ViacomCBS reported over 13.5 million domestic streaming subscribers, up 50% year-over-year, based on demand for original programming such as "Star Trek: Picard" on CBS All Access and "Homeland" on Showtime OTT. "The appeal of our streaming and digital offerings has been made even more clear over the last six weeks, where we've seen a strong acceleration in momentum across both free and pay as audiences follow stay-at-home guidelines," Chief Executive Officer Robert Bakish said on a conference call with analysts. Total advertising revenue declined 19% to $2.48 billion, due in part to the cancellation of the NCAA "March Madness" basketball tournament because of the pandemic.

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A rebranded and expanded version of the CBS All Access streaming service will arrive this summer, ViacomCBS announced this morning. Now the company is accelerating its plan to make it a broader offering by incorporating TV and movies from across the ViacomCBS portfolio of brands, including Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Smithsonian and Paramount. It also plans to expand its original content lineup and news and sports offerings, the company said.

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Results that were not as bad as expected were helped out by impressive gains in streaming subscribers.

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YouTube TV is expanding its lineup of channels thanks to a new, multi-year distribution agreement with ViacomCBS, announced this morning. The Google-owned streaming TV service is gaining 14 new ViacomCBS channels as a result of the deal, including news, sports, and entertainment offerings. It will also continue to carry CBS broadcast stations, CBS Sports Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian Channel, and The CW.

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Shares of ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC) climbed 23.2% in April, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock climbed in conjunction with the broader market for most of the month, but got a boost during its final week when the media company started making moves to reduce its employee count. ViacomCBS stock sank 40.6% in March as coronavirus-related concerns prompted a near-across-the-board market selloff, and the partial recovery of the broader market likewise helped the company regain ground in April.

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Like other sports, in-person NASCAR races have been canceled for several months. In their place, the organization has been doing virtual races where the drivers race using a simulation rather than behind the wheel of actual cars . Today; however, NASCAR is ba…

John Krasinksi's homemade YouTube show "Some Good News" is heading to an unlikely new home: ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC)What To Know About Good NewsKrasinksi, known for his role as Jim Halpert on "The Office," hosted his own YouTube show to...spread some good news. But late last week, Krasinski inked a deal to sell the show to ViacomCBS, which will be played on its streaming video platform CBS All Access but with a different host.CNBC's Julia Boorstin reported that Krasinski received multiple offers from other digital and traditional content platforms. Media outlets are particularly interested in the content style of the show, which can be produced quickly and cheaply.Boorstin said CBS and Krasinski have an existing relationship with Paramount Pictures after filming "A Quiet Place" and its sequel.Paramount also produced the spy thriller Jack Ryan where Krasinski played the spy popularized in multiple Tom Clancy novels.What's Next For Good News Once the COVID-19 pandemic passes and large budget TV and movies can resume operations, one has to wonder if content like Krasinski's will still be in demand.Consumers are now discovering new forms of content and are attracted to the "rawness" of Krasinski's show and a genuine personality of wanting to spread positivity, New York Times, and CNBC contributor Ed Lee also said on CNBC."There will be a place for it going forward," Lee said.Related Links:Spotify Scoops Up Joe Rogan And His Hugely Popular PodcastNetflix Analyst Says Falling Churn, Strong Late April Subscriber Trends Boost HopesSee more from Benzinga * Slack CEO On Microsoft's Teams: 'Not A Competitor'(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Over 270 of the job losses took place at Viacom International, while 88 were at Showtime.

If the economic slowdown continues, ViacomCBS, Fox, and Eros International could see revenue fall from reduced ad spending and lower subscriber growth.

ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC) had a turn in the spotlight on Thursday. The veteran media company released Q1 of 2020 earnings that came in comfortably above prognosticator expectations. It also announced the expansion of an existing content deal.

ViacomCBS (VIAC) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of 18.95% and 0.35%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 2020. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?

After bringing the franchise back to TV with "Star Trek: Discovery" in 2017, then revisiting some beloved characters with "Star Trek: Picard" earlier this year, the streaming service has placed a straight-to-series order for "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," which will depict the early days of the Enterprise, before Captain Kirk took command. "Strange New Worlds" will star Mount and Peck, along with "Discovery" guest star Rebecca Romijn as Number One.

