You are viewing the archive: “Philippe Dauman”

Viacom CEO Blames “Misinformation” For Shelving Of Anti-Piracy Bills

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday January 31, 2012 @ 1:51pm PSTTags: Philippe Dauman, Piracy, Protect IP Act, Stop Online Piracy Act, Viacom

Freelancer Cari Lynn is contributing to Deadline’s coverage.

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman acknowledges that it will take time before Congress revisits the anti-piracy bills that Hollywood supported: the Senate’s Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). But the one-time lawyer says that studios and their representatives at the MPAA didn’t lose the recent lobby push on the merits of their case. There was “a lot of misinformation” from Silicon Valley, he said today at a conference sponsored by All Things D. Opponents including the tech industry said that the bills giving the government the power to block overseas sites that traffic in pirated content could be misused to stifle innovation and free speech. “It became almost religious dogma,” Dauman says. He still considers the proposals to be ”very reasonable”, adding that piracy “makes the standards more difficult in greenlighting a film.” READ MORE »

Comments 23

Viacom’s Philippe Dauman Makes $43.1M In 2011, Down 49%

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday January 27, 2012 @ 2:04pm PSTTags: Philippe Dauman, Philippe Dauman Compensation, Viacom

Last year’s $84.5M package made Dauman one of the highest paid CEOs in the U.S. — and a target for a lot of scorn. But much of his bonanza came from one-time stock awards. Without them he’s still a … Read More »

Comments (2)

Big Media Still Lack Big Ideas; Moguls No Longer Fear Netflix But Now Worry About Internet Video: UBS Confab Wrapup

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Saturday December 10, 2011 @ 4:00am PSTTags: 24, CBS, Chase Carey, Jeff Bewkes, Les Moonves, Lowell McAdam, Netflix, News Corp, Philippe Dauman, Reed Hastings, Time Warner, Verizon, Viacom

For some strange reason, I thought at least one Big Media mogul would use this week’s UBS Annual Media and Communications Conference to reset investor expectations about the Industry. I waited for someone to say that it’s time for execs to stop … Read More »

Comments (12)

Viacom’s Philippe Dauman “Frustrated” By Lower Nick Ratings But Patient: UBS Confab

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday December 5, 2011 @ 10:38am PSTTags: Mission:Impossible--Ghost Protocol, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Philippe Dauman, Star Trek, Transformers, Viacom, Viacom Philippe Dauman

Viacom shares are down about 3.5% at midday on an otherwise up day for the market after CEO Philippe Dauman punted on the big question on the minds of analysts attending the UBS Annual Global Media and Communications Conference: What’s up with the steep decline in Nickelodeon’s ratings — which he said last month was due to a problem with Nielsen’s measurement system? “There’s nothing new” to report, he says. ”No one’s more frustrated than myself.” He didn’t continue his attack the ratings company, which said today that it made a mistake in calculating the number of kids who watch TV — but added that it’s unrelated to the double-digit change in Nickelodeon’s ratings. ”However imperfect Nielsen is, it’s the only game in town, so we have to live with it,” Dauman says. “It is what it is. We’re going to move on.” He acknowledged that the channel’s ratings dive is “unfortunate” because “this is by far the most important quarter for Nickelodeon” due to the number of toymakers who flock to the channel to advertise holiday gifts. But he says the Nick problem will become less significant after the holidays are over. ”One way or the other we’ll move forward” with growing profit margins. Viacom has “more new shows coming to Nickelodeon than we’ve ever had.” He adds that “next quarter we expect to see stronger ad sales growth because we won’t have that issue” with the ratings. Read More »

Comments (9)

Nielsen Admits Mistake In Kids Viewership Data But Stands Behind Nickelodeon Ratings

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday December 5, 2011 @ 8:48am PSTTags: Cable Ratings, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Nielsen, Philippe Dauman, Viacom

Here’s some more anti-Nielsen fodder for Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman today at his UBS Global Media & Communications Conference appearance: The TV ratings company is admitting that it made a mistake when estimating the number of kids who are watching … Read More »

Comments (7)

Viacom Chief In Hot Seat As Another Analyst Questions Nickelodeon Slide

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday November 30, 2011 @ 8:07am PSTTags: Nickelodeon, Philippe Dauman, Viacom, Viacom Philippe Dauman

Nickelodeon’s Ratings Decline Is No “Blip”; Is Viacom Or Nielsen To Blame?

