Paramount+ Hits Profitability for the Second Quarter in a Row

Things are looking up at Paramount+. Paramount’s streamer in its 2024 Q3 added 3.5 million global subscribers to reach 72 million subs. But more importantly, it was (slightly) profitable for the second quarter in a row.

Paramount reported Friday, November 8 that its direct-to-consumer (DTC) segment went up $287 million year-over-year to now hit $49 million in adjusted profits.

We were just talking yesterday about how Warner Bros. Discovery joined the streaming profitability club, and Paramount would love to apply for membership. But within the last nine months of 2024, it’s still on the whole $211 million in the red. Though this time last year, its losses were over $1 billion, and that in part led to the ouster of former CEO Bob Bakish.

The current Office of the CEO, which includes Brian Robbins, George Cheeks, and Chris McCarthy, gave an update on the cost savings they’re working toward before David Ellison and Skydance take over. They’re aiming for $500 million in content cost savings and have completed about 90 percent of it so far, with the rest coming by the end of the year, Robbins said on the earnings call.

The Office of the CEO is also still “evaluating potential partners in streaming.” Even with some modest profitability, a streaming partner could give it the scale it needs to compete with the likes of Disney+ and Netflix. It’s also hoping to keep that profitability train rolling, including when it gets “South Park” back on Paramount+ by June 2025.

In other highlights for Paramount this quarter, the CEOs boasted that Pluto had its highest quarter of consumption ever, amassing 5.6 billion viewing hours in the three-month span.

On the whole though, Paramount had a down quarter. Its revenues were down six percent year-over-year, and it had some dips in TV revenue and on its film side. Its film releases this past quarter included “A Quiet Place Day One” ($261 million global) but also the under-performance of both “IF” ($190 million global) and “Transformers One” ($127 million global).