Latest news with #BrianRobbins
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
Bremen ISP troopers honored at annual awards ceremony
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Police held an awards and recognition ceremony in Indianapolis Tuesday. The ceremony publicly recognized officers for their dedication, service, bravery, and devotion to the department and the residents of Indiana. Matt Drudge Matt Drudge Trooper Matthew Drudge was recognized as the 2024 Trooper of the District for the Bremen Post. The award is given annually to a trooper in each district that personifies integrity, professionalism, and a well-rounded work ethic. Drudge was selected by his command staff for his dedication, traffic and criminal enforcement, community involvement, and other services performed for the department beyond normal expectations, information provided by ISP reads. Drudge's efforts resulted in him making 430 criminal arrests and assisted other troopers and agencies in many more. Over the course of 2024, Drudge's traffic enforcement resulted in 357 traffic citations and 577 warnings. He also has been active in the Indiana State Police marijuana eradication program. His community-oriented efforts saw him work at the Elkhart County Fair, Indiana State Fair, and the Indianapolis 500. Trooper Drudge also received the District DUI Award for the Indiana State Police Bremen Post. This award is presented to the top trooper in each district for outstanding efforts in removing intoxicated drivers from Indiana's roadways. Drudge's efforts resulted in 51 arrests for drivers operating while intoxicated during 2024. Drudge has been a trooper for nearly 10 years. He lives in Kosciusko County. Brian Robbins Brian Robbins Senior Trooper Brian Robbins was recognized, along with Officer Bradley Taylor and Officer Tyler Thornton of the Mishawaka Police Department for their lifesaving actions that took place on Aug. 18, 2024. On this night, Officers Taylor and Thornton were in pursuit of a fleeing vehicle when the female driver of the fleeing vehicle lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a wooded area, the statement from ISP reads. The female driver sustained life-threatening injuries, and her vehicle caught on fire. Officers Taylor and Thornton pulled the female from the burning vehicle and found that she was unresponsive with no pulse. While they began CPR, Trooper Robbins retrieved his AED, but no shock was advised. Robbins took over on chest compressions and she began to have a pulse. The driver survived this crash and continues to recover. The extraordinary conduct of all three officers resulted in her surviving this crash, the statement reads. Robbins has been a trooper for 14 years. He lives in Elkhart County with his wife, Morgan, who is also an Indiana State Trooper, and his three children. John Streeter John Streeter Trooper John Streeter was recognized as the 2024 Trooper of District for the Toll Road Post. This award is given annually to a trooper in each district that personifies integrity, professionalism, and a well-rounded work ethic. Streeter was selected by his command staff for his dedication, traffic and criminal enforcement, community involvement, and other services performed for the department beyond normal expectations, the statement reads. During 2024, Streeter was responsible for 86 criminal arrests. His traffic enforcement saw him responsible for 283 traffic citations and 1,969 warnings. Streeter also made Indiana's roadways safer by having 13 arrests for drivers operating while intoxicated. Streeter has been an Indiana State Trooper for nearly three years. He patrols the Indiana Toll Road primarily in LaGrange and Steuben County. Lecil Martin Lecil Martin Trooper Lecil Martin received the District DUI Award for the Indiana State Police Toll Road Post. This award is presented to the top trooper in each district for outstanding efforts in removing intoxicated drivers from Indiana's roadways. Martin's efforts resulted in 48 arrests for drivers operating while intoxicated. Martin has been an Indiana State Trooper for nearly three and a half years. He patrols the Indiana Toll Road primarily in Porter and Lake County.
Los Angeles Times
18-03-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Paramount+ gains altitude from streaming bets. Can it compete long term?
