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Trailer: Lioness. Cast, where to watch and more on the title page.
Paramount+ ended September with 82.2 million subscribers, and that may be the last quarterly count anyone sees. Skydance Corporation, the company formerly called Paramount Skydance, reported its third quarter on Monday 9 November, its first results since closing the purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, and used the occasion to say it “will no longer provide quarterly subscriber disclosures.” For viewers, the more practical news sits a few paragraphs further down: a Paramount+ and HBO Max bundle is planned for early 2027.
The quarter itself ended on 30 September, before the merger closed, so the numbers below describe Paramount on its own.
Paramount+ grows by charging more
Paramount+ revenue rose 21% to US$2.13 billion, which the company calls its fastest quarterly growth this year. It attributes that to subscriber growth of about 6% and average revenue per user up about 14%, the latter “driven by previous price adjustments and accelerating advertising growth.” In plain terms, most of the gain came from existing subscribers paying more, not from new ones.
The wider direct-to-consumer segment brought in about US$2.5 billion, up 11%, with adjusted EBITDA of US$225 million, a 9% margin. The company says profit absorbed higher costs from planned programming investment, including the UFC.
Across the whole company, revenue was US$7.03 billion, up 5%, and adjusted EBITDA was flat at US$1 billion. Net earnings attributable to the company were US$73 million after US$187 million in restructuring and transaction-related costs.
One bundle, two services, 203 million subscribers
Skydance says Paramount+, HBO and HBO Max now reach 203 million aggregate subscribers worldwide. It plans to launch a bundled HBO Max and Paramount+ offer in early 2027 and aims to align the two services’ backend systems within a year of closing. No price, markets or launch date were given. In Canada, where HBO lives on Crave, the HBO and Crave question remains open.
The filing confirms the Warner Bros. Discovery deal closed on 6 October 2026, after a consent decree with 12 states took effect on 30 September, settling the suit captioned State of California et al. v. Paramount Skydance Corp. The decree binds the combined company to “certain principal commitments” for five years. The shareholder letter repeats the target of at least 30 theatrical releases a year, the promise made to theatres in October.
Cuts, and a soft Warner Bros. slate
Skydance is targeting at least US$6 billion in annual run-rate synergies within three years, 30% in the first year and 70% by the end of the second, with one-time cash costs of roughly US$1.5 billion to US$2 billion in 2027. It does not give a headcount figure.
On screen, six releases from Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. fill the last two months of the year: The Cat in the Hat (opened 6 November), Ebenezer with Johnny Depp (Friday 13 November), Focker-in-Law (25 November), Dune: Part Three (18 December), The Angry Birds Movie 3 (23 December) and Mr. Irrelevant on Christmas Day. The company expects the Warner Bros. film slate to underperform this quarter, with a profit hit of up to US$200 million against prior expectations. HBO’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone series premieres on Christmas Day.
The company reports that Lioness viewership grew 62% in its third season and that the second instalment of MobLand became the biggest original series ever for Paramount+ in the UK and Ireland.
What it means for you
- Expect price, not volume, to drive Paramount+: the company credits earlier price adjustments for much of its growth.
- A Paramount+ and HBO Max bundle is due in early 2027; wait for prices before changing plans.
- Subscriber counts are going away, so engagement claims will replace them in future reports.
- Watch the Dune: Part Three and holiday results closely: Skydance has already warned that Warner Bros. films will fall short this quarter.
Sources
Where to watch
Lioness
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