Paramount takes £215m dividend from UK broadcaster Channel 5

Paramount took a £215 million dividend from Channel 5, pulling one of the largest payouts in the British broadcaster's history from retained earnings during its first year under CEO David Ellison.

The extraction came despite Channel 5 reporting a sharp financial downturn in newly filed accounts. Pre-tax profits fell by two-thirds to £11.9 million, while revenue declined 8% to £292 million amid weak television advertising demand. The broadcaster also recorded a one-off gain of £19.1 million after transferring a subsidiary investment within the Paramount group.

The cash transfer highlights liquidity pressures at the parent company, recently rebranded as Skydance after closing an $8 billion takeover of Paramount and an additional $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Leaders are planning at least $6 billion in cost cuts to help manage substantial debt balances, leaning on traditional television subsidiaries to generate cash.

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy approved the Warner Bros transaction after Paramount committed to inject £80 million into Channel 5 over the next three years for news, children's shows and 20 annual hours of drama. Channel 5, which appointed Reemah Sakaan as chief executive earlier this year, spent more than £200 million on programming last year and recently transferred its £300 million advertising sales contract from Sky to Channel 4.