When Paramount+ launched in 2021, there were plenty of reasons to believe the service with the self-proclaimed 'mountain of entertainment' would end up relegated to the bunny slopes. The company was late to the direct-to-consumer game and had suffered from chronic underinvestment. Its legacy media brands, including MTV and Comedy Central, had lost their edge. But although parent company Paramount Global — home of CBS, Nickelodeon and 'Top Gun' — may be in a state of limbo as the media firm prepares for sweeping changes under new ownership, recent achievements in streaming have become a bright spot. In the fourth quarter of last year, Paramount+ gained 5.6 million subscribers globally, reaching 77.5 million. The service ranked No. 2 in terms of viewing time for original shows during the quarter thanks to hits including 'Landman' and 'Tulsa King,' coming in behind only Netflix despite having far less new content than its chief rivals, according to Nielsen figures. Watch time for original series increased 20% from the same time last year, per internal data. Churn rates fell. Paramount's current management team — led by co-Chief Executives George Cheeks, Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy — last month reiterated expectations for Paramount+ to achieve full-year U.S. profitability in 2025. 'When we launched only a few years ago, a lot of people probably counted us out,' said McCarthy, who's also head of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks. 'We often heard, 'Too little, too late.' … I think we took a lot of people by surprise.' The company is far from out of the woods. The positive streaming numbers come at a time when linear television networks are deteriorating, especially in basic cable. Paramount went through a roller coaster of turmoil over the years, with multiple rounds of layoffs and restructurings as it tried to adapt. Overall fourth-quarter revenue missed Wall Street's projections as cable continued to erode. But adjusted operating income, excluding certain items, increased in 2024 after several years of declines. 'Paramount+ is a viable product. The question, though, always has to be, 'How much worse is linear TV going to get?'' said Doug Creutz, a media analyst at TD Cowen. 'Just because streaming is profitable, if it isn't significantly profitable and if linear continues to get worse, then your overall profits are going to go down.' Challenges in the media industry and management missteps ultimately led to the decision by controlling shareholder Shari Redstone to sell to Skydance Media founder and tech scion David Ellison. The $8-billion merger of Paramount and Skydance is expected to close in the first half of this year, though the deal has been complicated by President Trump's lawsuit against CBS over edits to a '60 Minutes' interview with Kamala Harris. Paramount is also contending with a Federal Communications Commission probe concerning the same issue. It will be up to the new owners to figure out how to boost Paramount+'s prospects, perhaps through more investment and partnerships. Many analysts still say Paramount+ lacks the size and scope to compete with the other streaming offerings. It accounted for just 1.3% of all TV viewing in February, putting it far behind Netflix, Disney and Amazon's Prime Video. 'One of the biggest questions as we think about how the company will deal with streaming going forward is how much investment is going to be put behind the streaming pivot, and where those dollars are going to go,' said Robert Fishman, a media analyst at MoffettNathanson. For now, Paramount bosses have to focus on what they can control, and that is making popular shows. On that front, the company has produced a series of legit winners, particularly those created by 'Yellowstone' maestro Taylor Sheridan. Three of his projects — 'Tulsa King,' 'Landman' and 'Lioness' — were in the top 10 most-watched originals last quarter, according to Nielsen data. 'Tulsa King,' starring Sylvester Stallone, has been renewed for a third season, the company said this week. Sheridan, in an emailed statement, credited McCarthy with betting on his expansive vision after the success of 'Yellowstone,' which aired on basic cable and streams on rival Peacock. 'His thinking was as ambitious as the worlds I wanted to create, asking me to make him long-form movies with the only goal being excellence in every aspect,' Sheridan said. 'If we had told people then what we were planning to build, no one would have believed us.' In addition to the Sheridan oeuvre, Paramount+ benefited from new Showtime series: The prequel 'Dexter: Original Sin' and George Clooney-produced 'The Agency.' In a statement, David Campanelli, president of global investment at media agency Horizon Media, credited Paramount for its high 'batting average.' In addition to originals, CBS programming, live sports and 'SpongeBob SquarePants' drove engagement last year. The recent wins resulted from an unconventional decision — born of necessity — to pursue a less-is-more strategy. Instead of investing in a high-volume slate, the company banked on a handful of projects with high production values and big-screen star power. That approach got its first test cases with '1883' and 'Tulsa King,' which saw substantial viewership overlap, despite coming from different genres. 