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman will be playing with fire if he tries to sidestep questions about Nickelodeon’s declining ratings on Monday when he addresses the annual UBS … Read More »

Comments (6)

Nickelodeon’s Ratings Decline Is No “Blip”; Is Viacom Or Nielsen To Blame?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday November 29, 2011 @ 2:08pm PSTTags: Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Programming, Nielsen Co, Nielsen ratings, Philippe Dauman, Viacom Philippe Dauman

Looks like that “inexplicable drop” in Nickelodeon ratings from September that Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman noted in a November 10 conference call with analysts still bedevils the children’s network. Its full-day total audience was down 16.7% in the week of November 20. That gave Disney Channel its first victory over Nickelodeon since August 2007, when Disney introduced High School Musical 2. Nick’s audience of kids 11 and under was off 11% in September vs the same month last year, -17% in October, and -19% for the first three weeks of November. The reports worried Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce enough for him to downgrade Viacom to “neutral” from “buy.” He notes that “advertisers are going to want to pay for the lower Nielsen ratings, which could be resulting in make-goods … that could pressure ad revenue” in the current quarter.

It’s curious, though: When Dauman spoke to analysts early this month, he made it sound like the trouble at Nick was history: He called it “a short-term phenomenon,” adding that “I always believe in looking forward, so we’ll go through that blip, it’s not material to overall company and we will move on.” He also put the blame on Nielsen’s measurements — not Nick’s programming — noting that “independent set-top box data … shows meaningfully different viewership trends.” Read More »

Comments 50

Big Media 3Q Corporate Earnings Roundup: Are CEOs Really Worried About Recession? Or Just Looking For Convenient Excuse?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Saturday November 12, 2011 @ 5:53am PSTTags: Amazon, Big Media Earnings, Bob Iger, Cars 2, CBS, Charlie Ergen, Cinemark, Comcast, Conan the Barbarian, Despicable Me, Dish Network, Disney, DreamWorks Animation, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Hulu, Kung Fu Panda 2, Les Moonves, Lionsgate, National CineMedia, NBC, Netflix, News Corp, Philippe Dauman, RealD, Reed Hastings, Regal CEO Amy Miles, Regal Entertainment Group, Rise of the Planet Of The Apes, Shrek Forever After, Time Warner, Time Warner Cable, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt, Toy Story 3, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Universal Pictures, Viacom, Warrior, X-Men:First Class

Three months ago, when Big Media CEOs wrapped up their 2Q earnings, they were still relentlessly upbeat about the business. Any worries about the economy? Not then. But the messages they delivered over the past few weeks, as they discussed 3Q, were different. Although they’re still optimistic — remember, they’re paid to be salesmen — now and then you could hear expressions of concern about where things are headed. It stood out when Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman noted that “ad sales growth will face some headwinds.” Other CEOs who are known for speaking bluntly warned that other shocks may bedevil the business. For example, Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen said that his satellite company — and others in pay TV — have to fight harder against rising programming costs because “there’s a limit to the price increases that could be passed on to consumers.” Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt warned that premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz “are clearly impacted by the economy as consumers try to cut back.” Either they’re genuinely worried, or they want a scapegoat to blame for things that are going bad, or may soon do so. Whatever the case, we can expect to hear a lot more about the economy when it’s time for the post-mortem on the all-important 4Q earnings.

As for industry performance matters, parents of movie studios had their usual mixed results to brag about or explain away: Time Warner benefitted from Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. Viacom was up on Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. And News Corp beat its chest about Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and X-Men: First Class. But Disney’s Cars 2 was no match for last year’s Toy Story 3. Comcast’s Universal Pictures had nothing to compare to last year’s Despicable Me. Lionsgate suffered from Conan The Barbarian and Warrior. And DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 2 didn’t contribute as much in the quarter as Shrek Forever After did in the same period last year.

Over at the TV networks, Comcast’s NBC underperformed the Street’s already modest expectations. Execs at almost all the companies were eager to talk about the cash they expect to collect soon from political ads — as well as their favorite new ATM machines: retransmission consent deals and digital streamers including Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix. Speaking of Netflix, CEO Reed Hastings once again tried to reassure investors that he’s focused on “building back our reputation and brand strength” after his decision in July to slap a 60% price increase on customers who wanted to continue to rent DVDs and stream videos. In 3Q Netflix lost 57.7% of its market value and 800,000 subscribers. And since that customer loss was bigger than projected, Netflix shares continued to fall — they’re now down 67.3% since July 1.

