New York — Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman told an audience here last week that the advertising market is beginning to show signs of recovery despite a torrent of bad economic news.
Dauman, speaking at the McGraw-Hill Media Summit conference, was encouraged by a kids' upfront he said was “extremely well-received.”
“We're already cutting some very attractive deals,” Dauman said adding that CPMs were “still strong.”
Although he couched his remarks by saying that it was still early in the upfront schedule — kids is usually first out of the gate followed by cable and broadcast — he said Viacom's marquee brands like Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central are must-have properties for advertisers.
“If you're launching a video game, you have to be on our air,” Dauman said. “The problem is when you have highly stressed companies that need to advertise but can't.”
But even in that scenario, Dauman said that Viacom's brands have an advantage because advertisers will be more selective in the outlets they choose.
“It is a lot more focused buy with marketers that want to be with brands they trust and the outlets they trust,” Dauman said. “We are fortunate in that we are not dependent on the automotive and financial-services companies. We are going to be impacted on the volume side, but we will be less impacted than these other broad categories of advertisers.”
Dauman also addressed recent battles with distributors — including the recent spat with Time Warner Cable. While he said that relations with distributors can sometimes get heated, he said that Viacom simply wants to get compensated for the value it provides to cable and satellite-TV companies. He estimated that Viacom's affiliate fee revenue is rising at a 10% clip.
But that's a bargain, given that Viacom networks account for about 20% of the viewership of ad-supported cable but their fees represent between 8% and 9% of the total affiliate fees paid by the average cable operator. And Viacom networks also account for about 35% to 40% of free video-on-demand streams, he said.
While that is mainly due to the fact that Viacom viewers tend to skew young and are more apt to use new technology, Dauman said that one thing those viewers aren't doing is watching cable programming exclusively online.
“We're not seeing it,” Dauman said of the so-called cord-cutting phenomenon. “And our subscriber base is growing. People tend to want to keep their TV connections.”
And as far as cable operators who fear programmers will put most of their content online for free while they still pay high carriage fees, Dauman said that Viacom is respectful of its distribution relationships.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Recession Wallops Viacom
Viacom today joined a raft of media conglomerates reporting dismal results for the last quarter. In its SEC filing, the company, which owns Paramount Pictures, the MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central and other cable networks, said that its fourth-quarter profit fell 69 percent to $173 million from $560 million during the comparable quarter a year ago. The company attributed the slide primarily to the costs of retrenchment. "We acted early and decisively to prepare for the rapid decline in economic conditions," CEO Philippe Dauman said in a statement. Viacom wrote down $62 million on restructuring costs at Paramount, dropping operating profit at the studio 81 percent to $22 million. On the other hand, Paramount's revenue was up 28 percent, primarily due to the solid performance of Madagascar 2 Escape to Africa from DreamWorks Animation, whose films Paramount distributes.
This is from last month. They need to do something to correct this.
This is from last month. They need to do something to correct this.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Heath Ledger's Last Film Still Unsold
With all the fuss about Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning role as the Joker in The Dark Knight, it's easy to forget that the masterful performance wasn't his last. But the joke may be on fans who want to see the final frames of Ledger's career.
Ledger died on Jan. 22, 2008, in the middle of shooting Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, a fantasy about a travelling theater troupe. Ledger starred as a con man named Tony. Rather than let Ledger's death end the production, Gilliam completed the film using Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to play different incarnations of the character. But even after all that, the film still has some obstacles to overcome before it can hit the big screen.
Parnassus, a $30 million production, has yet to land a distribution deal, perhaps out of studios' fear that the surrealistic film won't find a wide audience, according to Entertainment Weekly. While executives agree Ledger would be a major draw, many are waiting to see the film before committing. Gilliam won't screen his work until April, when the final cut is finished.
Though Gilliam's had a run of bad luck in Hollywood — he failed to get two versions of Watchmen off the ground and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote was derailed after only six days of shooting — he isn't worried about Parnassus' future just yet.
''I think people are going to be astonished when they see the film, and there will be a rush to want it,'' he said. ''So I'm happy to wait. Nobody came forward at the right time — and now it's going to cost them.''
But Gilliam wasn't always so optimistic about the film's chances — he admitted that he considered shutting the film down after Ledger's death, another casualty of the "Gilliam curse."
