Viacom Inc. reported strong Q3 results that Chairman Sumner M. Redstone said showed the media giant was leading the industry out of the advertising recession. Revenues rose 10% to $6.3 billion with
higher revenues in every segment of Viacom’s business and a 14% increase in advertising revenues. The company recorded double-digit advertising growth at MTV, Nickelodeon, TV Land, TNN and BET as well
as the CBS and UPN networks. “We turned in the best third quarter in the history of Viacom,” Redstone told analysts at a teleconference Thursday. President Mel Karmazin said Q3’s results surpassed the
same period in 2000, which had been flush with dotcom money. Viacom executives attributed the growth to the double-digit growth in advertising sales, which account for almost half of revenues.
Redstone said Viacom came out of the advertising downturn in Q2, strengthened in Q3 and signs point to even further growth in the last quarter of the year.
