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(Reuters) -ViacomCBS Inc on Thursday beat Wall Street quarterly revenue estimates driven by strong streaming revenue and advertising growth following the March launch of its rebranded Paramount+ service.
The company has 36 million global streaming subscribers after adding 6 million in the quarter. Streaming revenue rose 65% year on year.
Advertising revenue jumped 21% to $2.68 billion, driven by CBS’ broadcasts of Super Bowl LV and NCAA Tournament games.
Affiliate fees, which are those collected from cable, satellite and online distributors, gained 5% to $2.08 billion.
Revenue rose 14% to $7.41 billion in the quarter ended March 31, beating estimates of $7.31 billion, IBES data from Refinitiv showed.
Net earnings attributable rose to $899 million, or $1.42 per share, from $501 million, or 81 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company posted a profit of $1.52, topping estimates of $1.22.
ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) shares were up 2.9% at $40.23 in premarket trade.
The shares had been on tear in the first quarter, hitting a record intraday peak of $101.97 on March 15, but then dropped amid a series of block trades tied to the meltdown of hedge fund Archegos Capital Management.