"We were in deep s---,'' he said. ''For me, it was like, 'Let's just close up shop here, because without Heath I don't want to continue.' He was so central. But everyone just kept beating me up, saying, 'No, you have to keep going for Heath.'"
Gilliam believes Ledger's performance will ensure the movie makes it to fans.
"'We would just sit back and say, 'Jesus, look at what he's doing!''' Gilliam said. ''Normally I don't encourage much ad-libbing, but with Heath, I just let him run. He was coming up with lines that were astonishing — bing, bang, bong! He was an extraordinary force.
"There's a prescience about the film that's quite interesting," Gilliam said. "There are lines you can't believe were written before Heath died. There are going to be a few gasps. I can guarantee gasps.''
This is quite an opportunity for Paramount to make money. As morbid as it sounds, whoever gets the rights to this film will make money solely due to the death of Ledger, and the fact that he is the second person in history to win an Oscar posthumously. His name is still relevant. The Oscar ceremony honored him in their tribute to those who died within the last year, even though they added him in during LAST YEAR'S ceremony!
When this film is released, people, myself included, will be it out of curiosity, just like Te Dark Knight (not that it wouldn't have made money if not his his unfortunate death, but it surely helped). Plus, you've got three good actors in Depp, Law, and Farrell to boost the film even more.
Ledger died on Jan. 22, 2008, in the middle of shooting Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, a fantasy about a travelling theater troupe. Ledger starred as a con man named Tony. Rather than let Ledger's death end the production, Gilliam completed the film using Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to play different incarnations of the character. But even after all that, the film still has some obstacles to overcome before it can hit the big screen.
Parnassus, a $30 million production, has yet to land a distribution deal, perhaps out of studios' fear that the surrealistic film won't find a wide audience, according to Entertainment Weekly. While executives agree Ledger would be a major draw, many are waiting to see the film before committing. Gilliam won't screen his work until April, when the final cut is finished.
Though Gilliam's had a run of bad luck in Hollywood — he failed to get two versions of Watchmen off the ground and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote was derailed after only six days of shooting — he isn't worried about Parnassus' future just yet.
''I think people are going to be astonished when they see the film, and there will be a rush to want it,'' he said. ''So I'm happy to wait. Nobody came forward at the right time — and now it's going to cost them.''
But Gilliam wasn't always so optimistic about the film's chances — he admitted that he considered shutting the film down after Ledger's death, another casualty of the "Gilliam curse."
"We were in deep s---,'' he said. ''For me, it was like, 'Let's just close up shop here, because without Heath I don't want to continue.' He was so central. But everyone just kept beating me up, saying, 'No, you have to keep going for Heath.'"
Gilliam believes Ledger's performance will ensure the movie makes it to fans.
"'We would just sit back and say, 'Jesus, look at what he's doing!''' Gilliam said. ''Normally I don't encourage much ad-libbing, but with Heath, I just let him run. He was coming up with lines that were astonishing — bing, bang, bong! He was an extraordinary force.
"There's a prescience about the film that's quite interesting," Gilliam said. "There are lines you can't believe were written before Heath died. There are going to be a few gasps. I can guarantee gasps.''
This is quite an opportunity for Paramount to make money. As morbid as it sounds, whoever gets the rights to this film will make money solely due to the death of Ledger, and the fact that he is the second person in history to win an Oscar posthumously. His name is still relevant. The Oscar ceremony honored him in their tribute to those who died within the last year, even though they added him in during LAST YEAR'S ceremony!
When this film is released, people, myself included, will be it out of curiosity, just like Te Dark Knight (not that it wouldn't have made money if not his his unfortunate death, but it surely helped). Plus, you've got three good actors in Depp, Law, and Farrell to boost the film even more.
