Gearing up for its US$8-billion merger with Skydance Media, Paramount Global’s Q4 revenue was up 5% compared to the same quarter last year, as per its latest earnings report that was released yesterday. But overall, the company finished the quarter with a net loss of US$224 million, due to operating costs connected to this impending transaction. 

The DTC unit (which includes Paramount+, Pluto TV and BET+) has narrowed its loss position from US$490 million in Q4 2023 to US$286 million this quarter. This was, in part, thanks to an 8% year-over-year revenue increase (US$2 billion). And Paramount+ (where SpongeBob SquarePants ranked as the most-watched kids and family title) picked up 5.6 million new subscribers in Q4, bringing its total count to 77.5 million. 

These numbers seem to be driving a bullish outlook among co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, who emphasized Paramount’s shift to become a “streaming-first company” in a joint statement. “DTC profitability improved US$1.2 billion in 2024, driven by an impressive year at Paramount+, where we added 10 million new subscribers and delivered a 33% increase in revenue, which gives us great confidence Paramount+ will achieve full-year domestic profitability for 2025.”

Also on track for 2025 is the company’s long-anticipated merger with Skydance, which is expected to close sometime in the first half of this year. 

In line with the broader trend of a linear slowdown, Paramount’s quarterly revenue from TV media declined by 4% (compared with Q4 2023) to US$4.98 billion, while operating profit dropped by 17% (US$949 million).

On the film front, revenue was up 67% (US$1.08 billion), with Paramount citing its “franchise-driven strategy” as a factor, along with the effect of the labor strikes on the previous year. The company singled out Sonic the Hedgehog 3 among its theatrical highlights for both Q4 and the full year. This threequel has generated US$483 million in ticket sales so far against a US$122-million budget.