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ViacomCBS Inc (NASDAQ: VIAC) has made better-than-expected progress in direct-to-consumer subscriber growth and there are early signs of success of its integration efforts, according to Barrington Research.The ViacomCBS Analyst Barrington's James Goss reinstated coverage of ViacomCBS with an Outperform rating and $30 price target. The ViacomCBS Thesis It was in question whether the newly combined ViacomCBS entity would be able to smoothly integrate assets amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Goss said in a Monday note. (See his track record here.)Although key revenue and profitability metrics declined in the quarter, both reported and prospective subscriber gains for paid subscription services as well as progress in monthly active users for the Pluto TV AVOD service "fuel optimism that the seeds of growth for the merged entity are taking root more quickly than we were envisioning," the analyst said. The stock is trading at depressed levels, and there is significant upside, he said.While challenges remain, the subscriber and usage figures as well as initiatives like the potential launch of an expanded streaming service that combines CBS All Access programming and technology with Viacom's key networks and some Paramount films warrant the bullish rating, Goss said.The continued dominance of the CBS Television Network and O&O group also boost the company's prospects, the analyst said. VIAC Price Action Shares of ViacomCBS were up 0.58% at $18.18 at the time of publication Monday. Related Links:10 Biggest Price Target Changes For FridayViacomCBS Plans New Streaming PlatformLatest Ratings for VIAC DateFirmActionFromTo May 2020Barrington ResearchUpgradesMarket PerformOutperform May 2020BenchmarkMaintainsBuy May 2020Imperial CapitalMaintainsOutperform View More Analyst Ratings for VIAC View the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga * Agricultural Chemical Companies Had A Good Start To 2020, And BofA Says It's Over * Constellation Brands Has 'Very Real' Beverage Production Risks, MKM Says In Downgrade * Applied Optoelectronics Analyst Drops Bullish Stance After Q1 Miss On Limited Revenue Growth Outlook(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

One of the most wide-reaching side effects of COVID-19 has been its impact on mental health. Understandably, a global pandemic has people dealing with more anxiety and depression than usual—not to mention the additional difficulties it’s causing for people wi…

ViacomCBS shares were soaring Thursday after the entertainment and media giant beat Wall Street's first-quarter earnings expectations. Shares of the New York-based company were surging 19.8% to $17.82 in premarket trading. Advertising revenue dropped 19% year over year as the year-ago quarter included the broadcasts of Super Bowl LIII and the NCAA Tournament.

Wendy’s may not be serving up as many of their iconic square-shaped hamburgers right now thanks to a beef shortage, but they want you to know that they’re still open for business—and they’re giving away free chicken sandwiches to do it. Specifically, if you o…

Click here to read the full article. YouTube TV subscribers will finally be able to tune in to ViacomCBS's BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and 10 other cable nets starting this summer.Under an expanded, multiyear pact between Google and ViacomCBS, YouTube TV will add 14 cable networks from the legacy Viacom -- which have been missing from YouTube TV ever since it launched three years ago. The deal also provides for continued carriage of CBS broadcast stations, CBS Sports Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian Channel, and The CW on YouTube TV's live TV and on-demand subscription service.The deal also includes a continued commitment to distribute ViacomCBS’ premium subscription services, including Showtime, on YouTube TV, as well as an extended partnership to distribute the media company's content on the broader YouTube platforms. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.YouTube TV, priced at $49.99 per month, is slated to add the new ViacomCBS cable nets to its lineup this summer. The networks are: BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, VH1, BET Her, MTV2, Nick Jr., NickToons, TeenNick and MTV Classic.Alphabet, Google's parent company, most recently said YouTube TV had over 2 million subscribers as of the end of 2019.“We are thrilled to have reached an expanded agreement with YouTube TV that recognizes the full power of our newly combined portfolio as ViacomCBS,” said Ray Hopkins, president of Viacom's U.S. networks distribution. “Google has been an excellent partner, and we look forward to bringing even more of our entertainment networks to YouTube TV subscribers for the first time.”Lori Conkling, YouTube TV global head of partnerships, added that the expanded partnership "delivers on our promise to offer a premium portfolio of content to our YouTube TV subscribers, as well as across the YouTube platforms."YouTube TV is currently available only in the U.S. The over-the-top TV service provides access to over 70 channels, including local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC stations in most markets. YouTube TV includes unlimited cloud DVR storage space, personalized watch recommendations, and up to six accounts per household.(Pictured above: Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Trevor Noah")