‘Star Trek’ trailer Breaks All Existing Records on Apple.com
March 11, 2009
New Trailer for J.J. Abrams' 'Star Trek' Breaks All Existing Records With Over
1.8 Million Downloads During First 24 Hours on Apple.com
Trailer Also Breaks Weekly Download Record With Over Five Million Downloads
Since Exclusive Debut on Apple.com/trailers on March 6th
LOS ANGELES, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The new trailer for J.J. Abrams' "Star
Trek" had more than 1.8 million downloads during its first 24 hours on
Apple.com and has gone on to become the most popular HD download ever on the
site with more than five million downloads in its first five days. The trailer
made its exclusive debut on Apple.com/trailers on March 6th giving fans a
sneak peak of this summer's highly anticipated "Star Trek" for viewing on
their Mac or PC, iPhone or iPod with video.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO)
From J.J. Abrams ("Mission: Impossible III," "Fringe," "Lost" and "Alias"),
producer Damon Lindelof and executive producers Bryan Burk and Jeffrey Chernov
and screenwriters and executive producers Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
("TRANSFORMERS," "MI: III") comes a new vision of the greatest adventure of
all time, "Star Trek," featuring a young, new crew venturing boldly where no
one has gone before. "Star Trek" opens nationally on May 8, 2009.
Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment Present a Bad Robot Production
"Star Trek" starring John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris
Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin,
Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy. The film is directed by J.J. Abrams ("Mission
Impossible III," "Lost," "Alias"), written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
("MI: III," "Transformers").
Based upon "Star Trek" Created by Gene Roddenberry. The film is produced by
J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof. The executive producers are Bryan Burk,
Jeffrey Chernov, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. The director of photography
is Dan Mindel, ASC. The production designer is Scott Chambliss. The film is
edited by Maryann Brandon, A.C.E. and Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. The costume
designer is Michael Kaplan. The visual effects & animation are by Industrial
Light and Magic. The music is by Michael Giacchino. This film has not yet
been rated.
This is a great thing for Paramount, a division of Viacom Inc. and probably one of their biggest money makers. Film is big, BIG. There is money to be made. So called "Trekies" will turn out in droves for this film. Money will be made, for sure.
New Trailer for J.J. Abrams' 'Star Trek' Breaks All Existing Records With Over
1.8 Million Downloads During First 24 Hours on Apple.com
Trailer Also Breaks Weekly Download Record With Over Five Million Downloads
Since Exclusive Debut on Apple.com/trailers on March 6th
LOS ANGELES, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The new trailer for J.J. Abrams' "Star
Trek" had more than 1.8 million downloads during its first 24 hours on
Apple.com and has gone on to become the most popular HD download ever on the
site with more than five million downloads in its first five days. The trailer
made its exclusive debut on Apple.com/trailers on March 6th giving fans a
sneak peak of this summer's highly anticipated "Star Trek" for viewing on
their Mac or PC, iPhone or iPod with video.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO)
From J.J. Abrams ("Mission: Impossible III," "Fringe," "Lost" and "Alias"),
producer Damon Lindelof and executive producers Bryan Burk and Jeffrey Chernov
and screenwriters and executive producers Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
("TRANSFORMERS," "MI: III") comes a new vision of the greatest adventure of
all time, "Star Trek," featuring a young, new crew venturing boldly where no
one has gone before. "Star Trek" opens nationally on May 8, 2009.
Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment Present a Bad Robot Production
"Star Trek" starring John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris
Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin,
Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy. The film is directed by J.J. Abrams ("Mission
Impossible III," "Lost," "Alias"), written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
("MI: III," "Transformers").
Based upon "Star Trek" Created by Gene Roddenberry. The film is produced by
J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof. The executive producers are Bryan Burk,
Jeffrey Chernov, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. The director of photography
is Dan Mindel, ASC. The production designer is Scott Chambliss. The film is
edited by Maryann Brandon, A.C.E. and Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. The costume
designer is Michael Kaplan. The visual effects & animation are by Industrial
Light and Magic. The music is by Michael Giacchino. This film has not yet
been rated.
This is a great thing for Paramount, a division of Viacom Inc. and probably one of their biggest money makers. Film is big, BIG. There is money to be made. So called "Trekies" will turn out in droves for this film. Money will be made, for sure.
Viacom’s Paramount Pictures to Create State-Of-The-Art Post Production Facility on Paramount's Hollywood Lot
March 10, 2009
Paramount Pictures Pacts With Technicolor to Create State-Of-The-Art Post Production Facility on Paramount's Hollywood Lot
-- Project Launches Paramount's New Post Production Village
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. and PARIS, March 10, 2009 - Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) and Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS), through its Technicolor activities, today announced plans to create a state-of-the-art post production sound facility on the Paramount Hollywood lot. The new sound facility will become the centerpiece of Paramount's Post Production Village, providing a wide range of post production services for filmed entertainment, television productions and commercial producers.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO)
As a key feature of Paramount's Post Production Village, the new sound facility will include two world-class theatrical mixing stages as well as a full complement of ADR, television mixing and audio editorial rooms.
