Paramount eyes $1bn restructuring cost, expands NCIS & orders Guy Ritchie project

Guy Ritchie (Source: Paramount, Daniel Smith)

Paramount Global revenues declined by 6% in Q4 despite a reduction in streaming losses, with the US studio also revealing a new Guy Ritchie project and an NCIS spin-off.

The Bob Bakish-led firm saw losses at its DTC division fall from $575m last year to $490m this year, with four million new subscribers added across the quarter to take its total count up to 67.5 million.

Tulsa King (Source: Paramount)

However, its TV network business continued on its downward trajectory with advertising revenues falling 15% and licensing revenue dropping by 25%.

Film revenues declined 31%, while the US studio said it expected a $1bn cost in Q1 following its recent decision to cut more than 800 staff. That figure also includes an estimated $200m cost related to programming write-downs.

In a call with investors, Bakish said the company remained “laser focused” on ensuring streaming profitability while placing its shows on multiple platforms.

Yesterday it emerged that Paramount+ drama Tulsa King would be airing on CBS later this year, ahead of a second season.

Paramount orders Guy Ritchie drama

The studio also used its Q4 results day to unveil a smattering of new shows, including a new series loosely based on Showtime’s Ray Donovan series.

The Donovans is being produced for Paramount+ by Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, with Guy Ritchie directing and executive producing.

Ray Donovan

Irish screenwriter, producer and novelist Ronan Bennett will pen all ten episodes, with the show set to debut on Paramount+ in Canada later this year.

The series will track how “family fortunes and reputations at risk, odd alliances unfold, and betrayal around every corner; and while the family might be London’s most elite fixers today, the nature of their business means there is no guarantee what’s in store tomorrow.”

Paramount+ also made a new series order for what it has billed as “the next chapter” in the NCIS franchise, with Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly reprising their roles as characters Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo.

The 10-episode order does not yet have a name but will pick up the story of Tony and Ziva, who are raising their daughter in Paris but find their security firm compromised.

The show is produced by CBS Studios and executive produced by John McNamara, Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo, Laurie Lieser, Christina Strain and Shelley Meals. Paramount Global Content Distribution sells globally.