'We certainly weren't going to win the volume game,' McCarthy said. 'Our bet was placed on not being the one that has the most volume, but being one of the ones with the most hits. … If we can engage, surprise and delight somebody every time they come for a big new hit, that's when they're going to stay with us.' Another big upcoming streaming bet is 'MobLand,' a drama from Guy Ritchie, starring Tom Hardy as a fixer for a crime family run by Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren's characters. Not all of McCarthy's early plans to develop franchises for Paramount+ bore fruit. After Showtime came under McCarthy's domain, he embarked on a strategy of spin-offs from the brand's best-known series, including 'Billions' and 'Dexter,' hoping to repeat the success of Sheridan's 'Yellowstone' offshoots. The 'Dexter' plan became a reality with 'Original Sin' and the upcoming 'Dexter: Resurrection.' But planned 'Billions' projects ('Millions' and 'Trillions' were among the ideas proposed for the 'Billions' television universe) were set aside. Instead, Paramount turned its attention to developing another series, based on the nonfiction book 'Moneyland,' set in the world of international shell companies and tax havens. McCarthy admitted he 'may have oversimplified' the idea that the company could 're-create that magic' of the original 'Billions.' Writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien 'created a beautiful script in a whole new world' for a new show, but 'it just wasn't necessarily where we thought we needed to go,' he said. 'What we decided to do was take the essence of what 'Billions' was about and, rather than do another series about a hedge fund or another Wall Street, ask how do we elevate it to the next level?' McCarthy said. That show is expected to come out in 2026. Whether McCarthy will be a part of the next era under Ellison and his cohorts remains to be seen. A representative for the Skydance group declined to comment. Asked about his plans post-merger, McCarthy said: 'No decision to share today. I continue to be focused on making the biggest hits that can create the most value for the company.' Two-minute TV shows have taken over China. Can they take over the world? 'Micro dramas' (90-second episodes, cheesy plots, lots of romance) are catching on worldwide. Will they upend the entertainment industry? 'Joker,' 'Matrix' producer files for bankruptcy protection amid Warner Bros. fight. Village Roadshow attributed its red ink to its protracted battle with Warner Bros. over the release of 'The Matrix Resurrections' and a push into independent production. Comcast signs $3-billion deal to keep Olympics on NBC through 2036. The contract extension will allow NBCUniversal to broadcast the 2034 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City on NBC and streaming service Peacock 'The Apprentice' made Trump a reality TV mogul. Amazon is putting it back in the spotlight. The NBC show, which premiered in 2004, helped propel Donald Trump to new heights and set the stage for his political career. Now it's streaming on Amazon. With live-action 'Snow White,' Disney finds itself again in culture war crosshairs. Disney's live-action 'Snow White' has faced a difficult road to its opening next week, with external controversies dogging it at every step. ICYMI On-location production in the L.A. area last week was down 23% from a year ago, according to FilmLA data. NBC's 'The Office' turns 20 years old on March 24. Here's Stephen Battaglio's piece on the show and its lasting influence.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Paramount Misses Q4 Expectations, But Narrows Streaming Losses 42% to $286 Million
Paramount Global missed Wall Street expectations in its fourth quarter of 2024, after its results were weighed down by operating losses in direct-to-consumer and filmed entertainment divisions and lower revenue and operating profit in its TV/Media segment. The streaming division, which includes Paramount+ and Pluto TV, narrowed its losses by 42% to $286 million during the quarter and 70% to $497 million for the year, with improvements driven by revenue growth and cost efficiencies. Overall streaming revenue climbed 8% to $2.01 billion during the quarter, which included a 9% increase in advertising revenue to $574 million due to growth at Paramount+ and Pluto, including higher political advertising; a 7% increase in subscription revenue to $1.44 billion, driven by subscriber growth but impacted by the cannibalization of Showtime OTT revenue following the integration of Showtime into Paramount+; and a 50% drop in licensing revenue to $2 million. Paramount+, which increased revenue by 16% to $1.56 billion for the quarter and 33% to $5.9 billion for 2024, is on track to reach full year domestic