Viacom posts 15% jump in profit in third quarter

Los Angeles Times -

Nov-04-2009

Viacom posts 15% jump in profit in third quarter

(topic overview)
CONTENTS:

PHYSICAL: Paramount Pictures' third-quarter home entertainment sales dropped 21% from a year earlier because of difficult comparisons to popular 2008 releases. (More...)
On the launch of premium movie JV service Epix: it is close to additional distribution deals, and should be announced very soon, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said. (More...)
The recently announced agreement with Technicolor is an important step in that process. (More...)
G.I. Joe is out today and Star Trek will be released on November 17. (More...)
Dividends from the year's top box office movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, finally hit the bottom line as Paramount Pictures posted third-quarter (ended Sept. 30) operating income of $69 million, compared to an operating loss of $19 million during the previous year's comparable period. (More...)
A rise in affiliate revenue helped Viacom's Media Networks division offset the ad revenue declines. (More...)
The increase in theatrical revenues was principally due to the strong performance of Transformers 2, which was released on June 26 as well as the current quarter'''s theatrical release of G.I. Joe. (More...)
Not to be a gloomy gus and all, but making a sequel to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY would be questionable at best and foolhardy at worst. (More...)
Viacom nonetheless gets about 30 percent of annual revenue from ads, and the slump has proven painful. (More...)
The slump in the ad market is expected to hurt revenue, but there is also expected to be a slight improvement in earnings. (More...)
We'''ve heard Summit Entertainment is up for sale etc., just was curious for how you look at acquisitions in the space and use of capital. (More...)
During the quarter we made demonstrable progress on the three key priorities I highlighted during our second quarter earnings conference call. (More...)
Updates from Facebook and Twitter are now central to people's information networks, much like bulletins from news wires or major dailies. (More...)
Page 12 of the web presentation provides a breakdown of filmed entertainment revenues. (More...)
MDC's McDonald Building Addressable Marketing, Ad Portfolio MDC Partners has tapped Chris McDonald to advise agencies in bolstering data mining capabilities and help the holding company evaluate potential acquisition opportunities in the research area. (More...)

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PHYSICAL: Paramount Pictures' third-quarter home entertainment sales dropped 21% from a year earlier because of difficult comparisons to popular 2008 releases. The studio forecast increased DVD sales on fourth-quarter releases such as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which became the best-selling title of the year in its first week, when it sold 7.5 million units. Paramount reported a third-quarter profit and helped boost Viacom's earnings as theatrical releases such as Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra as well as lower costs more than offset the home entertainment decline, the company said in a statement. Paramount's home entertainment revenue fell to $469 million from $593 million a year earlier, as sales from current titles such as the DreamWorks Animation animated film Monsters vs. Aliens failed to keep pace with year-earlier releases including Iron Man, parent company Viacom said on a conference call with analysts today. [1] Viacom reported a 3 percent drop in revenue for the third quarter to slightly more than $3.3 billion, while net earnings rose 15 percent to $463 million, compared to the same period in 2008. The company attributed the revenue decline primarily to lower sales for both home entertainment and advertising.[2] Viacom ( NYSE: VIA ) reported its Q309 earnings this morning, and its profits rose to $463 million from $401 million a year earlier, beating analysts expectations, while revenues declined to $3.32 billion from $3.41 billion. It rev decrease primarily reflects lower home entertainment and ad sales, which more than offset increases in affiliate sales and theatrical revenues, it said.[3]

Richard Greenfield, analyst with Pali Capital, said the stronger-than-expected studio results and projected strong home entertainment revenue in the fourth quarter will generate operating income topping $200 million. That said, Greenfield said he expects a 14% decline in Paramount earnings in 2010 due to the "limited visibility" of the studio release slate (currently Iron Man 2 and three DreamWorks Animation titles). "This could certainly prove conservative given the recently restructured deal with Technicolor and if Viacom culls a hit from any of the films in Paramount's own 2010 slate," Greenfield wrote in a note.[4] G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra launched another franchise for the studio and currently ranks as the number 12 movie of the year domestically with more than $300 million in global receipts. The DVD release of these two films, along with Star Trek, will be significant drivers of our home entertainment revenues in the fourth quarter.[5] Dauman said the two titles coupled with the packaged media release of Star Trek will help drive home entertainment revenue in the fourth quarter. The CEO lauded Paramount's recent restructured disc manufacturing deal with Technicolor, which he said will help save "tens of millions of dollars" a year.[4] Dauman said combining marketing efforts for theatrical and home entertainment not only reduced costs but established greater "continuity" in the marketing of Paramount titles through multiple distribution windows. He cited as an example recent online guerrilla marketing efforts for low-budget thriller Paranormal Activity, which Dauman said has thus far generated $85 million in domestic box office revenue. Dauman said DVD sales declines were partly due to seasonal as well as secular forces, which he said necessitated keeping a tight lid on overhead costs.[4] In Viacom's earnings call Tuesday morning, CEO Philippe Dauman called Paranormal Activity a rare surprise hit that only comes once in a blue moon, and that Paramount would have to be careful about how it handles the sequel. "Our team will come up with the right creative and marketing approach," he said, stressing that the sequel won't have the element of surprise behind it that the original supernatural thriller had. Paranormal Activity only cost an estimated $15,000 to make, yet it is well on its way to grossing $100 million.[6] This seems to be the height of what we might call non-news, but since we have not yet reported on this ever-developing story, it's worth saying something. On an earnings call this morning, Viacom CEO Phillipe Dauman said that Paramount Pictures is working on a sequel to the runaway horror hit of 2009, which was made for $15,000 and has grossed over $85 million at the box office. Of course, this isn't exactly new news. Paramount has been looking at a sequel ever since the film made its wide release and stayed in the box office top five for four weekends in a row now. Paramount head Brad Grey told The LA Times on October 25th that they do have the rights to Paranormal 2 and are "looking to see if it makes sense" to do a sequel. That's the big question, isn't it? Does it make sense to do a sequel to Paranormal Activity ? History says no, as the similarly successful breakout hit The Blair Witch Project spawned a sequel called Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, which was made for $15 million and grossed $26 million domestically in 2000, just over a year after The Blair Witch Project raked in over $140 million in its domestic run.[7] NEW YORK -- Viacom's Paramount Pictures is looking at a sequel to current hit release "Paranormal Activity." During Viacom's earnings call Tuesday, CEO Philippe Dauman said the movie has been one of those surprise hits that comes along only rarely, grossing $85 million in the U.S. already. Given that a follow-up release wouldn't have the same element of surprise as "Paranormal," it will be key to craft a smart approach to a sequel, he said.[8]

