Advanced Television

Paramount Q2 flat; Cohen exits as merger looms

August 1, 2025

Paramount’s chief content licensing officer and president of its Republic Pictures label, Dan Cohen, has confirmed he is leaving the studio as it prepares to close its merger with Skydance next week. Cohen joined the company in 2017 after spending 20 years working at Disney.

In an internal memo to staff, Cohen said: “This has been an incredibly difficult decision for me as the journey we’ve shared has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my career. Over the last eight years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside the most talented and dedicated individuals in the industry. Together, we’ve navigated a constantly evolving media landscape, forged groundbreaking deals and brought incredible stories to audiences around the world. We’ve built meaningful relationships that have driven real value for our company and our clients, and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

“I know you’ll continue to carry this important work forward with the same enthusiasm and excellence,” Cohen added.

Cohen is set to depart with immediate effect, but noted that he will work with senior leadership on a leadership transition.

Paramount has also released its Q2 financial results, reporting a 1 per cent growth in revenue to $6.81 billion (€5.9bn). Revenue for H1 as a whole decreased 3 per cent to $14.04 billion.

TV media revenue declined by 6 per cent year-on-year in Q2 to $4.01bn. DTC revenue grew by 15 per cent in the quarter to $2.16 billion. Filmed entertainment revenue increased by 2 per cent to $690 million. Theatrical revenue grew by 84 per cent to $254 million largely due to the success of Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning.

Advertising revenue fell by 4 per cent in the quarter to $2.15 billion. Affiliate and subscription revenue, however, rose by 5 per cent year-on-year in Q2 to $3.45 billion attributed to subscriber growth and pricing increases for Paramount+. The number of Paramount+ subscribers grew to 77.7 million at of June 30th 2025, up from 68.4 million in the same period last year.

Paramount’s merger with Skydance is scheduled to close on August 7th.

Sharon Redstone, Non-Executive Chair, commented: “Over many years, Paramount established itself as an enduring industry leader in media, news, and entertainment. Despite an increasingly challenging environment, the talented co-CEOs and teams across the Company have continued to strengthen and grow the business. As a testament to their success and driven by the power of exceptional content, we have seen the impressive growth of Paramount+, the ongoing leadership of CBS, and the continued stream of franchise growth at Paramount Pictures. At the same time, substantial progress has been made in streamlining the Company’s cost structure. I am proud that when the Skydance transactions close we will be turning over a healthy business with a strong foundation for long-term growth and value creation. I will be forever grateful to the people of the Company and the shareholders who have supported us.”

A statement from co-CEOs George Cheeks, Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy added: Our goal when we became co-CEOs was to transform Paramount into a streaming first company and today we are substantially better positioned with streaming revenue growth outpacing linear declines, driven by exceptional performance at Paramount+. We saw the largest viewership growth among all subscription services in the US, up 26 per cent vs the first half of 2024, driven by continued strong content at Paramount+ where we again had the most Top 10 SVoD Originals, behind only the market leader, and churn achieved a record low. CBS content drove nearly half of all viewing on Paramount+ and ranked as the most watched broadcast network for the 17th consecutive season. These impressive results are thanks to our talented teams and creative partners for whom we are very grateful for their continued creativity, dedication and hard work.”

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