Viacom Acquires an Outdoor Advertising Presence in China (VIA 3Q05 Conf Call Quotes)

Viacom (ticker: VIA) entered the Chinese outdoor advertising market in September announcing an agreement to acquire a 70% controlling stake in Magic Media which sells advertising rights on the Beijing bus system. Viacom has an option to buy the remaining 30% in five years. Viacom Co-President and Co-COO Les Moonves had the following to say about the deal during management's Q3 2005 earnings results conference call:

We continue to pursue a global strategy for outdoor. We just announced our acquisition of Magic Media, a Beijing based company that has the primary rights for advertising on the city's bus system. Beijing happens to also be the 2008 Olympic host city, giving our outdoor division a tremendous boost with a valuable region. Asia-Pacific, especially China has been the world's fastest-growing region for outdoor advertising revenue. As well we continue to expand our presence in Europe. As an example, we recently signed key contracts in Italy that strategically position us as the leading provider of advertising throughout the Italian railway system.

Outdoor is also exploiting emerging digital platforms specifically by experimenting with digital signage and changeable messaging. These new technologies give us tremendous potential for organic growth in this business. Our goal is to take the content and use it any way we can.

(Quotes are from the CCBN StreetEvents transcript.)

Related:

• Articles on Chinese out-of-home advertising network operator Focus Media (ticker: FMCN).
• A comprehensive article on Viacom's China strategy.

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