Viacom's sales fell 2.7% to $3.32 billion as the DVD sales declines offset the positive effect of The Beatles: Rock Band videogame release from Viacom's Harmonix unit in September. Transformers, which had more than $800 million in worldwide box-office sales after its June 26 theatrical release, will ensure a fourth-quarter increase in home entertainment sales, Viacom chief financial officer Tom Dooley said on the call. Since its Oct. 20 home entertainment release, Transformers has sold 8.3 million DVD units, and its 1.4 million units of Blu-ray units sold make it the most popular Blu-ray title of the year, Dauman said. Dauman added that Viacom debuted its Epix streaming movie site late last week and is "close to additional distribution announcements."[1] Viacom's overall revenues slid 3 percent (to $3.32 billion) during the quarter - due primarily to the global advertising slump - which overcame increases in movie revenues. Revenues from its filmed entertainment segment fell 6 percent to $1.22 billion, due to a slump in home entertainment sales that more than offset growth in theatrical revenues.[9] Revenue fell 3% to $3.3 billion with lower home entertainment and advertising sales more than offsetting increases in affiliate sales and theatrical film revenue. Viacom's TV networks unit recorded unchanged revenue, while its film division posted a 6% decline from the year-ago period.[10]

Companywide, revenue dropped three percent to $3.3 billion, which is what Wall Street expected, but the company slashed enough costs to produce an earnings surprise: After adjusting for one-time charges, Viacom posted earnings of 69 cents a share, well above the 57-cent consensus. The company's overall results do a nice job of illustrating why media companies and investors are so enamored of cable TV these days: Even though ads are slumping, the company was able to wring more out of cable system providers (and their subscribers), which more or less kept overall cable revenue flat. Viacom's movie business is much less meaningful than its TV operations, but in this case, it underperformed enough to drag the rest of the business down.[11] Pali Capital Rich Greenfield raised earnings estimates and its price target for Viacom after the media company "meaningfully" exceeded his expectations in third-quarter results today. Greenfield raised his price target to $34 from $33 for Viacom, parent of the Paramount studio and cable networks including MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Spike TV. He raised his earnings estimates for 2009 (to $2.40 per share) and 2010 ($2.53), including a new fourth-quarter estimate of $0.92 per share in 2009. His prior estimates for per-share earnings were $2.15 in 2009 and $2.35 in 2010. He has a "buy" rating on the stock.[12]

Viacom, which runs several media brands, including the MTV Networks and the Paramount Home Entertainment, reported a 14-per-cent increase in operating income and a 24-per-cent rise in adjusted net earnings for the third quarter which ended September 30.[13] Viacom (NYSE: VIA ) announced an earnings boost today of 14 percent in operating income and 24 percent in adjusted net earnings. Viacom said third quarter operating income increased 14 percent, to $784 million, as compared to 689 million in the same quarter last year, driven by strong performance in films such as Transformers.[14] Viacom's film studio, Paramount Pictures, has been slashing costs and focusing on a smaller slate of films. It also saw strong ticket sales for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra." That helped Viacom's filmed entertainment segment earn $69 million during the third quarter, compared with a loss of $19 million in the year-ago quarter.[15] The $88 million improvement in operating income principally reflects the performance of Transformers 2 for which P&A costs were largely expensed in the second quarter and lower costs associated with the current quarter'''s theatrical releases as well as other cost savings initiatives, partially offset by lower home entertainment profits. Paramount benefited from fewer films released this quarter as well as earlier release pattern for the films as compared to last year.[5] Distribution and other costs decreased $311 million, or 13%, to $2.078 billion driven by the reduced number of theatrical releases and lower home entertainment expenses associated with the decline in revenues in the Filmed Entertainment segment as well as lower Rock Band costs. Production and programming expenses decreased $200 million, or 6%, to $3.403 billion due to lower participation costs associated with third-party distribution arrangements, partially offset by higher amortization of film costs, including costs related to the theatrical release of Imagine That.[16]

Worldwide home entertainment revenues declined 21% or $124 million from the third quarter of 2008. The decline principally reflects lower revenues on distribution titles with Monsters and Aliens released this year compared to Iron Man in the third quarter of last year, as well as lower revenues on catalogue titles.[5] Filmed entertainment generated operating income of $69 million in the third quarter as compared to an operating loss of $19 million last year.[5]

