New York - Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) today reported that its quarterly net profit rose 33 percent, beating Wall Street forecasts, on strong sales of the "Rock Band" video game and higher advertising revenue at its cable networks, including MTV Networks. The company said that revenue for the period rose 15%, to $3.12 billion, from $2.72 billion in the first quarter of 2007.

The company cited higher sales of "Rock Band" and a 22 percent increase in home video revenues as outweighing the 7 percent decline in its box office sales. The company’s advertising revenues also rose 8 percent, despite concerns about the slowing economy. The increase in advertising revenue was attributed to gains at its cable networks Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and TV Land.

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