Here are some other themes from the latest earnings reports:

Ad sales: They’s good, but for how long? Most television networks report that scatter prices are comfortably above the upfront market from this past summer. CBS chief Les Moonves says prices in 4Q are up by “mid-teens” on a percentage basis, while Discovery says it sees least high single digit percentages. But Disney’s Bob Iger noted that scatter prices have “slowed slightly these last few weeks.” Kurt Hall of National CineMedia — the leading seller of ads in movie theaters — was far more direct when he spoke to analysts after ratcheting down his company’s financial forecasts. “I’m sure that the broadcast and cable guys are sitting there now counting their lucky stars they got their upfront done before August,” he told analysts. “There’s a lot of uncertainty.” Read More »

Comments (8)

Viacom Shares Down After Lighter-Than-Expected Ad Forecast

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday September 22, 2011 @ 8:31am PDTTags: Disney, Mission: Impossible Franchise, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Philippe Dauman, Star Trek, Transformers, Viacom

CEO Philippe Dauman told the Goldman Sachs Communicopia conference that Viacom will see “high-single-digit” growth in ad sales in the current quarter. That put a scare into investors who anticipated double-digit growth. Viacom’s down about 6.5% in mid-day trading, ahead of the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500, which is off about 3%. Dauman tried to cast a flattering light on the situation: ”Despite the macroeconomic headlines, the tone of the advertising market remains strong,” he said. Specifically, he says that Viacom has held on to orders made in the upfront market while scatter prices are “in the teens above upfront. … We had a good quarter, and the next quarter looks good.” He also said that he has seen no weakness in many of the most important ad-sales categories for Viacom’s cable networks including auto, toys, and movies. The overseas situation is mixed: “Some (markets) are strong and some are weaker.” Although acknowledging that the market shifts with the economy, as Viacom’s ”new shows kick in, we have positive momentum.” Read More »

Comments (3)

Big Media’s 2Q Earnings Roundup: Will The Economy Change The Story?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday August 11, 2011 @ 4:07pm PDTTags: Amazon, Apple, Big Media, Big Media Earnings, David Zaslav, Discovery Communications, Dish Network, DreamWorks Animation, Hulu, Jeff Katzenberg, Les Moonves, Netflix, Philippe Dauman, RealD Earnings, Regal CEO Amy Miles, Regal Entertainment, Steve Burke, Time Warner, Viacom, Walmart

Now that Big Media’s 2Q earnings season is over, the big question on Wall Street is: Did it give us any insight into the future? CEOs’ cheery talk about strong ad sales in TV’s upfront market, the expected bump next year from political ads, and the revenues coming in from online streaming services may be irrelevant if the economy sinks into a deep, new recession.  CEOs say they see no evidence of trouble yet. The industry’s leading cheerleader, CBS chief Les Moonves, channeled his inner Buzz Lightyear last week saying that he has “every reason to believe that we will deliver strong results throughout the rest of the year, into 2012 and beyond.” Investors still sliced 6.3% off of CBS’ market value. The Dow Jones U.S. Media Index is down about 16% in the last month as traders anticipate cuts in ad spending, ticket buying, subscriptions — the works. If the pessimists are right, then the race is on: Which company will be the first to change its message from “people will buy media because they have cash” to “people will buy media because it helps them to forget their problems”?

Here are other themes from the latest earnings reports:

Jobs: Media companies still aren’t hiring. No one said that so baldly, but it’s there between the lines: CEOs talked more about financial engineering – cutting costs and returning cash to shareholders – than about spending to become more competitive. Time Warner recorded $24M in layoff-related expenses, quadruple the amount from the same quarter last year, while Viacom spent $14M, up from zero last year. Yet virtually every media company is repurchasing shares or increasing its dividend. The message? CEOs can’t persuade investors that the companies know how to make a decent profit from their cash, and shareholders want it back.