Dauman did not elaborate but speculation is that the joint venture is close to a distribution deal with satellite TV provider Dish Network. For the quarter, revenue at was down 3% to $3.3 billion and operating income rose 14% to $784 million in the period, driven mostly by its Media Networks and Filmed Entertainment divisions.[17] Media networks revenues were essentially unchanged while filmed entertainment revenues declined $85 million or 6% principally due to lower home entertainment revenues.[5]

For Q3, the company's media networks division posted flat revenue at $2.1 billion, while revenue at the filmed entertainment division fell 6 percent to $1.2 billion.[2]

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" jump-started Paramount's box office totals, As worldwide theatrical revenue rose 16 percent in the quarter, the filmed entertainment division returned to profitability. The company also cited "strong" sales of the new video game "The Beatles: Rock Band," though it did not break out figures for the game in its quarterly earnings release.[18] "By keeping a sharp eye on costs while continuing to invest in programming," Sumner said during an earnings call today, "Viacom is in a strong position to benefit as the economic clouds begin to part." The company said on Tuesday that its third quarter profits increased 15 percent -- mostly due to the success of the "Beatles: Rock Band" video game and "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe" movies. This, despite advertising revenue sliding 4 percent after falling about 6 percent last quarter.[19] Cost cutting, coupled with stronger results from Paramount Pictures, paid off in the third quarter as Viacom Inc. posted a 15% jump in profit despite lower advertising and home video sales.[20]

Net income for Viacom increased to $463 million, up from $401 million during the third quarter of 2008. Viacom, which owns Paramount and MTV, also benefited from cost-cutting across its brands. Paramount, specifically, reported $69 million operating profit during the third quarter, a $90 million turnaround from its $19 million operating loss last year.[9] New York - U.S. entertainment company Viacom reported Tuesday that net profits rose to 463 million dollars in the third quarter, up from 401 million dollars in the same period last year, the company said in a statement.[13]

Moving below the segment results, total company equity losses from investments were $1 million in the third quarter which compares to a loss of $32 million last year.[5] I'''ll also talk about our balance sheet and cash position, as well as our recent activity in the debt markets. My remarks will focus on adjusted results from continuing operations which exclude from the third quarter of this year the loss associated with the tender for our 5.75% senior notes which was $84 million on a pre-tax basis and $52 million after taxes. This loss was more then offset by $74 million of discrete tax benefits primarily related to prior year'''s audit settlements.[5]

The release of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," helped Paramount earn $69 million during the third quarter, reversing a $19 million operating loss from a year ago.[21]

Viacom's juggernaut media networks division reported operating income of $773 million, a 2% increase over the third quarter of 2008.[20] Media networks revenues were flat at $2.1 billion in the third quarter.[5] From a total company perspective revenues declined $91 million or 3% to $3.3 billion as compared to the third quarter of 2008.[5] Now turning to filmed entertainment, third quarter revenues declined 6% to $1.2 billion.[5] Let me begin with the results, our consolidated revenues declined 3% to $3.3 billion in the third quarter.[5]

On the launch of premium movie JV service Epix: it is close to additional distribution deals, and should be announced very soon, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said. He was very specific on licensing fee it gets from its networks from affiliates: "Our networks are clearly undervalued: we have 20 percent viewership, while we get 8 percent of the revenues. We remain very focused on closing this gap." He is very bullish on the newly acquired Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise for about $60 million. He described it as a "great investment for future at a relatively low cost. We have marketing ad creative assets to revitalize this franchise." [3] We are dependent on titles being distributed there. We think we can do well in China once China opens up its markets as it should going forward. We believe as an indigenous industry develops we are hopeful that there will be a regime of greater intellectual property protection so that we can monetize our other revenue windows such as DVDs and that we will also be able to get greater penetration on our networks. As to Paranormal Activity, as Brad Grey likes to say, in show business every once in a while you get a miracle and this one was such an example where you have low budget is not the word, it was extraordinary low budget, it was a movie that captivates viewers which was coupled by a brilliant marketing campaign. We obviously will not be able to have the element of surprise or that kind of discovery for a sequel, just of this film.[5] During a earnings call Viacom's CEO Philippe Dauman made a pretty bold statement about a possible sequel to Paranormal Activity. What he said almost sounds like a definite sequel is in the works, " Our team will come up with the right creative and marketing approach to make sure that we benefit from a sequel." Now I think that even mentioning a sequel at this point is disastrous. Have they not learned of the mistakes that Artisan made? Whether or not the film is any good it is obvious that the market is over saturated with Paranormal Activity.[22] Since Paranormal Activity became such a gigantic hit, there haven't been rumors of a sequel so much as glum anticipation-- it made a lot of money on the cheap, and of course the executives are going to cash in on it. Now we know that we were right. THR is reporting that in a conference call about quarterly earnings for Viacom (which owns Paramount), CEO Phillippe Dauman admitted they're planning Paranormal Activity 2. "Our team will come up with the right creative and marketing approach," he promised, while ignoring the fact that Paranormal Activity is pretty much the definition of a once-in-a-blue-moon hit.[23]

Discussing the follow-up during an earnings call, Philippe Dauman, CEO of Paramount owner Viacom, noted that the challenge will be to come up with a second film that has the same element of surprise as director Oren Peli'''s original. '''Our team will come up with the right creative and marketing approach,''' he said, rather ominously.[24]

