Viacom profit beats, but U.S. ad sales lag

Viacom Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as revenue from its film unit topped estimates, helped by the success of "The Big Short" movie, but a drop in domestic ad revenue was more dramatic than Wall Street expected. The owner of such networks as Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon said domestic ad revenue dropped 5 percent in the second quarter ended March 31, more than the 3 percent that analysts expected. Viacom also said affiliate fee revenue fell 2 percent.