of the company’s new owners.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and more. Get free access with a Walmart+ subscription.
Paramount+ includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.