The recently announced agreement with Technicolor is an important step in that process. Under this new multiyear agreement we expect to save many tens of millions of dollars a year. Paramount has done a very good job of streamlining its infrastructure to take costs out of the system permanently. In addition to the new Technicolor agreement Paramount has integrated the marketing groups for both theatrical and home entertainment. This change not only addresses costs, but establishes more continuity in the marketing of the film throughout multiple windows. The studio has also maintained much tighter controls over headcount and reflective of the current environment they are taking a more disciplined approach to new deals with talent and production costs. This renewed focus on improving our return on invested capital, is not in any way impeding our creative success. It is leading to more innovation in the way we go about our business. [5] "Identifying greater efficiencies in the home entertainment sector is a priority," Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said on a conference call today, adding that cost savings from staff cuts and a recent agreement with Technicolor will help the studio save "tens of millions of dollars" annually.[1] Dauman said "Transformers 2" has become the highest-grossing film in China ever. The film has sold 8.3 million DVDs since its recent U.S. home entertainment launch. Asked later about how well Viacom can do in China, the CEO said: "We think we can do well in China once China opens up its market as it should."[10]

Epix, the joint venture movie channel between Viacom, MGM and Lionsgate Entertainment, officially launched on Oct. 30 with one distributor, Verizon's FiOS TV and Internet. The channel had hoped to have other deals under its belt as the year progressed. On a conference call with analysts to discuss third quarter results, Dauman said that he had hoped to have another deal done by now, but said that negotiations continue.[17] Consistent with our results the home entertainment market overall remains soft. In our case we had the additional challenge in the third quarter of lapping strong sales of the Iron Man DVD in the third quarter of 2008, without a comparable title this year.[5] U.S. DVD rental revenue in the third quarter increased 10% from a year earlier as consumers affected by the recession hunkered down with inexpensive entertainment, according to Rentrak Corp.' s Home Video Essentials.[1] Ancillary revenues declined 3% for the quarter as lower sales of home entertainment and consumer products, which reflect ongoing softness in the retail economy, offset the strong revenues generated by the launch of The Beatles: Rock Band.[5] Strong sales of The Beatles: Rock Band video game were offset by lower home entertainment and consumer products revenues, resulting in a 3 percent decrease in worldwide ancillary revenues.[3] The decline in ancillary revenues reflects lower home entertainment and consumer product sales partially offset by higher Rock Band revenues due to the worldwide release of The Beatles game on September 9.[5] Strong sales of the videogame The Beatles: Rock Band were offset by lower overall home entertainment and consumer products revenue.[2]

Revenue dipped 3 percent to $3.32 billion, as home entertainment and advertising sales declines.[14] Filmed Entertainment revenues were down 6 percent year-over-year to $1.22 billion, as weakness in home entertainment sales more than offset growth in theatrical revenues.[3]

Overall, Viacom's revenue fell 3% to $3.32 billion on fewer ad dollars and a shrinking home entertainment market. Viacom saw an increase in affiliate revenue and a better performance from its theatrical unit during the period.[25]

The theatrical surge helped offset a 21% decline ($124 million) in worldwide home entertainment revenue reflecting the economy, fewer catalog releases and difficult year-over-year comparisons with strong DVD and Blu-ray Disc performance of Iron Man.[4]

Media Networks Segment Revenues of $2,124 million were essentially flat year over year. Within this segment, solid growth in affiliate sales was offset by lower advertising and ancillary revenues.[26] Media networks operating income of $773 million in the quarter was 2% higher then last year.[5] During the second quarter of 2009, we took new actions resulting in severance charges of $16 million in the Media Networks segment and $17 million in the Filmed Entertainment segment.[16] Filmed entertainment expenses declined $173 million and media network expenses declined $16 million.[5]

Operating income was $784 million, up 14% year over year driven by the solid performance of the Filmed Entertainment segment. At the end of the reported quarter, Viacom had $249 million of cash & cash equivalent and $6,852 million of outstanding debt on its balance sheet compared to $792 million of cash & cash equivalent and $8002 million of outstanding debt at the end of the prior-year quarter.[26] Paramount's third-quarter operating income was $69 million, compared with a $19 million operating loss a year earlier, as Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe helped boost worldwide theatrical revenue by 16%. The studio's performance helped Viacom boost its overall net income by 15% to $463 million, or 76¢ a share, from $401 million, or 65¢, a year earlier.[1] Viacom, which runs a host of media businesses including MTV, Comedy Central and the Paramount movie studio, said on Tuesday that profit rose to $463 million, or 76 cents a share, from $401 million, or 65 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.[27]

MTV Networks a unit of Viacom is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than three hundred interactive properties worldwide including online broadband wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements joint ventures and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide. Viacom Inc. has a market cap of $1.71 billion; its shares were traded at around $29.77 with a P/E ratio of 14.2 and P/S ratio of 0.1.[16]

Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.69, 25% higher, then last year'''s adjusted diluted EPS of $0.55. We feel good about our results this quarter and we continue to eye the near-term with cautious optimism. Historically our full year results are weighted to the fourth quarter and we, like many other companies, are waiting to see how the consumer behaves this holiday season.[5] Adjusted net earnings totaled $421 million, or 69 cents per share, 24 percent higher than the same quarter last year.[14]

Worldwide theatrical revenues increased 16% in the quarter to $361 million versus last year. Currency losses had a seven-percentage point negative impact on these results.[5] Filmed entertainment revenue was down 6% overall, but the unit reported a positive operating income of $69 million, compared to an operating loss of $19 million in the prior year.[17] Overall revenue for the filmed entertainment division declined 6% to $1.2 billion from $1.3 billion last year.[4]

Revenue slipped 3 percent to $3.3 billion, in line with estimates. Viacom, which draws nearly a third of its revenue from advertising, offered a guarded outlook for the rest of the year, waiting to see how the crucial holiday season plays out.[15] Here's the problem: Viacom's overall revenues slid 3 percent (to $3.32 billion) during the quarter - due primarily to the global advertising slump.[19]