profitability in 2025, the company said. Shares fell as much as 2.3% in extended trading in New York. Here are the top-line results: Net loss: $224 million, compared to a profit of $514 million a year ago. For 2024, Paramount's net loss widened to $6.19 billion, compared to a loss of $608 million in 2023. Earnings Per Share: A loss of 33 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a loss of 11 cents per share, compared to a profit of 10 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. Revenue: $7.98 billion, up 5% year over year, compared to $8.14 billion expected by Zacks. For the full year, revenue fell 1% to $29.2 billion. Operating income: $129 million, down 68% year over year, compared to $404 million a year ago. For the full year, Paramount's operating loss widened to $5.27 billion. Streaming subscribers: Added 5.6 million subscribers during the quarter for a total of 77.5 million. For the full year, Paramount added 10 million subscribers. 'We are proud of the results we achieved for the full year, which reflect the progress we have made since becoming co-CEOs,' co-CEO Brian Robbins told analysts on Wednesday. '2024 demonstrated meaningful progress against our long term goals, including significant improvement in DTC profitability, driven by continued top line growth powered by one of the strongest content slates in the industry, all while strengthening our balance sheet.' The latest quarterly results comes as Paramount awaits FCC approval of its pending $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, which is on track to close in the first half of 2025, the company said. The Trump administration has criticized Paramount-owned CBS, accusing it of favorably editing a '60 Minutes' interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. FCC chairman Brendan Carr revived a previously dismissed 'news distortion' complaint against the network from The Center for American Rights — a self-described 'nonpartisan public interest law firm.' Carr has said the complaint would likely arise during his review of the Skydance-Paramount merger. Trump filed a $20 billion lawsuit against Paramount alleging it manipulated the '60 Minutes' interview to make Harris look good ahead of the 2024 election. CBS has maintained that it did nothing wrong and has said the entire foundation of Trump's argument is 'belied' by the complete transcripts for the interview, which were handed over to the FCC, released publicly and included in Trump's amended complaint — in which he doubled the damages sought after initially seeking $10 billion. Trump and Paramount have discussed a settlement in light of the approval needed for the Skydance merger, and continue to consider 'alternative dispute resolution options,' according to a recent court filing. If the case moves to a jury trial, it will take place for two weeks in August 2026, per the filing. The Skydance deal also faces opposition from several Paramount shareholders, including the Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSI), Mario Gabelli, the largest class A shareholder behind Shari Redstone, Scott Baker, who has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit; the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), and five of New York City's pension funds. If the consummation of the transaction does not occur before April 7, subject to two automatic 90-day extensions, or if a regulator blocks the merger, both Paramount and Skydance have the option of terminating the deal. Exercising that option would leave Paramount on the hook to pay Skydance a $400 million breakup fee. The TV/Media segment saw total revenue decline 4% to $4.98 billion, while the segment's operating profit fell 17% to $949 million, driven by lower revenue. Advertising revenue fell 4% to $2.2 billion driven by declines in linear advertising and fewer sports on CBS, offset by higher political advertising. Affiliate and subscription revenue fell 7% to 1.87 billion, reflecting subscriber declines, partially offset by price increases. But licensing and other revenue grew 3% to $911 million. The Filmed Entertainment segment posted a 67% jump in revenue to $1.08 billion, but higher marketing costs associated with the theatrical releases of five films in the quarter led to an operating loss of $42 million, compared to a profit of $24 million a year ago. Theatrical revenue grew to $414 million from $336 million, driven by the releases of 'Gladiator II' and 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3.' Licensing and other revenues increased 17% to $661 million, reflecting a higher volume of licensing of library titles and higher studio facility revenue compared with 2023, which was impacted by the Hollywood labor strikes. Paramount achieved its targeted annual run rate cost savings of $500 million in 2024. Free cash flow came in at $56 million for the quarter and $489 million for the year. 'As we work to close the Skydance transaction, we're focused on continuing to leverage Paramount's content assets to transform our business for the streaming era,' CFO Naveen Chopra said. 