Comcast reported its biggest quarterly increase in pay-TV subscribers in 9 years

Comcast reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the first quarter on Wednesday, and a big gain in pay-TV subscribers.

The cable and broadcasting company reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.84, topping the forecast for $0.79 according to Bloomberg.

Its revenues also beat expectations, at $18.8 billion versus $18.6 billion expected.

"We delivered our best first quarter Internet results in four years and our best first quarter video results in nine years - adding 53,000 video customers," CEO Brian Roberts said in the statement.

This suggests that the company did not fully bear the brunt of the cord-cutting trend sweeping its industry. Like other pay-TV providers, Comcast has invested heavily in improving customer service and its set-top boxes to keep customers, Reuters noted.

On net, Comcast added 269,000 cable customers. At the same time, high-speed internet customers rose by 438,000, marking the best Q1 in four years.

Revenues in Comcast's NBCUniversal division, which includes NBC and Telemundo, rose 4% to $6.9 billion.

The company's shares rose about 1.5% in pre-market trading after the earnings release. They gained 8% this year through Tuesday's close.