Woe to publishers that lose their live sports access.
Just look at Paramount Global, which saw a 6% decline in total revenue and 19% decline in advertising revenue this past quarter compared to last year’s Q1 – which just so happens to be when CBS hosted the 2024 Super Bowl broadcast.
Some context: The NFL typically rotates its annual Super Bowl broadcasts between CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC, currently in that order, on a four-year rotation. Although CBS has already televised the most games in the event’s 58-year history, it won’t do so again until 2028.
Removing the Super Bowl from the equation, however, paints a slightly more positive picture for Paramount, according to the company’s latest earnings release.
Overall, Paramount posted revenue of $7.2 billion for the quarter, which is actually a 2% increase when excluding the Super Bowl’s impact. Total advertising revenue, meanwhile, remained flat under those same conditions.
In the meantime, other content from CBS Sports, including the NFL Playoffs and NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, helped the company “make up for some softness in the digital space,” co-CEO Chris McCarthy told investors on Thursday.
Mo’ Inventory, Mo’ Problems
Sports aside, Paramount’s direct-to-consumer business – meaning consumers who pay for its streaming services and watch ads on Paramount+ and Pluto TV – is growing.
For Paramount+, subscription revenue was enough to offset the decline in advertising revenue, and overall revenue grew 9% year over year to roughly $2 billion.
That increased subscription revenue – which grew 16% to $1.57 billion – was buoyed by an incoming 1.5 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2025, for a grand total of 79 million overall.
Global viewing hours also increased for both Paramount+ and FAST channel Pluto TV, at a YOY rate of 17% for the subscription-based service and 31% for the ad-supported one.
That increased viewership is especially good news, because the digital video space is currently facing an “influx of supply” that’s making ad monetization trickier, said McCarthy.
In fact, DTC advertising revenue technically declined 1% because of how this increase in video inventory is affecting Pluto TV, said CFO Naveen Chopra (although, again, not counting the Super Bowl).
Even with those minor setbacks, the company is “very pleased with the engagement that we continue to drive at both Paramount+ and Pluto,” according to McCarthy.
“Our hit volume and hit content continues to drive more and more engagement, and over time, we are definitely confident that that will turn into increased monetization,” he said.
