Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Paramount Global - statistics & facts
A large part of the 2024 headlines in the entertainment industry were dedicated to Paramount Global. After months of negotiations with potential investors and numerous merger bids on the table, Skydance Media won the race with the promise of investing eight billion U.S. dollars and the deal is expected to be closed in the first half of 2025. While Paramount’s revenue has remained quite stable in the past three years, it cannot be overlooked that the media giant made a loss of 1.28 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 after years of generating profits.
Despite being a big player in the movie market, TV broadcasting is Paramount’s primary revenue source, generating over 20 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. With popular TV shows like “NCIS” and “FBI,” the company’s flagship TV brand CBS has become one of the most watched networks in the United States. Furthermore, Paramount’s cable TV channels Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and MTV are known around the globe. However, like other broadcasters, Paramount’s traditional TV offerings are struggling to keep their viewers engaged as they are increasingly interested in connected and mobile devices, and the growing popularity for personalized on-demand content.
What once began as a film studio, developed to one of the top players in the film and broadcasting world with several assets also on the digital market. Yet, in order to stay competitive, it turned out that it is crucial for Paramount to work on profitability, while at the same time strengthen its traditional media businesses.
A story of success
Starting as Paramount Pictures Corporation – today a subsidiary of Paramount Global – in the 1910s, the company has emerged as one of the major film studios worldwide and member of the so-called “Big Five,” consisting of Disney, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros., and Paramount. In 2023, Paramount Pictures’ market share of the box office in the U.S. and Canada amounted to around 9.4 percent. The movie producer and distributor is especially known for popular franchises, such as “Indiana Jones,” “Top Gun,” and “Transformers.” Its most successful movie was “Titanic,” which ranks fourth in terms of highest-grossing movies of all time as of March 2024.Despite being a big player in the movie market, TV broadcasting is Paramount’s primary revenue source, generating over 20 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. With popular TV shows like “NCIS” and “FBI,” the company’s flagship TV brand CBS has become one of the most watched networks in the United States. Furthermore, Paramount’s cable TV channels Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and MTV are known around the globe. However, like other broadcasters, Paramount’s traditional TV offerings are struggling to keep their viewers engaged as they are increasingly interested in connected and mobile devices, and the growing popularity for personalized on-demand content.
Does Paramount turn the corner?
The consumers’ appetite for digitally accessible original programming has become apparent since as recently as the COVID-19 pandemic. Paramount has responded to the audience’s request in the shape of a hybrid video-on-demand platform, launched in 2014 as CBS All Access and relaunched as Paramount+ in 2021, which was offered with and without ads at different pricing models. The strategy of the rebranding has paid off, with DTC subscriber numbers roughly doubling between 2021 and 2024, and subscription revenues jumping from around 3.4 to nearly five billion U.S. dollars in only one year. Additionally, the free ad-supported streaming TV service Pluto TV contributes to a continuous ad revenue growth of the DTC business. However, the streaming division made positive profits in second quarter of 2024 for the first time, following a long list of cost-cutting measures, such as layoffs, and the shutting down of Paramount Television Studios and the MTV news website.What once began as a film studio, developed to one of the top players in the film and broadcasting world with several assets also on the digital market. Yet, in order to stay competitive, it turned out that it is crucial for Paramount to work on profitability, while at the same time strengthen its traditional media businesses.
