- Viacom (NASDAQ:VIA-OLD, VIAB) B shares are off 4.8% premarket after a dearth of Paramount hits and weaker ad sales hit the top line and revenues missed expectations.
- Revenue by segment: Media Networks, $2.57B (down 3%); Filmed Entertainment, $612M (down 15%). Excluding negative impact from foreign exchange: Media Networks down 2%, Filmed Entertainment down 12%.
- Filmed Entertainment also operated at a loss of $146M vs. a year-ago operating loss of $60M. Media Networks, meanwhile, showed an operating profit of $1.06B, down 4% Y/Y.
- Ratings hit the TV operations: Despite an increase in ad pricing, ad revenues dropped 4% domestically and international ad revenues fell 2%, though they showed signs of life (up 6% ex-forex).
- Conference call link
- Press release