Comcast is reporting an 8 percent decline in third-quarter earnings, partly because of costs related to its pending acquisition of NBC Universal.

The country's biggest cable provider's revenue grew on the strength of pricier TV services and cable advertising. The results beat Wall Street forecasts.

Comcast Corp. reported net income of $867 million, or 31 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30. That's down from $944 million, or 33 cents per share, a year ago.

Stripping out unusual items, the company said earnings would have been 32 cents per share. Analysts expected 30 cents a share.

Comcast says revenue climbed 7 percent to $9.49 billion. Analysts expected $9.36 billion