By Brian Steinberg
Entertainment giant Paramount agrees to merge with Skydance
Paramount Global reported that its pending merger with Skydance Media resulted in a $5.98 billion goodwill write-down in the second quarter. It’s the latest warning sign for a media industry where audiences are increasingly abandoning cable television for streaming video, with major implications for the industry’s economics.
The company, which owns CBS, the Paramount film studio and cable networks including Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV, said total revenue fell 11% in the period, driven by declines tied to its film and traditional TV businesses. However, Paramount’s streaming business turned a profit for the first time, with ad sales at Pluto and Paramount+ up 16%.
Still, the robust performance of the company’s streaming business wasn’t enough to lift its overall results. Paramount said it lost nearly $5.32 billion in the period, up from $250 million in the same period a year earlier. The company said it was poised to cut $500 million in costs in the near future.
