Aug 8 (Reuters) - Paramount Global ( PARAA ) wrote down

the value of its cable networks by nearly $6 billion and

announced Thursday it would cut 15% of its US workforce, as the

media conglomerate navigates the decline of the cable television

business.

The reductions are part of Paramount's efforts to cut $500

million in costs ahead of its merger with Skydance Media and

will affect roughly 2,000 people.

Paramount's shares rose 5% after hours, however, as the company

handsomely beat Wall Street's profit expectations and its

streaming business reported its first quarterly profit in three

years. The stock has lost almost a third of its value so far

this year.

The company's Paramount+ and PlutoTV services reported an

operating income of $26 million in the second quarter, compared

with a loss of $424 million a year earlier.

"It's crunch time for streaming businesses and Paramount

delivered some promising numbers," said Third Bridge analyst

Jamie Lumley.

Paramount is the second media conglomerate in as many days to

adjust the value of its cable TV assets to reflect the impact of

declining ratings, which translates to lower advertising

revenue. Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) announced a $9 billion

charge on Wednesday, citing the uncertainty of fees from cable

and satellite distributors and sports rights deals.

The pending Skydance merger forced Paramount to reassess the

value of each of its units, based on deal's implied enterprise

value of the company. This impairment dragged the company into

an operating loss of $5.3 billion for the second quarter.

"Paramount's and Warner Bros Discovery's ( WBD ) writedowns this week

add nails to linear TV's coffin," said Emarketer television and

streaming analyst Ross Benes. "Paramount's best chance for an

exit is through Skydance. The longer they wait, the less the

company will be worth."

Paramount's adjusted operating profit, which excludes the

impairment, exceeded Wall Street targets, with income of $867

million, or 54 cents a share. That topped the consensus estimate

of 12 cents a share, according to LSEG.

The job cuts are expected to lead to charges of $300 million to

$400 million in the third quarter, Paramount executives said on

the investor call. The company is looking at a variety of

additional cost-reduction plans, CFO Naveen Chopra said.

Second-quarter revenue fell 11% to $6.8 billion. That missed

analyst forecasts of $7.2 billion for the quarter ended June

30.

The television unit, which includes prime time's top-rated

network, CBS, as well as the company's cable networks, reported

quarterly revenue of nearly $4.3 billion. The 17% decline in

revenue from a year ago reflects lower ad revenue and fees paid

to license its shows. Operating income for the group fell 15% to

$1 billion.

Paramount's film business reported a loss of $54 million,

despite releases like "IF" topping the box office in its

domestic debut, and "A Quiet Place: Day One" recording the best

financial performance for the horror franchise.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Additional

reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Anil D'Silva

and Jonathan Oatis)