ViacomCBS beats quarterly revenue estimates on Super Bowl boost

[May 06, 2021]    (Reuters) -ViacomCBS Inc on Thursday reported quarterly revenue that beat Wall Street estimates, driven by growth in affiliate fees and an uptick in broadcast TV advertising thanks to the Super Bowl airing on its CBS network.

ViacomCBS headquarters is pictured in New York, New York, U.S. December 5, 2019. REUTERS/Kate Munsch

Despite intense competition from major streaming players like Netflix Inc and Disney+, ViacomCBS was also able to capitalize on its platform Paramount+ through its sports and news broadcast, as some live sporting events resumed.

Affiliate fees, which refer to the fees collected from cable, satellite and online distributors, gained 5% at $2.08 billion in the first quarter.

Revenue rose 14% to $7.41 billion in the quarter ended March 31, beating estimates of $7.31 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net earnings attributable rose to $899 million, or $1.42 per share, from $501 million, or 81 cents per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.