'That means continuing to invest in sports, powerhouse film and TV franchises and streaming originals to support DTC growth. It means continuing the transition of our advertising business from linear to digital, and it means delivering domestic profitability for Paramount+, while identifying additional cost reduction opportunities across the company.' Looking ahead, Paramount executives expect continued growth at Paramount+ in Q1, but noted it would be lower than the fourth quarter. It also expects affiliate revenue in its TV/Media segment to continue to decline in Q1, but expects growth when combined with streaming as the division continues to scale. Advertising growth in TV/Media and DTC will be impacted by the comparison to the 2024 Super Bowl. The first quarter will also include approximately $150 million in cash restructuring payments, negatively impacting free cash flow, though free cash flow is expected to increase in full year 2025. Chopra said that Paramount remains 'highly focused' on managing expenses to maximize earnings in the TV/Media business. Robbins added that the company's licensing business is 'very strong' and 'an essential component of what we do.' 'This will pay real dividends downstream in the growth of our DTC platforms, which is why we are making fewer originals for third parties,' Robbins added. 'Additionally, we believe there's real room for innovation in windowing strategy and deal structures that could unlock even more value from our content in the future.' Co-CEO George Cheeks also noted that Paramount would continue to experiment with skinny bundles, citing its involvement in Comcast's sports and news TV package and discussions with DirecTV about joining their MySports package. 'When we look at these distribution relationships, we look at them holistically, meaning we negotiate our economic distribution commitments across all tiers of service that are going to be offered or proposed by the applicable distributor. And when it makes business sense for us, overall, we're going to add tiers,' Cheeks said. 'We know they're here, but we're just not at this point convinced there's a compelling value proposition relative to the full bundle. From what we've seen so far, the price benefit for the consumer is just quite small. But nevertheless, we're going to be committed to working with our partners to help them create the most compelling offerings with the greatest value.' The post Paramount Misses Q4 Expectations, But Narrows Streaming Losses 42% to $286 Million appeared first on TheWrap.
New York Times
26-02-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Paramount Retreats on D.E.I. Policies
Paramount, the parent company of BET, MTV and the Paramount film studio, on Wednesday said it was rethinking its approach to diversity, equity and inclusion amid a broader backlash toward D.E.I. policies driven by the Trump administration. In a note to employees obtained by The New York Times, Paramount's co-chief executives said that they were making changes to the company's D.E.I. policies to conform to efforts by the Trump administration to eliminate diversity programs in the federal government and the private sector. Paramount is ending its practices of using aspirational hiring goals related to race, ethnicity sex or gender, said the memo, sent by co-chief executives Brian Robbins, George Cheeks and Chris McCarthy. The company will also stop collecting gender and diversity data for many U.S. job applicants and eliminate the D.E.I. component of its employee incentive plan. 'With our business objectives firmly in mind, we will continue to evaluate our programs and approach to ensure that we are widening our aperture to attract talent from all geographies, backgrounds and perspectives,' the memo said. 'That may mean expanding existing programs while ending others.' Paramount's pronouncement on Wednesday makes it the latest company to rethink its approach to D.E.I. since President Trump took office. Major companies including Target, Walmart, Meta and Disney have made similar changes to their diversity and inclusion initiatives. Paramount has a multibillion-dollar merger pending review by the Federal Communications Commission, whose commissioner, Brendan Carr, has been critical of D.E.I. policies. Mr. Carr said in a letter to Comcast earlier this month that he was investigating such policies at the cable giant with an eye toward eliminating 'invidious forms of discrimination' across the media sector. Paramount has already begun scrubbing examples of D.E.I. from its public-facing statements. Its D.E.I. page, with the header 'Global Inclusion,' no longer includes any mention of that initialism, and the company is eliminating the phrase from its annual financial filing. An archived version of Paramount's D.E.I. website from last May underscores the extent of the company's about-face. 'We embed D.E.I. into every aspect of our employee experience,' the page read. 'Including specific programs to strengthen how we attract, develop, retain, and measure our progress.'