Adjusted earnings totaled 69 cents per share, well ahead of the 57 cents per share analysts had expected. While Viacom is not as dependent on advertising as some other media companies -- such as corporate sibling CBS Corp ( CBS.N ) -- it still gets about 30 percent of annual revenue from ads.[28] Cost-cutting also helped Viacom, the first of the major media conglomerates to report quarterly earnings. Signs that consumers were willing to open their wallets -- and suggestions of a slight improvement in advertising sales -- may bode well for Time Warner Inc and News Corp.[27]

NEW YORK — Viacom Inc. posted a 15 percent jump in third-quarter profit Tuesday as a stronger film slate from its Paramount Pictures movie studio helped offset continuing declines in advertising and DVD sales. Its shares rose more than 6 percent in premarket trading.[21] Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Creutz is expecting a "good performance from Paramount's recent film slate, most notably 'Paranormal Activity.'" Redstone has removed some uncertainty about his control of the company. Last month he said his holding company, National Amusements Inc., was selling off a portion of its controlling stake in Viacom and CBS Corp., raising nearly $1 billion to pay off the rest of the company's debt. He said that even after the sale, National Amusements will remain the controlling shareholder. The sale appears to have alleviated National Amusements' debt burden and eliminated the threat that lenders would force it to sell any more of its stake in either company to raise cash.[29]

Viacom at about 4 p.m. was trading at $28.68, up 63 cents (2.24%), according to the company Web site. Greenfield said he expects only slight improvements in ad trends through 2010: another 4% domestic ad decline in the fourth quarter, after a 4% dip in Q3, and a 3% domestic ad decline in 2010. "If MTV ratings were able to turn the corner in 2010, there would likely be meaningful upside to our forecast," he said in a note to investors. He expects strong film results in the fourth quarter but a decline in the studio's EBITDA in 2010.[12] With Paramount not releasing Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe DVDs until the fourth quarter, Oct. 20 and Nov. 3, respectively, the studio's home entertainment results lag an industry in which U.S. third-quarter consumer spending on all home entertainment formats--DVD, Blu-ray Disc, digital distribution and cable/satellite video-on-demand combined--outperformed most other consumer goods categories, dipping just 3.2%, to $4 billion, according to DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group.[1] While lower home entertainment sales--off 21 percent in the quarter--dragged down results, two films, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, fueled a 16 percent increase in worldwide theatrical revenue, the company said.[2] While DVD sales slumped, pulling worldwide home entertainment revenue down 21 percent, consumers showed a willingness to hit the movie theaters during the peak summer months.[18] Ongoing weakness in home entertainment sales more than offset solid growth in theatrical revenues.[26]

The improvement in the core margins can be attributed to the growth in affiliate revenues as well as lower employee costs which were partially offset by lower advertising and home entertainment revenues.[5]

Since the studio released "Transformers" at the end of June, Paramount was able to account for the advertising costs in the second quarter while booking the lion's share of the movie's revenue in the third quarter.[20] Viacom Overall Revs Up, But Cable Ads Weak 11 hours ago Viacom grabbed some hefty profit gains of 15% in the third quarter -- but one of its main revenue generators, TV advertising, still showed weakness.[30] Domestic ad revenue fell 4% at Viacom in the third quarter 2009, that figure is a 2% improvement on the 6% ad revenue decline in the second quarter.[25]

Cablevision's Rainbow Boosts Ad Revenue 18% Broadcasting & Cable Cablevision programming unit Rainbow grew ad revenue a stunning 18.2% in the third quarter.[30] In the third quarter, U.S. ad revenue fell 4 percent, but executives pointed to signals that the ad climate had improved.[27] In the third quarter, U.S. advertising revenue fell 4 percent, while worldwide advertising revenue dropped 5 percent.[28] As Philippe mentioned domestic advertising revenues declined 4% in the third quarter which was an improvement from the second quarter'''s decline of 6%.[5]

The company's revenues decreased 3 per cent, to 3.32 billion dollars, during the third quarter.[13]

NEW YORK — G.I. Joe and the Transformers came to Viacom Inc.' s rescue in the third quarter, helping boost the company's earnings 15 percent with strong box office returns.[15] Viacom'''s adjusted net earnings from continuing operations were $421 million for the quarter, a 24% rise over the third quarter of 2008.[5] Adjusted net earnings from continuing operations attributable to Viacom were 421 million dollars, up 24 per cent over the third quarter 2008 results,' the statement said.[13]

Good day everyone, and welcome to the Viacom third quarter 2009 earnings release teleconference.[5] I hope you'''ve all had a chance to review our earnings release and the web presentation summarizing our third quarter results.[5]

At media networks, the addition of new programming in the fourth quarter at certain key networks will slightly increase programming expense growth from the third quarter levels. Overall margins at this segment will not be negatively impacted given the continued benefit from our cost savings initiatives.[5] "Over the course of the third quarter, we started to see the negative economic trends that we all have been dealing with begin to attenuate," Dauman said, adding that while the road is expected to be bumpy, the moves that Viacom has made in the past to keep costs in line has the media giant moving in the right direction.[17]

"Revenues in the quarter remained a bit soft, but the structural changes we have made to streamline certain operations and our ongoing vigilance on controlling costs boosted our profitability and helped us to expand margins," Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman told analysts in a conference call.[20]

