FILE PHOTO: Paramount Global and Skydance logos are seen in this illustration taken December 17, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By Dawn Chmielewski and Juby Babu

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (Reuters) -Paramount Skydance said it will make programming investments of more than $1.5 billion next year, in its first quarterly results for the combined company since the completion of the $8.4 billion merger.

Shares of the company were up 7% in trading after the bell.

Paramount Global and Skydance Media completed their merger in August, installing new leadership at the media company.

Paramount expects its streaming business to be profitable this year, and grow in profitability in 2026.

Paramount+, the company's flagship streaming platform, added 1.4 million new subscribers in the third quarter, for a total of 79 million. It plans to raise prices for the service in the U.S. early in the first quarter of 2026.

CEO David Ellison has been moving rapidly to revive the venerable studio, winning a bidding war in September to distribute a new James Mangold heist film starring Timothée Chalamet.

In his letter to investors, Ellison highlighted the streamlining of Paramount Skydance's studio and distribution operations under one leadership team.

The company also plans to implement a unified technology stack for both Paramount+ and Pluto TV, to drive cost efficiencies and enhance performance.

"This isn't about nostalgia for Hollywood's past; it's about proving a legacy studio can move with tech-company speed. Ellison is pairing consolidation with investment, betting that a smaller, sharper Paramount can grow faster than its sprawling predecessor," said eMarketer senior director Jeremy Goldman.

The company said it will also cut about 1,600 jobs as part of a strategic review, in addition to the 1,000 employees it laid off in late October.

Paramount has also looked to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, submitting a trio of bids to take over its film and television studios, its HBO Max streaming service and its cable networks, which include CNN and TNT.

For the fourth quarter, Paramount Skydance expects revenue between $8.1 billion and $8.3 billion, above estimates of $8 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It reported revenue of $6.7 billion for the third quarter, compared with estimates of $6.97 billion.

(Dawn Chmielewski reporting from Los Angeles, Juby Babu reporting from Mexico City; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila Alan Barona)