Paramount Global Adds 3.5 Million Streaming Subscribers in Q3 Bruised by TV, Movie Declines

variety.com:

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Paramount Global added 3.5 million new Paramount+ subscribers in its third quarter, but those gains failed to offset meaningful declines in its larger TV and film businesses.

The owner of the CBS broadcast network, the Paramount movie studio and cable networks Comedy Central said third-quarter revenue fell 6% to $6.73 billion from $7.13 billion in the year earlier period, crimped by a 6% decline in revenue from its TV properties and a 34% decline in its movie businesses.

Revenue for the company’s direct-to-consumer operations rose 10%. Paramount reported earnings of $1 million, or 0 cents per share, compared with profit of $295 million, or 43 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

Earnings came to 49 cents a share when one-time items were removed. The company reported a charge of $104 million in the quarter tied to impairment of the value of its FCC licenses and a charge of $321 million tied to severance related to layoffs and the exit of former CEO Bob Bakish.