Simon & Schuster

Paramount+ Bundle Boosts Revenue Despite Flat Subscriber Growth

Paramount reported a softer quarter as it retools around a unified Paramount+ with Showtime bundle. Global Paramount+ subscribers rose about 700,000 to 61 million, while overall revenue declined 2% year over year to $7.6 billion. The company linked slower subscriber growth to the rebrand of the ad-free tier, but the bundle boosted streaming revenue by 40% year over year; both tiers saw price increases to $11.99 (ad-free) and $5.99 (ad-supported). Paramount also announced the planned sale of Simon & Schuster to KKR for about $1.6 billion. On monetization, Paramount+ subscription revenue rose roughly 50% YoY; streaming ad revenue climbed 21% to $441 million. EyeQ, the platform aggregating Paramount+ and Pluto TV inventory, is projected to generate $3 billion in digital ad revenue in 2023. The company expects Paramount+ ARPU to rise about 20% in 2024 and has saved $700 million by consolidating tech/opex.

Monopsony Gets Its Day In Court; Why Theory-First Works In Theory

AdExchanger's daily news roundup addresses antitrust and marketing research themes. It notes a US judge blocked the Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster merger on monopsony grounds, with the DOJ and FTC signaling a broader focus on monopsony in merger enforcement. Google and Amazon are cited as monopsony targets due to their large share of online ad dollars. The piece also discusses a shift from theory-first to empirics-first research in marketing, as argued in the Journal of Marketing, and highlights influencer earnings dynamics across platforms, including LinkedIn. Additional items include a TikTok ad leading to brand partnerships and a staffing update: Mirriad named Karen Magnani as VP of Sales, US. The roundup links to related coverage from Ad Age, Digiday, and Marketing Brew.

France Proceeds with Big Tech Tax; ViacomCBS Sells Simon & Schuster - ExchangeWire.com

France will resume its digital services tax on major tech firms, notifying Facebook and Amazon that they will owe tax next month, after suspending the levy during OECD reform talks. The government says the tax could be dropped if a cross-border taxation agreement is reached. ViacomCBS has agreed to sell Simon & Schuster to Bertelsmann's Penguin Random House for $2.175 billion in cash, with proceeds to help reduce debt (exceeding $20 billion as of August) and support dividends and streaming efforts such as Paramount Plus; the company also cut about 550 jobs. In a separate study, the AOP and Deloitte report UK digital publisher revenues fell 14.3% in Q2 2020 to £96.6 million, driven by declines in many ad formats, though subscriptions rose 44.9% to £34.5 million and rolling 12-month subscriptions grew 27% to £112.3 million, signaling some diversification opportunities for publishers.