Pay TV: This was “the weakest (quarter) in the industry’s history,” says Bernstein Research’s Craig Moffett. Analysts were startled to see the largest cable, satellite, and telco companies collectively lose about 195,000 video customers. The cord cutters don’t fit the stereotype of well-to-do technophiles. Moffett says that “all the evidence” shows that a growing number of people – especially young adults — simply can’t afford pay TV. Dish Network seemed to confirm that thesis by saying that it will shift its marketing focus to upscale consumers instead of bargain hunters. With the U.S. market stalled, it’s easy to see why cable programmers want investors to look at their expansion efforts in growing markets overseas such as India, Russia, China, and Brazil. “It is the current momentum and potential of our international assets that present a meaningful, unique opportunity for us,” Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav told analysts. Read More »

Comments (7)

UPDATE: Viacom Presumes It Won’t Extend DreamWorks Animation Distribution Deal, But No Decision Yet

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday August 5, 2011 @ 4:10am PDTTags: Comedy Central, DreamWorks Animation, Philippe Dauman, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Viacom, Viacom Earnings

UPDATE, 7:10 AM: CEO Philippe Dauman told analysts that he’s surprised by the attention being paid to the Paramount arrangement with DreamWorks Animation that ends next year. Still, he says that his studio … Read More »

Comments (4)

MySpace Debacle Vindication For Fired Viacom CEO Tom Freston

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday June 30, 2011 @ 1:04pm PDTTags: Mel Karmazin, MySpace, MySpace Sale, Philippe Dauman, Sumner Redstone, Tom Freston, Viacom

Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone stunned the entertainment industry in 2006 when he fired CEO Tom Freston. One of the chief reasons for the move was that Freston hadn’t moved decisively enough to buy MySpace, enabling Rupert Murdoch to pick up what was then the most popular social networking site for $580 million. Redstone seemed to think that contributed to the 20% drop in Viacom’s stock price in 2006 up to the date of Freston’s ouster. The CEO’s successor, Philippe Dauman, would “never, ever let another competitor beat us to the trophy,” Redstone told analysts. Redstone told interviewer Charlie Rose that losing MySpace had been “humiliating,” adding, “MySpace was sitting there for the taking for $500 million.”

But who’s laughing now? MySpace has collapsed into a distant also-ran behind Facebook and Twitter. And Murdoch took a bath on MySpace this week. He wanted $100 million for it but sold 95% of his interest to ad company Specific Media for a mere $35 million. Just imagine what would have happened to Viacom’s stock if Redstone’s passion for chasing fads led him to outbid Murdoch. It’s hard to believe that the owner of MTV would have seen what Murdoch didn’t — that social network fans were being turned off by MySpace’s tawdry commercialism as it established itself as a music and entertainment portal. That provided the opening for Facebook and Twitter to position themselves as safer alternatives for people who simply want to connect with friends.

Read More »

Comments 20

Cable Show: Big Media Gets The Last Word

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Sunday June 19, 2011 @ 1:38am PDTTags: Brian Roberts, Cable, Chase Carey, Cox Communications President Pat Esser, FCC Broadband Service, FCC Julius Genachowski, Jeff Bewkes, Ken Lowe, Netflix, Oprah Winfrey, Philippe Dauman, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt

The message for the television industry at this year’s National Cable Show was clear: It’s all about broadband now. Programmers agreed that they have to focus on consumers who want to watch video on their smartphones and tablet computers. Meanwhile, cable operators know that they can make a lot of cash by enticing new customers to buy broadband now that the TV service business is mature. The big question is whether the Big Media companies can move fast enough to head off competitors such as Apple, Google, and Netflix. But we’ll let the moguls have the last word:

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman

  • “For the content owners there’s never been a better time.”
  • “Netflix is primarily a service that provides library programming. … Netflix got involved in one show (House Of Cards) that was a pay television kind of project, but that isn’t their fundamental business.”
  • “If we are ad supported, (then) we need to have a measurement system in place so the mobile device in the home can sell ads. … (Nielsen) is not measuring it now. That’s one of the obstacles [for TV Everywhere].”
  • “Consumers are changing. … People don’t want to watch the 17th repeat of the same show.”
  • “In a world of a lot of choices, Snookie still rules.”

News Corp COO Chase Carey

  • “We have to do a better job of exciting consumers.”