To date, Viacom's revenues are down 8 percent, and profits are actually down 15 percent through the first nine months of the year. Chief executive Philippe Dauman said he was cautiously optimistic the advertising part of the equation will turn around, too.[19] For the first nine months of the year, revenues fell 8 percent to $9.5 billion and profits fell 15 percent to $917 million.[2] Revenue slipped 3 percent to $3.3 billion from $3.4 billion a year ago, in line with estimates. Its shares rose $1.93, or 6.5 percent, to $31.70 in premarket trading.[21]

For the first nine months, media networks revenue dipped 5 percent to just under $6 billion, while film revenue declined 13 percent to $3.7 billion.[2] Viacom says revenue slipped 3 percent to $3.3 billion, in line with estimates.[31] Overall revenue fell 3 percent to $3.32 billion, largely in line with the $3.3 billion expected from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.[28]

Revenues decreased $861 million, or 8%, to $9.521 billion in the nine months ended September 30, 2009.[16] Rainbow houses AMC, WE tv, IFC and other networks including Sundance. It grew net revenue 3.5% to $260 million.[30]

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the New York-based media company controlled by Sumner Redstone reported net income of $463 million, compared with $401 million for the same period a year earlier.[20] The media company earns $463 million, compared with $401 million a year earlier, helped by stronger results from Paramount Pictures.[20]

The company, based in New York, says it earned $463 million, or 76 cents per share, up from $401 million, or 65 cents per share, a year ago.[31] Overall, Viacom said it earned $463 million, or 76 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, up from $401 million, or 65 cents per share, a year ago.[15]

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has been a worldwide success earning well over $800 million in global box office. It remains the number one movie of the year domestically, and it was the highest grossing film of all time in China.[5] Production and programming expenses decreased $69 million, or 6%, to $1.180 billion principally due to lower participation costs in 2009 compared with the prior year's costs associated with Marvel's Iron Man partially offset by higher amortization of film costs.[16] With respect to the other charges, the savings are primarily related to reduced programming amortization attributable to abandoned programming included as a component of operating expenses, and will diminish ratably through 2011. Despite these savings, overall programming expenses are likely to grow in the future as we continue to invest in programming in the normal course of business. During the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009, our total expense reduction of $186 million and $625 million, respectively, includes approximately $50 million and $150 million, respectively, in cost savings related to these initiatives.[16] In the fourth quarter of 2008, to better align our organization and cost structure with changing economic conditions, we undertook a strategic review of our businesses, which resulted in $454 million of restructuring and other charges. As a result of these initiatives, we expect to save approximately $200 million in 2009.[16]

Distribution and other costs decreased $86 million, or 12%, to $610 million due to lower print and advertising expenses in the Filmed Entertainment segment, partially offset by higher Rock Band costs related to the September 2009 release of The Beatles: Rock Band.[16] SURE. Viacom has a way with creative accounting. Sure if they stop making trash movies that cost $50 million and only make $20 million then yeah it would look like they actually did better on the Q3.[19] Viacom ( VIA ) was helped by cost cuts, hit movies like "Transformers 2" and strong sales of the new Beatles video game.[32] NEW YORK (Reuters) - Viacom Inc's quarterly profit rose 15 percent, breezing past expectations, as consumers set aside money worries to take in hit movies like "Transformers" and scoop up the new Beatles video game.[27] NEW YORK (Reuters) - Viacom Inc. ( VIAb.N ) quarterly profit breezed past expectations as consumers set aside money worries to scoop up the new Beatles video game and buy tickets for box-office hits like "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe."[28]

Sales of the company's the Beatles: Rock Band video game have exceeded some expectations on Wall Street, but Viacom acknowledged that the new video game wasn't in the black yet. Executives are cautious about its profit prospects as the industry heads into an uncertain holiday retail season.[20] Viacom reported "strong sales" for the "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game, but said U.S. retail sales remain challenged. Asked if the Rock Band franchise will turn a profit this year, management said it will depend on holiday season sales.[10]

DVD sales related to the cable networks hurt the segment as well, even as Viacom's much-awaited "The Beatles: Rock Band" got a strong start. It appeared among the top 10 best-selling games in September, according to market research firm NPD Group.[15]

OVERVIEW: The continuing ad slump is expected to hurt third-quarter revenue at Viacom, which owns Paramount Pictures, cable properties including the BET and MTV cable networks and the "Rock Band" video games.[29] One of the largest global media empires, Viacom has a financial interest in broadcast and cable television, radio, Internet, book publishing, and film production and distribution. Some of this vertically integrated conglomerate's highly recognizable properties include the CBS network, MTV, Infinity broadcasting, Simon & Schuster, Blockbuster and Paramount Pictures. With such a diverse portfolio of properties, Viacom is one of the most profitable media giants as CBS is a top draw for older viewers while MTV remains the most popular teen orientated media outlet.[33] Viacom is a leading global entertainment content company whose family of prominent and respected brands includes the multiplatform properties of MTV Networks BET Networks Paramount Pictures Paramount Home Entertainment and DreamWorks.[16]

Severance charges at MTV Networks totaled $16 million through Sept. 30. The company's highest profile departure was programming chief Brian Graden, who stepped down earlier this year.[25] Overall mtv.com logged 2.7 million unique visitors on the day of the show which was a 20% increase over the traffic generated on the day of last year'''s show. Finally a quick word about BET, its ratings are great. This past quarter its ratings were up 19% and to date in the fourth quarter ratings are up 25%. The bump in ratings over the past several weeks reflect the success of some of the network'''s new programming such as the Monique Show, and The Game.[5] As I mentioned before we had a pre-tax loss on the extinguishment of debt of $84 million in the quarter related to the successful tendering of $1.3 billion of our 5.75% senior notes which were due in 2011. Other items reflects a loss of $13 million which compares to a loss of $23 million last year.[5] We generated $621 million of operating free cash flow in the quarter compared to $564 million last year.[5]

