Paramount's Class B shares (PSKY) rose 0.8% to $10.19 on Wednesday afternoon, according to Yahoo Finance, but the small gain barely dents a 74.6% slide over the past five years. The stock sits at less than half its 52-week high of $20.86, with its 52-week low at $7.62. A weekly TradingView chart shows the shares stuck between roughly $10 and $15 for most of the past three years, down significantly from their early 2021 peak under the old ViacomCBS name when they topped $95. Earlier this week, Paramount settled an antitrust lawsuit brought by state attorneys general, removing a major hurdle to its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, though the brief rally on that news has since faded.
As reported by Business Insider, Paramount+ is preparing a string of new features to boost engagement and revenue ahead of the $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition. The streaming platform plans to introduce a free tier, micro-dramas, and new interactive ad formats, with several projects scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026 and first quarter of 2027. The free tier would require users to register with email addresses, with the company using the service to encourage paid subscriptions after viewing a certain number of episodes or after a specified period. Paramount+ launched short vertical videos in April and is planning to add more video podcast segments to increase mobile device engagement. The changes aim to emulate Netflix and YouTube, which dominate TV viewership charts, as Paramount addresses rising subscriber cancellations.
According to Antenna data cited by Business Insider, nearly 6% of Paramount+'s subscribers cancelled in August, highlighting the platform's engagement challenges. More than one-third of Paramount+ users were classified as light viewers in June, indicating room for improvement in retention and usage patterns. The stock's performance reflects these subscriber concerns, with shares trading at multi-year lows despite the upcoming acquisition. The platform's 52-week low of $7.62 demonstrates the market's skepticism about Paramount's ability to monetize its content effectively.
Paramount Skydance announced on Friday that it will move its Class B common stock listing from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, with trading expected to shift from October 5-6. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, trading on Nasdaq is expected to end at market close on or around October 5, while trading on the NYSE is expected to begin at market open on October 6. The company has also set October 5 as the record date for a planned distribution of warrants to eligible holders of its Class B common stock in connection with its Warner Bros deal. Companies typically change listing venues when they see better alignment with an exchange's investor base, technology and services, or when they want to cut costs tied to listing and compliance. The migration comes as Paramount expects to close its $110 billion Warner Bros deal soon, after settling legal battles with state attorneys general and a Hollywood writers union earlier this week.
According to a Semafor report citing sources familiar with the matter, Paramount is considering asking multibillionaire Elon Musk to join its equity investors syndicate. The size of Musk's potential investment into Paramount has not yet been determined, as reported by Semafor. This development comes as Paramount continues to navigate significant corporate restructuring efforts, with the company exploring whether to invite Musk into its investor group as it digests the massive $110-111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition. The conversations are still in their formative stages with no disclosed deal size or timeline, but the mere possibility of Musk taking an equity stake in the company that owns CBS and CNN is enough to raise eyebrows across both the media and tech worlds.