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes

  • “Let’s all cheer up. This isn’t the music industry. It’s the cable industry. … It’s morning in the cable industry.”
  • “We’re all sitting here at this convention at the cusp of putting all of [our programming] on demand. … We need to get [shows] on every device.”
  • “Put the TV on all the Internet devices and don’t charge people to do it and allow them to [access] they way they’re accustomed to.”

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts

  • “We are demonsrating a whole new level of (Internet) speed. … It’s where the future of broadband is headed.”
  • “We need to make the television feel as relevant as all of these other products [such as smartphones and iPad tablet computers].”

Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt

  • “There’s no such thing as a TV anymore. There’s a video display device.”
  • “I see Netflix as another programmer. But clearly if there is something that makes consumers not want to buy the big package (of programming) that we’re selling then that’s a threat to all of us.”
  • “There clearly is a growing underclass of consumers that can’t afford [cable TV] and they want it. It would behoove all of us to have smaller packages… The economics make it difficult, but it would serve us well to worry about that group.”

Cox Communications President Pat Esser

  • “You have to keep going back to the consumer and asking what they value. … Consumers wil reward you for doing that. And in some cases you won’t control all of it.”

Read More »

Comments 24

Did Philippe Dauman Say He Plans Job Cuts At Paramount Home Video? You Decide

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday June 2, 2011 @ 4:00pm PDTTags: Epix, Jersey Shore, Netflix, Paramount, Philippe Dauman, Viacom Philippe Dauman

UPDATE, 3:50 PM: The folks at Paramount say that we misunderstood Dauman. He wasn’t trying to say that he plans to make cuts at home entertainment, they say. He was simply talking in general terms about being vigilant about all of Paramount’s costs. That’s not how it looks to me, but why don’t you decide for yourself? Here’s the transcript of Dauman’s response to a question about how he might “improve Paramount’s fortunes”:

There are some things you can control in the movie business…that is the
overhead. It doesn’t matter what movie you make. You can control that; that’s money in the bank if you can do that. And we have continuously improved that part of it. You continually have to adjust. For example, as the home entertainment stream is challenged, fewer DVDs are being sold, so you have to review your home entertainment overhead. That’s adjusting to the business model. We’re very focused on that. We continue to work on the overhead there.

PREVIOUS, 12:46 PM: This might be a good time to polish up your resume if you work at Paramount Pictures’ home entertainment unit. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman plans to review the “overhead” — a bloodless synonym for “jobs” — there as DVD sales tank, he told an investor group today. The nation’s highest-paid executive last year said that cutting overhead is “money in the bank.” Read More »

Comments 20

‘Jersey Shore’ Pays: Viacom Increases Dividend 67%

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday May 25, 2011 @ 10:59am PDTTags: Jackass 3D, Jersey Shore, Philippe Dauman, Viacom, Viacom Quarterly Dividend

America’s highest-paid CEO, Viacom’s Philippe Dauman, has made good on his promise to share some more of the company’s wealth with investors. The company announced that it will increase its quarterly dividend by 67% to 25 cents a share. The … Read More »

Comments (1)

Viacom Credits ‘Rango’ For Up Earnings; Warns It Can Take Or Leave DWA Animation

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday April 28, 2011 @ 5:11am PDTTags: First Quarter Earnings, Philippe Dauman, Viacom, Viacom Finance

UPDATE, 6:55 AM: CEO Philippe Dauman says that Paramount is starting to make business plans for 2013 and 2014 and “can accommodate having Dreamworks [Animation] titles in or out” after their distribution deal expires next year. He told analysts, in a conference call, that the companies have “a strong relationship” and that he’s ready to discuss a new deal whenever Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is ready. But he added that Paramount’s “development pipeline is strong” and will include more animated films following the success of its first effort, Rango.

Dauman also says that the company plans “a very significant increase” over the next year or 2 in the amount of original shows it will run on cable channel Spike. He added that he expects “significant year-over-year gains” in upfront ad sales across Viacom’s networks.

PREVIOUS, 5:11 AM: Helped by a strengthening ad market, TV hits including MTV’s Jersey Shore, and a Paramount Pictures slate that included Rango, Viacom far exceeded Wall Street analysts’ forecasts for its financial performance in the quarter that ended in March. The entertainment giant reported net earnings of $376 million, up 47% vs. the same period last year, on revenues of $3.3 billion, up 20%. That translated into 72 cents in earnings per share. The consensus forecast among analysts put earnings of 61 cents with revenues of $3 billion.

