派拉蒙财报电话会议：引入“首席执行官办公室”，不接受任何提问

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA) held its first-quarter earnings call as its voting class of stock (PARAA) rose 5% after hours while nonvoting stock (PARA) was fractionally higher -- and the company dampened hopes of news about its merger deal talks by saying it wouldn't take questions on the call.

That made for a very short call, about 10 minutes long in total. It was led by brief remarks from the three execs making up Paramount's new "Office of the CEO": George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon.

(Alongside the earnings, Paramount had said CEO Bob Bakish was exiting his post and board seat to be replaced by that committee -- a high-stakes move at a crucial point in negotiations over a transformative merger deal.)

"Paramount Global has the greatest content in the world," Cheeks said. "That is the most important point. We've got incredible assets at this company -- both in what we produce, and the amazing people who make it all possible. Everything will build from that."

"And just as important is the fact that we've all worked together collaboratively for years and have known each other for decades," McCarthy added. "It's a true partnership. We have a deep respect for one another and we're going to lead and manage this company together."

They're working a strategic plan with three pillars, McCarthy said: "First, make the most of our hit content. Second, strengthen our balance sheet. And third, optimize our streaming strategy."

"Each of us has deep industry knowledge, relationship and experience as business leaders and creative executives," Robbins said. "We will bring all of that to bear as we chart a course forward for our company."

All that was left was for Chief Financial Naveen Chopra to sing financial highlights, including that the company "generated significant growth in earnings and free cash flow and improved our balance sheet."

Aside from the lead details, Chopra zoomed in on a few in particular: Advertising was a "highlight," he said, with total company advertising up 17%, and the Super Bowl contributing 22 points to the growth rate.

"Sports continued to over-deliver," he added, pointing to the NFL playoffs and NCAA basketball. And Direct-to-Consumer advertising rose 31%. "Beyond the Super Bowl impact on engagement, revenue growth reflects a combination of increased sell-through and higher CPMs."

Total company affiliate/subscription revenue grew 6% in Q1, while DTC subscription revenue grew 22% driven by 51% growth in Paramount+. Gains in global ARPU reflected a full quarter of a domestic price increase, he said, and the addition of international subscribers in higher-ARPU markets (while domestic ARPU was weighed down in part due to lagging effects of entertainment strikes).

Chatter about Bakish's potential removal had soared in recent days as the company veteran reportedly clashed with Shari Redstone over the proposed combination with David Ellison's Skydance Media.

Paramount is engaged in exclusive talks with Skydance until May 3, though a rival deal from Apollo Global Management (APO) joined by Sony (SONY) -- reportedly $26B all in cash -- is waiting in the wings. Paramount (PARA) (PARAA) has a market capitalization of $8.36B, but with $14.6B in long-term debt and $30.5B in overall liabilities.