Paramount Global hits 67.5M Paramount+ subscribers by the end of Q4FY23

The studio reported a reduced streaming loss of $490 million, compared to the $575 million loss incurred in the same period the previous year.

Paramount Global, a global media, streaming and entertainment company, has reached 67.5 million subscribers on its Paramount+ streaming platform worldwide by the end of Q4 FY23, marking a growth of 4.1 million compared to the preceding financial quarter.

In the first quarter, Paramount reported a net earnings of $514 million, as compared to $21million net earnings in the same period last year, despite an overall revenue decrease of 12% to $7.63 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, the studio's per-share earnings were 4 cents, compared to the year-earlier 8 cents per-share earnings.

On the streaming front, the studio incurred a smaller loss of $490 million, an improvement from the $575 million loss reported in the previous year. Paramount had previously signaled a reduction in full-year direct-to-consumer losses in 2023, with indications that it reached the peak of streaming losses in 2022, a year earlier than initially projected.

The multinational conglomerate stated that the company anticipates achieving "significant total company earnings growth" by 2024. Furthermore, Paramount+ is forecasted to attain profitability within the domestic market (US) by 2025.

In the direct-to-consumer division, advertising revenue witnessed a 14% increase, reaching $526 million, driven by the growth of Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Subscription revenue also witnessed a surge, rising by 43% to $1.33 billion. However, traditional TV revenue for Paramount, encompassing assets such as CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon cable networks, declined by 12% to $5.16 billion in the latest quarter.

TV advertising revenue saw a 15% decrease to $2.28 billion, while affiliate and subscription revenue dropped slightly by 1% to just over $2 billion. In Paramount's film studio division revenue amounted to $647 million, reflecting a 3% decline from the previous year's $936 million, primarily attributed to a substantial decrease in licensing revenue.

In the fourth quarter, Paramount reported $558 million in net operating cash flow and $443 million in free cash flow. Bob Bakish, CEO, Paramount Global, in a statement accompanying the latest financial results, attributed the positive performance to streaming gains compensating for a softer advertising market. He emphasised, "Our disciplined execution and robust content offering were instrumental in driving our results in 2023, as we persist in evolving our business for profitable growth in 2024 and beyond."

He added, “Looking ahead, we continue to be focused on maximising the return on our content investments and scaling streaming, while transforming the cost base of our business. And I couldn’t be more thrilled with the early momentum we’ve had across every platform in 2024, demonstrating the power of our strategy and assets.”