Bell Media digital revenue is up 40% “despite an ad recession and continued pressures in the B2B sector,” according to Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada.

BCE posted its Q3 results on Thursday (Nov. 3), reporting net earnings of $771 million, down 5.2% year-over-ear from $813 million in Q3 2021.

In a call with investors, Bibic  said that overall advertiser demand slowed in the quarter due to the economy and supply chain issues in key consumer verticals. However, given BCE’s broad mix of assets, the year-over-year ad revenue decline was “contained to only 2%.”

The company is seeing “good momentum” in streaming and the digital ad market, according to Bibic. BCE is growing usage of strategic audience management (SAM) TV, together with a 7% increase in direct-to-consumer (DTC) Crave subscriptions, which contributed to a strong bottom line. Subscriber revenue increased by 2.2% and Crave now boasts 3.1 million subscribers as of Q3.  HBO’s House of the Dragon (pictured) had one of the largest audiences for a season finale since its predecessor Game of Thrones, according to Bell in the financial report.

Bibic said that CTV is the country’s most watched conventional TV network with a 29% gain in audience market share in the 25 to 54 demographic during Q3. English language entertainment specialty channels CTV Comedy, Discovery and CTV Drama had a “strong showing” as well.

In the French language market, he notes that Noovo gained viewership with a marketing share of 4%, outpacing it French-language competitors in primetime, according to a news release. RDS, meanwhile, benefited from solid audience interest in F1 racing and a strong start to the NFL season.

Bibic said he has “great confidence” in the company’s long-term outlook.

With files from Playback

A version of this story by Christopher Lombardo originally appeared in Media in Canada