Organic growth front and centre for ViacomCBS says chair

ViacomCBS will look to increase its business via organic growth rather than through acquisitions, a top exec at the company has said.

Speaking during the Reuters Next conference, ViacomCBS chairperson Shari Redstone said that there is no immediate need for the company to make any acquisitions with its growth trajectory “actually pretty high at this point in time.”

ViacomCBS has experienced a solid 2021 to date, with 47 million global streaming subscribers and better-than-expected Q3 revenues of US$6.61 billion.

The chair did not write off doing any deals, stating that the company would “always look at opportunities out there,” but added that “our ability to grow both domestically and internationally is well on its way.”

Redstone would go on to discuss the growth of SVOD Paramount+ and a “definite shift” that has seen ViacomCBS move from viewing itself as an “arms dealer” and that is is “creating content for our own platform.”

In addition, Redstone weighed in on the ever-present debate of releasing movies day-and-date on streaming and in cinema, describing the idea of it as harmful to box office results as a “false narrative.”