"We are thrilled to team with Technicolor during this exciting time of expansion to our post production services," said Frederick Huntsberry, Chief Operating Officer, Paramount Pictures. "This sound facility is a significant opportunity to grow our business and an important step in Paramount's efforts to provide filmmakers, as well as television and commercial producers, with a wide range of services in a convenient studio environment."
"It is a pleasure to join with a studio of Paramount's history of excellence on this important project. We look forward to establishing a facility that will offer marquee services to both Hollywood and the global entertainment community," stated Frederic Rose, CEO of Thomson.
Technicolor will manage the operation of the new facility in collaboration with Paramount. In addition, the Paramount Post Production Village will provide producers with editorial facilities to base their entire post production operations on the Paramount lot. The opening of the facility is anticipated for the first quarter of 2010.
Certain statements in this press release, including any discussion of management expectations for future periods, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements due to changes in global economic and business conditions, "media and entertainment" markets, and regulatory factors. More detailed information on the potential factors that could affect the financial results of Thomson is contained in Thomson's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Paramount Pictures Pacts With Technicolor to Create State-Of-The-Art Post Production Facility on Paramount's Hollywood Lot
-- Project Launches Paramount's New Post Production Village
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. and PARIS, March 10, 2009 - Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) and Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS), through its Technicolor activities, today announced plans to create a state-of-the-art post production sound facility on the Paramount Hollywood lot. The new sound facility will become the centerpiece of Paramount's Post Production Village, providing a wide range of post production services for filmed entertainment, television productions and commercial producers.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO)
As a key feature of Paramount's Post Production Village, the new sound facility will include two world-class theatrical mixing stages as well as a full complement of ADR, television mixing and audio editorial rooms.
"We are thrilled to team with Technicolor during this exciting time of expansion to our post production services," said Frederick Huntsberry, Chief Operating Officer, Paramount Pictures. "This sound facility is a significant opportunity to grow our business and an important step in Paramount's efforts to provide filmmakers, as well as television and commercial producers, with a wide range of services in a convenient studio environment."
"It is a pleasure to join with a studio of Paramount's history of excellence on this important project. We look forward to establishing a facility that will offer marquee services to both Hollywood and the global entertainment community," stated Frederic Rose, CEO of Thomson.
Technicolor will manage the operation of the new facility in collaboration with Paramount. In addition, the Paramount Post Production Village will provide producers with editorial facilities to base their entire post production operations on the Paramount lot. The opening of the facility is anticipated for the first quarter of 2010.
Certain statements in this press release, including any discussion of management expectations for future periods, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements due to changes in global economic and business conditions, "media and entertainment" markets, and regulatory factors. More detailed information on the potential factors that could affect the financial results of Thomson is contained in Thomson's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Viacom’s MTV and AT&T Join Together to Release Classic MTV Content
March 6, 2009
Digital Advertising Campaign Gives Users the Key to Access MTV's Vault and Unearth Footage, Interviews and Videos From MTV Music History
NEW YORK, March 6, 2009 -- AT&T and MTV are launching a new interactive campaign - The AT&T Music Vault, built by MTV Networks' Digital Fusion team that brings together the power of the MTV Networks and the AT&T brand to connect with consumers like never before. The campaign enables music fans to unlock a virtual "Vault," (www.attvault.mtvmusic.com), granting them access to MTV Networks' video content that has been kept under lock and key for decades and has never before been released on the Internet - until now.
Each day AT&T and MTV will unlock 15 new pieces of content from MTV, VH1 and CMT's music history. Fans can view tomorrow's content early by correctly playing an AT&T music trivia game which will also be populated around music content across MTV Networks' broad portfolio of sites (including MTV.com, VH1.com, CMT.com). The trivia is served in an innovative unit alongside the video player, so that consumers can play the game while they are watching their favorite video.
The trivia game boasts 18,000 questions across 5 music genres and questions are served according to the genre of the music video being played. So, the entire experience is contextually relevant for consumers. The online advertising campaign has also been developed with the consumer audience in mind - executions on CMT promote the best in country content, while MTV will tease celebrity interviews, the hottest videos and live performances.
