• by Wayne Friedman , 6 hours ago

Paramount Skydance saw another double-digit quarterly decline in its linear TV advertising -- 12% to $1.47 billion for the third quarter -- with direct-to-consumer (DTC) ad revenue slipping 6% to $479 million.

Linear TV was impacted by an unfavorable comparison to strong presidential advertising in the third quarter of 2024.

Also dipping lower were linear TV’s affiliate and subscription revenues -- down 7% to $1.74 billion, due to a decline in pay TV subscribers.

Paramount Skydance's streaming/DTC business saw advertising declines as a result of the underperformance of its ad-supported, streaming TV channel Pluto TV, due to lower sellout advertising-inventory levels.

Paramount’s entire direct-to-streaming business -- including Paramount+ and Pluto TV -- was up 17% in the period to $2.2 billion.

Paramount+ represents 80% of all DTC business.

In after-market trading, Paramount’s stock was up 7% to $15.25.

Executives expect that for the entire 2025 year, its DTC business will be profitable and will grow further in 2026.

For the coming fourth quarter, executives are forecasting slightly higher revenue results -- $8.1 billion to $8.3 billion. Analysts have been anticipating around $8 billion.

For all of 2026, Paramount expects revenues to climb past $30 billion.

Other positive news for analysts could be a potential deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, giving Paramount greater clout.

Jeremy Goldman, senior director/media analyst of Emarketer, said: “With Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly weighing its future and fielding takeover interest, the industry’s next wave of consolidation is already rolling in. Paramount’s posture — as an active consolidator rather than a target — positions it to shape, not just survive, that shakeout.”