Paramount+ Hits 79 Million Subscribers as Streaming Loss Shrinks to $109 Million

Paramount Global unveiled its first-quarter financial results Thursday as controlling shareholder National Amusements, led by Shari Redstone, looks to close the sale of the Hollywood studio to David Ellison’s Skydance.

During the latest quarter to March 31, the company hit 79 million Paramount+ streaming subscribers worldwide, up 11 percent year-on-year and from 77.5 million Paramount+ customers at the end of its fourth quarter of 2024. The company added 1.5 million Paramount+ subscribers during the past three months, against 5.6 million brought on board during the fourth quarter of 2024.

And the studio posted a streaming loss of $109 million for the first quarter, an improvement over a $286 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2024. Direct-to-consumer revenue rose 9 percent to $2.04 billion, as advertising revenue fell 9 percent to $473 million, while subscription revenue rose 16 percent to $1.57 billion, driven by growth from Pluto TV and Paramount+.

Paramount swung to a first quarter profit of $152 million, compared to a year-earlier net loss at $554 million. The studio’s overall fourth-quarter revenue fell to $7.19 billion, against a year-earlier $7.68 billion. That beat a Zacks consensus estimate for Paramount’s first quarter revenues to come in at $7.1 billion.

“We are very pleased with our performance in the quarter, driven by a powerful content slate and focused execution,” studio co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins said in a joint statement. “Paramount+ against had the second most top 10 SVOD originals, and CBS is poised to be the most-watched network for the 17th consecutive season.”

The co-CEOs added Paramount Global “remains on track” to reach domestic profitability with Paramount+ for full-year 2025, as the streaming platform has hit TV series like Landman, Yellowjackets and Yellowstone.

Elsewhere, overall TV media revenue fell 13 percent to $4.53 billion, as advertising revenue fell 21 percent to $2.03 billion, compared to the first quarter of 2024 when CBS broadcast Super Bowl LVIII. Excluding the Super Bowl broadcast, the company said TV media advertising was flat.

And filmed entertainment revenue rose 4 percent to $627 million, as lower theatrical revenue was offset by higher licensing revenue for recent theatrical releases in the home entertainment space. Paramount Pictures box office during the first quarter was supported by Q4 2024 holdovers like Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Gladiator II, while Novocaine debuted during the most recent quarter.

The Skydance Media transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.