Once inside the vault, consumers can share their access with friends. This not only furthers the reach of the campaign, but it also gives consumers an extra reward for their game play.
The engine behind the campaign is mtvmusic.com, an online destination that holds tens of thousands of music videos, live performances, celebrity interviews, behind the scenes clips and special event coverage -- material that has been cultivated, developed, and held by MTV for over twenty-five years. The site contains a streamlined video viewing experience and options such as an innovative, site-wide playlist feature for music fans to store and share their favorite videos.
"We worked with MTVN's Digital Fusion team to create a new experience for consumers, one in which the game is the advertisement. Consumers benefit from the advertisement perhaps more than we do. It's a two way street in terms of digital advertising," said Chris Schembri, Vice President of Media Services for AT&T.
"This partnership is a perfect union of great brands with great messages for our shared audience," said Jason Witt, MTVN Digital Fusion's SVP and General Manager. "Both MTV Networks and AT&T are bringing their collective fans the content they love and doing it in a unique, fun and engaging way."
"Unlock the Vault" is one of many campaigns co-authored by MTVN's Digital Fusion team, an online advertising and marketing unit that works across all MTV Networks' properties to mine insights, develop innovative media and advertising products and create custom marketing programs. From MTV to COMEDY CENTRAL, SPIKE, Nickelodeon and others, Digital Fusion draws upon the vast resources of MTV Networks' portfolio of brands to connect advertisers to highly targeted consumers.
Digital Fusion has developed dozens of campaigns for brands and companies across categories, including entertainment, packaged goods, communications, quick service restaurants, retail, technology, and service industries.
"Unlock the Vault" is supported by Panache, an ad-insertion platform serving major media and entertainment companies.
For further information on the Vault, go to http://www.attvault.mtvmusic.com/.
Digital Advertising Campaign Gives Users the Key to Access MTV's Vault and Unearth Footage, Interviews and Videos From MTV Music History
NEW YORK, March 6, 2009 -- AT&T and MTV are launching a new interactive campaign - The AT&T Music Vault, built by MTV Networks' Digital Fusion team that brings together the power of the MTV Networks and the AT&T brand to connect with consumers like never before. The campaign enables music fans to unlock a virtual "Vault," (www.attvault.mtvmusic.com), granting them access to MTV Networks' video content that has been kept under lock and key for decades and has never before been released on the Internet - until now.
Each day AT&T and MTV will unlock 15 new pieces of content from MTV, VH1 and CMT's music history. Fans can view tomorrow's content early by correctly playing an AT&T music trivia game which will also be populated around music content across MTV Networks' broad portfolio of sites (including MTV.com, VH1.com, CMT.com). The trivia is served in an innovative unit alongside the video player, so that consumers can play the game while they are watching their favorite video.
The trivia game boasts 18,000 questions across 5 music genres and questions are served according to the genre of the music video being played. So, the entire experience is contextually relevant for consumers. The online advertising campaign has also been developed with the consumer audience in mind - executions on CMT promote the best in country content, while MTV will tease celebrity interviews, the hottest videos and live performances.
Once inside the vault, consumers can share their access with friends. This not only furthers the reach of the campaign, but it also gives consumers an extra reward for their game play.
The engine behind the campaign is mtvmusic.com, an online destination that holds tens of thousands of music videos, live performances, celebrity interviews, behind the scenes clips and special event coverage -- material that has been cultivated, developed, and held by MTV for over twenty-five years. The site contains a streamlined video viewing experience and options such as an innovative, site-wide playlist feature for music fans to store and share their favorite videos.
"We worked with MTVN's Digital Fusion team to create a new experience for consumers, one in which the game is the advertisement. Consumers benefit from the advertisement perhaps more than we do. It's a two way street in terms of digital advertising," said Chris Schembri, Vice President of Media Services for AT&T.
"This partnership is a perfect union of great brands with great messages for our shared audience," said Jason Witt, MTVN Digital Fusion's SVP and General Manager. "Both MTV Networks and AT&T are bringing their collective fans the content they love and doing it in a unique, fun and engaging way."