“This was an outstanding quarter, reflecting our continued operating momentum,” Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said in a prepared statement. Read More »

Comments (0)

Viacom’s Philippe Dauman Scores Major Payday

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday January 21, 2011 @ 4:51pm PSTTags: Big Media, Philippe Dauman, Philippe Dauman Compensation, Viacom, Viacom Finance, Viacom Philippe Dauman

Viacom has been very good to Philippe Dauman. A company proxy statement filed on Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that the CEO amassed $84.5 million in stock, salary and other benefits during Viacom’s fiscal year, which ended … Read More »

Comments (6)

Every Studio & Network Boosted Earnings; So Why Isn’t Hollywood Working More?

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Tuesday August 10, 2010 @ 7:01pm PDTTags: Alice in Wonderland 3D, Big Media, Big Media Earnings, Chase Carey, DreamWorks Animation SKG, Iron Man 2, Jeff Bewkes, Jeff Immelt, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Les Moonves, Moguls, News Corp Finance, Philippe Dauman, Rupert Murdoch, The Walt Disney Company, Time Warner Finance, Toy Story 3, Viacom

UPDATE: The Walt Disney Co was the last major studio and network to report quarterly earnings, and its fiscal 3rd quarter profit rose 40% on the strong box office grosses from Pixar’s Toy Story 3, Marvel’s Iron Man 2, and Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland 3D. As promised, here is an earnings roundup showing that Big Media is alive and well and even flourishing not just this quarter but in many cases for next quarter or even the entire year. Yet the trickle down effect has been slow or nonexistent for Hollywood. After rounds of layoffs during the economic crisis, the moguls are still slow to put people back to work. And the movie and TV community still is underemployed. But what everyone can count on is that Big Media’s good news for the benefit of Wall Street will turn into bad news to the detriment of talent, behind-the-camera, post-production, and below-the-line unions when it’s time to negotiate:

August 5th: Viacom Inc Reports Sharply Higher Earnings For Q2
Credit the rebounding economy and recovering advertising market. Net earnings rose to $420 million, or 69 cents a share, up 52% from $277 million, or 46 cents a share, a year ago. Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone gushed, ”With six months under our belt in this calendar year, day after day our confidence continues to grow as the emerging economy recovery builds. Now of course we’re not all the way back, but the light is brighter than it’s been for some time… Consumers are returning to the marketplace, marketers are beginning to spend again to grow revenues and capture share and Viacom is now and will continue to benefit.” Revenue at Viacom’s media networks group rose 6% to $2.1 billion.

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said ad revenue growth has been improving quarter by quarter. “Once we get into October and into the December quarter, we will benefit from this upfront where we have greater volume than last year at higher pricing. Dauman singled out Jersey Shore as a show where ”we have advertisers scrambling to get on it. We have advertisers who want to be wall to wall in particular episode. We’re turning them away.” Viacom’s movie business was down 10% to 41.25 billion, led by a 43% drop in home entertainment revenue. Also, Paramount Pictures has primarily been distributing others’ films like Iron Man 2 and Shrek Forever After in 2010 and self-financing its own pics. It is deliberately pursuing a strategy of a smaller slate of films in 2010-2011. Still, the film unit booked income of $69 million, reversing an $8 million loss in the same quarter a year ago. Viacom continued to post equity losses from its EPIX joint venture but said it should approach break-even by the end of the year.

August 4th: News Corp Posts Improved 4th Quarterly Results
News Corp posted a profit of $875 million, or 33 cents a share, for its fiscal 4Q ended June 30th easily beating analysts expectations. That compared with a loss of $203 million, or 8 cents a share, a year ago, when News Corp took an impairment charge. Revenue grew 6% to $8.11 billion, as companies spent more to advertise on the company’s television stations, TV channels and newspapers. That beat the average forecast of analysts of $8.05 billion. COO Chase Carey explained that brisk sales of advertising at Fox Broadcasting and the company’s cable television networks made the difference, while ad rates at the Fox network are up by a double-digit percentage from this spring. Ad rates are even better at the cable channels, which already represent more than 50% of the company’s profits. Local television station advertising revenues improved 29% in the quarter and 8% for the year compared to the same periods a year ago, reflecting strength in the automobile and telecom sectors. Read More »

Comments 42
« Previous Deadline | Hollywood