Paramount+ Hits 77.5M Subs After Sports Boost As Merger Advances

Paramount’s planned $8 billion merger with Skydance Media is still on and scheduled to close before the end of June. What happens between now and then, however, will likely be the source of significant drama. 

The CBS Sports parent company said late Wednesday that it is proceeding with the large-scale deal, “subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.” The statement was part of fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2024 that included a 1% dip in revenue last year to $29.2 billion but a 30% rise in adjusted operating income to $3.1 billion. The company missed analyst projections on both revenue and earnings per share. 

The complex, multipart Skydance deal has been in the works since last summer, and it has gone through a variety of twists and turns, including an aborted rival bid from media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. Skydance’s backers include the billionaire Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners.

Final approval of the agreement lies with the U.S. government, and CBS News has separately been in the midst of a large-scale legal battle with President Donald Trump—a situation that could complicate the final deal stages considerably. If the pact is completed, though, a larger and stronger Paramount will likely be more of a force in the sports rights market. 

Most recently, the company has been among those mentioned as possible suitors for MLB national rights that are a source of rising optimism among some clubs.

Paramount co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins did not expand on the Skydance situation in an earnings call with analysts late Wednesday.

Football Watching

Paramount, meanwhile, credited strong NFL viewership during the fourth quarter—even as the league overall fell 2% during the regular season, industry sources said CBS posted a 1% decline, and the company’s TV revenue declined by 4% during the period to $4.98 billion. Playoff viewership that included a whopping 57.7 million for the AFC championship game was not part of the fourth-quarter results. During the NFL regular season, Paramount said its streaming viewership rose nearly 60%, and CBS Sports had two of the three most-watched games.

“All of this speaks to the enduring relevance of broadcast television and its ability to reach mass audiences,” Cheeks said. 

Subscriber totals for Paramount+ have hit 77.5 million, ranking as one of the largest streaming services in the industry. 

The release of Paramount’s latest financial results closely followed the resolution of a carriage dispute with YouTube TV, the No. 4 U.S. pay-TV distributor. The situation could have threatened access for millions to major upcoming events such as March Madness and the Masters but ultimately was settled in a retooled agreement.

Editors’ note: RedBird IMI, of which RedBird Capital Partners is a joint venture partner, is the majority owner of Front Office Sports.