"Unlock the Vault" is one of many campaigns co-authored by MTVN's Digital Fusion team, an online advertising and marketing unit that works across all MTV Networks' properties to mine insights, develop innovative media and advertising products and create custom marketing programs. From MTV to COMEDY CENTRAL, SPIKE, Nickelodeon and others, Digital Fusion draws upon the vast resources of MTV Networks' portfolio of brands to connect advertisers to highly targeted consumers.
Digital Fusion has developed dozens of campaigns for brands and companies across categories, including entertainment, packaged goods, communications, quick service restaurants, retail, technology, and service industries.
"Unlock the Vault" is supported by Panache, an ad-insertion platform serving major media and entertainment companies.
For further information on the Vault, go to http://www.attvault.mtvmusic.com/.
Weak Advertizing Sinks Viacom's Q4
Feb. 12, 2009:
NEW YORK Viacom today said that its fourth-quarter profit fell 69 percent on $454 million in restructuring charges, as a compromised advertising market and expenses related to layoffs took a bite out of the media conglomerate’s bottom line.
Net income dropped to $173 million, or 28 cents a share, from $595.5 million, or 86 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding some items, profit was 76 cents a share, down from 84 cents -- a penny shy of consensus estimates.
At the media networks division -- which houses Viacom’s stable of cable channels like MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon -- operating income fell 44 percent to $509 million, down from $916 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. The drop included $389 million in charges related to programming write-offs and other restructuring.
The media networks group posted revenues of $2.48 billion, up 1 percent vs. $2.45 billion a year ago, on a 12 percent increase in worldwide affiliate revenue ($667 million). While the recession has made short work of the ad market, the media nets posted only a slight drop, taking in $1.35 billion in sales, a year-over-year decline of 3 percent.
“Our fourth-quarter results reflect the realities of a challenging economy,” said Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman. “The broad marketplace conditions weighed on our advertising, home entertainment and consumer products businesses.”
Dauman added that the December restructuring, which eliminated 850 jobs (or 7 percent of its workforce), helped Viacom prevent a free-fall. “We acted early and decisively to prepare for the rapid decline in economic conditions,” he said. “Without sacrificing the creation of great content, we aggressively managed our cost structure, which significantly boosted cash flow and further strengthened our balance sheet. ... While it is difficult to know how long these conditions will persist, our actions have positioned us very well to seize the opportunities that will arise as the economy recovers.”
While Dauman talked up ratings improvement in 2009, asserting that “trends at several of [the] core networks are improving as new programming gains traction,” the performance at the franchise nets took a toll on ad sales. MTV continued to struggle in the fourth quarter, as prime-time viewership fell 30 percent vs. a year ago, while VH1 was also down, averaging 752,000 viewers each night, a drop of 14 percent.
January showed some improvement, as MTV declined 12 percent vs. the first month of 2008. In the same period, VH1 was off 9 percent.
That said, a number of other high-profile MTV Networks properties have fared particularly well of late. Comedy Central enjoyed a strong Q4, increasing its prime-time viewership by 15 percent to 1.2 million, per Nielsen ratings data. Nickelodeon also remains a powerhouse, beating all comers in total-day with 2.23 million viewers, a 4 percent improvement over a year ago.
Viacom saw domestic ad sales figures decline 3 percent, a downward trend that Dauman expects will continue to color Q1 '09 results. "It's clear that while we are in a more favorable media segment than most, advertising is likely to get worse before it gets better," he said.
In November, during the company's Q3 earnings call, Dauman noted that upfront commitments accounted for 70 percent of MTVN's overall ad revenue. With pullbacks affecting 12 percent of that business, MTVN has been working to offset the dollar drain with attractive pricing and package deals.
"Some of the people that are canceling are just taking a portion off the table, some are taking more," said Viacom chief financial officer Thomas Dooley, who added that many clients who have exercised Q2 options have returned to buy scatter inventory, the pricing of which "has held up pretty well, especially the closer to air time that you get."
Dooley noted that some clients have become emboldened by their competitors' reduced ad spend. "The more aggressive advertisers are actually coming to the table and putting more money into the pot," Dooley said. "They can really go after market share during this environment when they see their competitors pull out. It's a very interesting environment right now in the advertising world and people with strong capitalizations will take advantage of it."
NEW YORK Viacom today said that its fourth-quarter profit fell 69 percent on $454 million in restructuring charges, as a compromised advertising market and expenses related to layoffs took a bite out of the media conglomerate’s bottom line.
