Viacom Says Turned Corner With Ad Sales Growth

Viacom's Q3 revenue was up 6 percent in what CEO Bob Bakish said was the long-promised return to advertising sales growth. In a call with analysts Thursday, he said domestic ad sales grew for the first time in 20 quarters, "a significant milestone." He said Viacom will launch BET Plus this fall, a streaming service featuring a variety of original content, in partnership with producer/director/actor Tyler Perry. He said its Pluto TV streaming service has grown from 12 million active monthly users at the start of the year to 18 million in July, and user growth should continue as Viacom broadens distribution and content. Chief Financial Officer Wade Davis said Paramount is on track for full-year profitability, its first since 2015. Asked about Disney Plus competition to Nickelodeon, Bakish said Disney pricing "does look very competitive," but Viacom's strategy is to play in the various price points from free to big, more-expensive bundles. It didn't take questions on a possible Viacom/CBS deal. Viacom said revenue for the quarter was $3.36 billion, up from $3.24 billion last year.