Television license fees were also down 8% year over year. In the reported quarter, this segment swung from a loss in the prior-year quarter to a $69 million operating profit.[26]

Operating expenses decreased $155 million, or 8%, to $1.790 billion in the third quarter of 2009.[16] Good morning, thank you all for joining us. Viacom continued its steady course of improvement in the third quarter with solid performances from our media network and our motion picture segments.[5] Now let'''s move on to our cable networks, our media networks segment delivered solid results in the quarter despite ongoing softness in the advertising market. The value of our brands and the strong relationship our audiences share with those brands are unique and we continue to explore new ways to monetize that relationship.[5] Shares of Viacom rose slightly in morning trading. Viacom is not as dependent on advertising as some media companies -- such as corporate sibling CBS Corp -- and is generally helped by fees that cable companies pay to carry its networks.[27]

Shares were up 0.7% to $29.99 in premarket trading as results were better than analysts expected. The media company, which owns cable-TV channels such as MTV and Comedy Central,.[34] The result of that expertise is now evident across our entire company. From BET networks which has introduced a new network and is rolling out a new branding plan for BET that is already attracting a larger share of its core African American audience. To MTV networks which is continuing enhancing its stable of great brands like Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, and steadily expanding its presence all over to the world.[5]

Amobi said the deal itself will overshadow the earnings report because investors will be anxious to find out how the acquisition will affect Comcast's financials. Comcast is expected to contribute $4 billion to $6 billion in cash and contribute its cable networks to the new company.[35] Viacom hasn't been involved in many deals during the quarter, but Chairman Sumner Redstone's holding company, National Amusement's, divested a partial stake in the company. It's valued at $600M and will leave Redstone and NA a controlling interest in both Viacom and CBS ( CBS ). Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman says the company is focused on growing its business and not on acquisitions.[33]

STOCK PERFORMANCE: Viacom shares rose $5.34, or 24 percent, during the quarter to $28.04.[29] STOCK PERFORMANCE: Shares of Comcast, which is based in Philadelphia, rose $2.42, or 16.7 percent, during the quarter to $16.88.[35]

Quarterly net income from continuing operation was $443 million or 73 cents per share, compared to $385 million or 62 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.[26]

Meaning that it took Paramount's reported $69 million turnaround to offset another icy quarter for ads.[19] Our recent acquisition of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a great investment for the future at a relatively low price point. It will create value across Nick'''s platforms globally on television, in consumer product, online, and on the big screen for Paramount. We believe we have the creative and marketing assets in place to revitalize this once vibrant franchise. We really like the risk/reward profile of this $60 million acquisition.[5] Discussing the $60 million acquisition by Nickelodeon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dauman said: "We really like the risk-reward profile." He said additional deals in that vein - low capital outlays with high upside - are possible.[10]

The first two weeks of retail sales for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has generated 8.3 million disc sales, including 1.4 million Blu-ray units. "It is the best-selling Blu-ray Disc release in 2009," Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman said in a call with investors.[4] Dauman lauded "a stronger programming slate (that) drove ratings gains at several core networks." In the film unit, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which had been released late in the second quarter, and "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" were key financial drivers in the third quarter, with management predicting strong fourth quarter DVD sales thanks to them.[10] The company, which reported a profit in the third quarter, also posted strong October sales versus the previous month.[30]

Ford Improving Its Financial Picture, Looks To Future If Ford is in turnaround mode, it seems to have tightened its turning radius. The company, which reported solid results for the third quarter, is also brightening its outlook for the full-year 2011 performance from "break even" to "solidly profitable."[30] OVERVIEW: Comcast is expected to report slower customer growth in the third quarter from the same quarter last year, but results will be an improvement over the second quarter of 2009.[35] Viacom Inc. ( VIA ) Tuesday declared encouraging results for the third quarter.[26]

Good morning everyone, and thank you for taking the time to join us for our third quarter earnings call.[5] We want to thank everyone for joining us on our third quarter earnings call. We view them as an important resource for bloggers and journalists, and are excited to contribute to the democratization of financial information on the Internet. (Until now investors have had to pay thousands of dollars in subscription fees for transcripts.) All other use is prohibited.[5]

"Over the course of the third quarter, we started to see some of the negative economic trends that we've all been dealing with begin to attenuate," Chief Executive Philippe Dauman told investors on a conference call. "While I expect the road to recovery will be a bumpy one, I do believe the economy, particularly in the U.S., now is moving in the right direction," he added.[27]

"The road to recovery will be a bumpy one," but the U.S. economy is moving into the right direction, said president and CEO Philippe Dauman. Asked about the current fourth quarter, he said it is still too early to call ad trends despite double-digit price gains in scatter market ads. He also cautioned that the recovery in some European countries where Viacom has a big presence is still weak.[10]

The company reported that affiliate fees rose 10 percent in the quarter, while domestic ad revenue dropped 4 percent, which Dauman noted was an improvement over the 6 percent drop in ads during the prior quarter. Worldwide ad revenue declined 5 percent, he said.[2] Increasingly, advertisers are embracing "just-in-time buying," and as a result visibility on the scatter market in the fourth quarter "remains limited." He did note that Q4 scatter seems healthy so far, with pricing up double digits vs. the upfront. Dauman made a point of noting that Comcast intends to raise affiliate fees, contending that the company's networks are "undervalued" because they deliver 20 percent of industry audiences but only receive 8 percent of its license fees. "We are very focused on closing this gap," he said.[2]

