Revenue from Paramount Global’s streaming operations was up by 40% in the second quarter after improvements in advertising for Pluto and Paramount+.
However, the company that also runs CBS, MTV and Paramount studios, failed to repeat the success elsewhere. Its TV operations fell by 10% and there was no Top Gun: Maverick to repeat the success of the previous quarter at the cinema.
Paramount lost $299 million on the quarter, compared to a loss of $445 million a year ago and a loss of $511 million in the first quarter.
Paramount+ grew revenue 47% and reached approximately 61 million subscribers, adding 700,000 on the quarter. Global viewing hours for Paramount+ and Pluto TV Global increased 35% year-on-year.
In a conference call following the results announcements, Paramount executives said 2023 would be the peak year for losses within streaming as increasing advertising revenues combined with higher prices and cost controls on programme budgets.
In contrast, rival Warner Bros. Discovery has seen its Max (ex-HBO Max) move to breakeven, albeit with a slight loss in first quarter subscriptions.
Amid the changes in the broadcasting landscape, CEO Bob Bakish managed to avoid a question relating to a CNBC report from earlier this year, suggesting Paramount had looked at offloading the BET Media suite of channels including BET and VH1.
However, Paramount has agreed to sell its Simon & Schuster book-publishing operations to private equity firm KKR for $1.62 million.
