US-based international media giant Paramount Global has revealed its financial results for the second quarter (April-June) of the 2025 fiscal year, headlined by the continued growth of the Paramount+ OTT service and the direct-to-consumer (DTC) business.
Overall quarterly revenue remained flat, growing just 1% year-on-year (YoY) in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, sitting at 6.8 billion, while half-year revenue across the first six months of 2025 fell just shy of 2024’s figure, down 3% YoY.
Despite this, quarterly DTC revenue was boosted significantly, up 15% YoY to $2.1 billion, with subscription revenue up 22% thanks to both price increases and overall subscriber growth at Paramount+.
Additionally, while linear TV revenue dropped 6%, the TV performance of Paramount’s sports content on its CBS Sports network remained strong, with golf events such as The Masters, and college basketball’s iconic NCAA National Championship ‘March Madness’ tournaments continually proving major draws.
Overall, Paramount slipped back into profit across both the quarter and six-month periods, compared to a 2024 of heavy lossmaking across both.
With the reveal of the firm’s quarterly financials, attention now turns to Paramount’s coming merger with media business Skydance, which is set to conclude midway through Q3 (August 7).
The deal will see Skydance acquire the National Amusements firm, which owns the controlling stake (77%) in Paramount, for $2.4 billion, which will then be followed by a merger between Skydance and Paramount Global for $8 billion.
This new merged media enterprise will be valued at as much as $28 billion.
The overall deal, both parties have said, will “stabilize and strengthen Paramount as a world-class media enterprise, with a focus on technological advancements, across multiple entertainment platforms.”
Media assets owned by Paramount Global include US network CBS, the UK’s Channel 5, and Network 10 in Australia, and the Paramount+ streaming service.
From a sports point of view, CBS holds rights to several major properties such as European club soccer’s UEFA Champions League, American football’s NFL, PGA Tour golf, and top-tier college sports. In 2024, it aired the most-watched NFL Super Bowl in history.
