American media conglomerate Viacom, home to such kid and youth-friendly cable networks as Nickelodeon and MTV, as well as movie studio Paramount, saw its profits rise 16% during the first quarter of this year after offsetting revenue declines within its movie business.

For the period ended December 31, 2013, profits totaled US$547 million, up from US$470 million last year.

Ad revenues for its cable channels rose 6.1% to US$2.54 within the Media Networks segment, which more than offset a 30% revenue decline within the company’s Filmed Entertainment segment that pulled in US$681 million for the quarter.

Viacom-owned Paramount, which is steadily building its animation and TV production capabilities, released Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, Nebraska and Wolf of Wall Street during Q1. Overall, theatrical revenues dropped 52% from the prior year due to fewer titles released in the quarter and lower carryover revenues. Home entertainment revenues declined 37%

Overall, operating income rose 20% to US$960 million, representing improved operating results across the company.

Just last week, the company announced the formation of a new program acquisitions group across its US media networks division in an effort to better coordinate domestic program purchasing activity and bolster a mix of original programming with acquisitions.