© Reuters. Toy figures of people are seen in front of the displayed Paramount + logo, in this illustration taken January 20, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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(Reuters) – Paramount Global on Tuesday said it added over 6 million streaming subscribers in the first quarter but missed revenue estimates, hurt by weak growth in advertising sales.
The company’s results come at a time when Wall Street has raised concerns over the long-term viability of streaming as the pandemic boom ebbs out. Rival streaming powerhouse Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:) said it lost 200,00 subscribers in the first quarter and expects to lose a further 2 million in the second quarter.
Still, its investments in unscripted programming and offering live sports on its flagship Paramount+ platform has helped it weather some of these challenges while drawing in revenues from its cable networks.
Paramount added 6.3 million global streaming subscribers in the first quarter, helping it amass 62 million subscribers in total.
Subscriber additions were driven by Paramount+, which added 6.8 million subscribers in the quarter, bringing the service’s total subscribers to almost 40 million, while there were declines in direct-to-consumer services subscriptions.
Net earnings attributable to Paramount fell to $433 million, from $911 million a year earlier.
Revenue at the company, formerly known as ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:), fell about 1% to $7.33 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts’ estimates of $7.38 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
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