Paramount continued to push forward on its $500 million cost-savings plan and goal of reaching sustained profitability in streaming by 2025, in the companys first earnings report since the Skydance deal was announced.

In the companys second quarter earnings report, Paramount reported direct-to-consumer revenue up 13 percent year-over-year to reach $1.8 billion and an adjusted profit figure of $26 million, after a loss of $424 million a year ago.The change in income was attributed to the revenue growth and lower costs for marketing and content. However, the number of Paramount+ subscribers decreased 2.8 million in the quarter, to 68 million, which the company said largely reflects the planned exit from a hard bundle agreement in South Korea.

Overall, Paramount reported an operating loss of $5.3 billion, after a loss of $250 million a year ago. The company attributed the change to a goodwill impairment charge of $5.98 billion for its cable networks reporting unit, which comes amid the Skydance offer and a decline in pay TV.

Revenue fell 11 percent year over year to $6.8 billion, with a 17 percent drop in revenue in the companys TV Media division and an 18 percent drop in filmed entertainment. The drop in TV revenue was largely attributed to fluctuations in licensing revenues, which dropped 48 percent, as well as declines in the linear advertising market.

While helped by the releases of IF and A Quiet Place: Day One, theatrical revenues suffered by comparison to the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in the prior year.

Within the companys streaming segment, subscription revenue grew 12 percent, which the company said was driven by year-over-year subscriber growth and pricing increases for Paramount+, while advertising revenue rose 16 percent, due to growth in Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Paramount+ revenue is up 46 percent year-over-year.

On July 7, Shari Redstone agreed to sell control of Paramount Global to a consortium led by Skydance, the production company helmed by David Ellison, and Gerry Cardinales RedBird Capital.

The company is still in the midst of its 45-day go-shop window which allows the special committee of Paramounts Board of Directors to evaluate or seek out better offers. In the earnings release, Paramount said it does not intend to disclose developments with respect to the go-shop process unless and until it determines such disclosure is appropriate or is otherwise required.

If a serious bidder emerges, the go-shop period can be extended to Sept. 5, per the filing. However, if Paramount does not choose to go with the Skydance offer, it will be forced to pay a $400 million breakup fee. If the transaction is approved, it is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.

Our strong performance in Q2 demonstrates that we are delivering on our strategic priorities. We are proud of our results, including significant earnings growth largely driven by our DTC segment. In fact, for the fourth year in a row, Paramount+ is leading the industry in domestic sign-ups driven by our big broad hit TV series and blockbuster films. DTC profit growth for the past four quarters has totaled nearly $900 million and we are on track to reach domestic profitability for Paramount+ in 2025, the companys co-CEOs, George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, said in a statement.

Looking ahead, we will continue to aggressively execute on our Strategic Plan which focuses on transforming streaming to accelerate profitability, streamlining our organization including at least $500 million in annualized cost savings and improving the balance sheet by growing free cash flow and optimizing our asset mix. We are confident that our Plan will drive long-term value by leveraging our broad hit content as we continue to transform Paramount for the future, the statement continued.

More to come.