Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Paramount Global - statistics & facts
A large part of recent 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. The deal is expected to be closed during 2025, following a regulatory approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pending since fall 2024. While Paramount’s revenue has remained quite stable in the past three years, it cannot be overlooked that the media giant made losses in 2023 and 2024 after years of generating profits.
Despite being a big player in the movie market, TV broadcasting is Paramount’s primary revenue source, generating nearly 19 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. 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 personalized on-demand content.
A company that was born as a film studio, developed into one of the top players in the film and broadcasting world, with several assets also on the digital market. Yet, to stay competitive, it turned out that it is crucial for Paramount to work on profitability, while at the same time strengthening its traditional media businesses.
A story of success
Starting in the 1910s as Paramount Pictures Corporation – today a subsidiary of Paramount Global – the company has emerged as one of the major film studios worldwide and a member of the so-called “Big Five” studios, consisting of Disney, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros., and Paramount. In 2024, Paramount Pictures’ market share of the box office in the U.S. and Canada amounted to around 10.6 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 June 2025.Despite being a big player in the movie market, TV broadcasting is Paramount’s primary revenue source, generating nearly 19 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. 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 personalized on-demand content.
Does Paramount turn the corner?
The consumers’ appetite for digitally accessible original programming has become apparent during 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 more than doubling between 2021 and 2025, and subscription revenues jumping from around 4.9 to over 5.5 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’s frequent negative profits led to a long list of cost-cutting measures, such as layoffs, and the shutting down of Paramount Television Studios and the MTV news website.A company that was born as a film studio, developed into one of the top players in the film and broadcasting world, with several assets also on the digital market. Yet, to stay competitive, it turned out that it is crucial for Paramount to work on profitability, while at the same time strengthening its traditional media businesses.
