Paramount misses quarterly revenue estimates on weak TV ad sales

(Reuters) -Paramount Global said on Tuesday it added over 6 million streaming subscribers in the first quarter but missed revenue estimates, hurt by weaker TV advertising sales in a period without the Super Bowl broadcast.

Shares of the company, formerly known as ViacomCBS, fell over 4% in pre-market trading.

Total revenue fell about 1% to $7.33 billion in the first quarter, below analysts' estimates of $7.38 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Paramount said revenue in its TV media segment, their highest revenue generator, fell 6% compared to last year when CBS' broadcast of Super Bowl LV brought more viewers and ad sales.

The results also 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 said it lost 200,00 subscribers in the first quarter and expects to lose a further 2 million in the second quarter.

Still, Paramount's investments in unscripted programming and offering live sports on its flagship Paramount+ platform has helped it weather some of these challenges.

Paramount+ added 6.8 million subscribers in the quarter, on the back of titles such as "Scream" and "The Lost City".

Advertising in Paramount's Direct-To-Consumer business, that includes its streaming platforms, jumped 59%.

However, the company has a long road to recovery from pandemic lows in its filmed entertainment business, where revenue declined about 27% owing to lower licensing dollars.

Net earnings attributable to Paramount fell to $433 million, from $911 million a year earlier.

Excluding items, the media giant earned a profit of 60 cents per share in the quarter ended March 31, above expectations of 51 cents.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru and Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)