Here we take a sneak peek at five media stocks lined up to report their respective quarterly earnings this week.

ViacomCBS' (VIAC) Q1 results reflect strong viewership for its streaming services and PlutoTV. However, lower advertising revenues dent top-line growth.

AT&T (NYSE: T) will launch HBO Max at the end of the month, and management has big expectations for the service. A recent survey conducted by Corus on behalf of Bloomberg found consumers consider HBO Max less essential than the three aforementioned services.

This past quarter, American households with internet-connected TV passed households with cable subscriptions for the first time. With no live sports being aired, and limits to live content offerings, traditional differentiators cable once relied on are now absent. Parent company, ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC), relies on advertising revenue from cable.

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At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to executive vice president of investor relations, Mr. Anthony DiClemente. Joining me for today's discussion are Bob Bakish, our president and CEO; and Chris Spade, our CFO.

(Bloomberg) -- ViacomCBS Inc. shares rose as much as 16% on a surge in streaming subscriptions among homebound viewers during the coronavirus pandemic, along with a new distribution deal with YouTube.The increase at ViacomCBS echoes the huge recent gains at Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co.’s Disney+. The New York company said its two paid services, CBS All Access and Showtime OTT, delivered record subscribers, sign-ups and consumption, with subscribers surpassing 13.5 million, up 50% year-over-year. Its free streaming service, Pluto TV, saw monthly active users grow to 24 million.The shares gained as much as $2.38 to $17.26 in New York trading. They were down 65% this year through Wednesday.On an earnings call, ViacomCBS Chief Executive Officer Bob Bakish said the company is accelerating plans to roll out an expanded streaming service that will combine Viacom and CBS programming, citing “major changes coming this summer.”ViacomCBS faces a crowded field in streaming, with most other major media companies having already introduced their own competitors to Netflix. And ViacomCBS didn’t share many key details, like how much it will charge for the service or when exactly it will come out.While ViacomCBS’s quarterly profit beat analysts’ estimates, investors are also likely celebrating a new distribution deal the company announced Thursday morning with Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube TV. The agreement adds 14 of its channels to YouTube’s online TV service, which has more than 2 million subscribers. With advertising sales in trouble due to a pandemic-fueled recession, investors like the certainty that comes with added subscriber revenue from a new pay-TV deal.The YouTube pact will immediately add about 2 percentage points to ViacomCBS’s U.S. affiliate revenue, or the carriage fees it receives from cable operators, Evercore analyst Vijay Jayant said in a note.“More broadly, we view the news as a positive indicator of the affiliate strategy of the combined company, which is seeking to leverage the must-have CBS content to get better distribution for the Viacom channels,” Jayant said.Still, Covid-19 spoiled the party for ViacomCBS’s first full quarter as a combined company. Revenue declined, driven by a 19% drop in advertising sales. While that’s partly due to a tough comparison to last year when CBS aired the Super Bowl, it also reflects the fact that another major sports event that CBS broadcasts -- the March Madness college basketball tournament -- was canceled this year due to the pandemic.ViacomCBS expects a “significant impact” on advertising sales in the current quarter as marketers pull back spending due to the recession, though the company didn’t try to quantify how much revenue would fall. Bakish cited the upcoming return of some sports, like professional golf in June, as a positive for advertising and said the annual upfront ad market will be later and longer than normal due to the pandemic.“We believe there will be an improvement on advertising in the third and fourth quarter -- assuming businesses begin to reopen at scale,” Bakish said.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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