Net income dropped to $173 million, or 28 cents a share, from $595.5 million, or 86 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding some items, profit was 76 cents a share, down from 84 cents -- a penny shy of consensus estimates.
At the media networks division -- which houses Viacom’s stable of cable channels like MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon -- operating income fell 44 percent to $509 million, down from $916 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. The drop included $389 million in charges related to programming write-offs and other restructuring.
The media networks group posted revenues of $2.48 billion, up 1 percent vs. $2.45 billion a year ago, on a 12 percent increase in worldwide affiliate revenue ($667 million). While the recession has made short work of the ad market, the media nets posted only a slight drop, taking in $1.35 billion in sales, a year-over-year decline of 3 percent.
“Our fourth-quarter results reflect the realities of a challenging economy,” said Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman. “The broad marketplace conditions weighed on our advertising, home entertainment and consumer products businesses.”
Dauman added that the December restructuring, which eliminated 850 jobs (or 7 percent of its workforce), helped Viacom prevent a free-fall. “We acted early and decisively to prepare for the rapid decline in economic conditions,” he said. “Without sacrificing the creation of great content, we aggressively managed our cost structure, which significantly boosted cash flow and further strengthened our balance sheet. ... While it is difficult to know how long these conditions will persist, our actions have positioned us very well to seize the opportunities that will arise as the economy recovers.”
While Dauman talked up ratings improvement in 2009, asserting that “trends at several of [the] core networks are improving as new programming gains traction,” the performance at the franchise nets took a toll on ad sales. MTV continued to struggle in the fourth quarter, as prime-time viewership fell 30 percent vs. a year ago, while VH1 was also down, averaging 752,000 viewers each night, a drop of 14 percent.
January showed some improvement, as MTV declined 12 percent vs. the first month of 2008. In the same period, VH1 was off 9 percent.
That said, a number of other high-profile MTV Networks properties have fared particularly well of late. Comedy Central enjoyed a strong Q4, increasing its prime-time viewership by 15 percent to 1.2 million, per Nielsen ratings data. Nickelodeon also remains a powerhouse, beating all comers in total-day with 2.23 million viewers, a 4 percent improvement over a year ago.
Viacom saw domestic ad sales figures decline 3 percent, a downward trend that Dauman expects will continue to color Q1 '09 results. "It's clear that while we are in a more favorable media segment than most, advertising is likely to get worse before it gets better," he said.
In November, during the company's Q3 earnings call, Dauman noted that upfront commitments accounted for 70 percent of MTVN's overall ad revenue. With pullbacks affecting 12 percent of that business, MTVN has been working to offset the dollar drain with attractive pricing and package deals.
"Some of the people that are canceling are just taking a portion off the table, some are taking more," said Viacom chief financial officer Thomas Dooley, who added that many clients who have exercised Q2 options have returned to buy scatter inventory, the pricing of which "has held up pretty well, especially the closer to air time that you get."
Dooley noted that some clients have become emboldened by their competitors' reduced ad spend. "The more aggressive advertisers are actually coming to the table and putting more money into the pot," Dooley said. "They can really go after market share during this environment when they see their competitors pull out. It's a very interesting environment right now in the advertising world and people with strong capitalizations will take advantage of it."
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Viacom's Paramount breaking new ground
Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom and the number one ranked film studio in terms of profits, is the first film studio to offer digital cinema support directly to exhibitors across the United States and Canada.
This will cause digital projection systems as well as 3-D systems to be brought into more theaters, allowing for the new technology wave to creep in more. This seems to be a huge move for anyone to make, and the fact that they are the first says something about them.
http://celluloidjunkie.com/2009/03/06/a-comprehensive-review-of-paramounts-direct-to-exhibitor-vpf-agreement/#more-627
Here is a more detailed review of Paramount’s Direct-To-Exhibitor Agreement.
This will cause digital projection systems as well as 3-D systems to be brought into more theaters, allowing for the new technology wave to creep in more. This seems to be a huge move for anyone to make, and the fact that they are the first says something about them.
http://celluloidjunkie.com/2009/03/06/a-comprehensive-review-of-paramounts-direct-to-exhibitor-vpf-agreement/#more-627
Here is a more detailed review of Paramount’s Direct-To-Exhibitor Agreement.
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