G.I. Joe is out today and Star Trek will be released on November 17. The profits associated with these home video releases will benefit the fourth quarter of this year with no comparable releases in last year'''s fourth quarter. [5] I think in the fourth quarter of last year the core cable margins were unusually high in the 40% area, so should we presume that the core cable margins will be flat in the fourth quarter.[5] A follow-up to the capital allocation question, I mean given that you'''re now moving towards north of 40% of your cable network business coming from subscription fees, and those subscription fees growing 10% plus, what is the right leverage as you think over the next couple of years. Should you be actually moving higher from a leverage standpoint or is this really the leverage where you think a business with these type of dynamics should be levered and then kind of a follow on to that relates to Disney buying Marvel over the past quarter, how do you think about the need to buy more franchises.[5]

I was hoping that you could give us more color on Epix in the quarter revenue operating income and below the line and what the initial metrics were since you actually launched and how should we think about going forward and the same for Rock Band, can you give us a little bit more color on margins particularly for Q4 and will you profitable for the year.[5]

Revenues for the film entertainment segment were down 6% in the quarter primarily due to continuing declines in the home entertainment market.[5] Theatrical revenue overall rose 16%, but home entertainment revenue fell 21%.[10]

Our marketing and distribution organization is tailored to that. As you suggest, as we have this go forward, we can find some efficiencies and we'''ll just have to see how the marketplace develops. We are in continual conversations with others to see if there are opportunities both the suppliers, whether there are some back office functions where it would pay to join with others. We'''ve had a lot of discussions over the course of the year relating to our home entertainment group and we are arriving at what we think is the best result for us at this time.[5] Our team will come up with the right creative and marketing approach to make sure that we benefit from a sequel. As far as replicating it, we'''ll look for opportunities but I don'''t think any of these can serve as a model. It took many years after Blair Witch Project to come up with Paranormal Activity and some day there will be another but I don'''t think one can count on this as being the model for all movie releases.[5] "Our team will come up with the right creative and marketing approach to make sure that we benefit from a sequel," Dauman said. Asked by an analyst if the "Paranormal" model of a low-cost, high-boxoffice film could be easily replicated with other releases, he said no, pointing to how much time passed between similar surprise hit "The Blair Witch Project" and "Paranormal."[8]

"Our team will come up with the right creative and marketing approach," Viacom CEO Phillippe Dauman said about the company'''s Paramount Pictures horror flick.[36] This morning, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman made it clear that Paramount Pictures (a Viacom company) is very much interested in capitalizing on the success of Paranormal Activity by following it up with a Paranormal Activity 2.[37]

A recent example is the incredible success we are enjoying with a very low budget film, Paranormal Activity, which is scaring people into theaters in huge numbers with over $85 million in domestic box office so far.[5] At last count Paranormal Activity, which was produced for $15,000, has raked in over $85 million domestically. It's set to release overseas later this month.[38]

Dividends from the year's top box office movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, finally hit the bottom line as Paramount Pictures posted third-quarter (ended Sept. 30) operating income of $69 million, compared to an operating loss of $19 million during the previous year's comparable period. [4] The unit, which houses BET to MTV, saw a 2% uptick in operating income to $773 million, up from $761 million in the prior year period.[25]

The company also reported a 14% increase in operating income to $784 million; that was largely due to an $88 million increase in the filmed entertainment unit.[25] The entertainment company Tuesday morning posted a quarterly adjusted profit from continuing operations of $421 million, up 24% from the year-ago period.[10]

Dauman and executive chairman Sumner Redstone also lauded a resurgence at the Paramount film unit, which swung to a $69 million profit. "They are on a roll," the latter said.[10] I guess the source of the question is obviously the profits for films range from $100 to $200 million since 2003 and so I think there'''s a lot of folks who think you might be able to break out of that range based on how well you'''ve done recently.[5]

TV license fees declined 8% to $316 million in the quarter reflecting the title mix of available film products.[5] Consolidated operating income increased 14% to $784 million in the quarter.[5] During the quarter we completed a tender offer for our 5.75% senior notes paying a premium in the aggregate of $84 million to the bondholders. Therefore, on a reported basis we generated $537 million of free cash flow in the quarter.[5] Depreciation and amortization decreased $12 million and $39 million for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009, respectively.[16] The only short-term variable rate borrowings outstanding at quarter end were approximately $200 million of commercial paper.[5]

As a reminder, last year'''s audited adjusted results also excluded $46 million of discrete tax benefits.[5] In total, 25 million eBay sellers move $60 billion in goods each year.[30] Quarterly revenues of $3.32 billion was down 3% year over year but was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.[26] Filmed Entertainment Segment Revenues of $1,224 were down 6% year over year.[26]

A rise in affiliate revenue helped Viacom's Media Networks division offset the ad revenue declines. [25] Revenue at Media Networks, which includes MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, was flat, but operating income increased 2%.[17] Page 10 of our web deck provides a breakdown of media networks revenue performance.[5]

In the TV networks unit, U.S. advertising revenue fell 4%, a two percentage point improvement over the second quarter.[10] As I have said before we need to be fairly compensated for the value we provide yet today, we continue to capture more than 20% of the cable viewing audience but only receive about 8% of the license fees. Clearly our networks are vastly undervalued relative to their share of viewership at on demand performance. We remain very focused on closing this gap, pursuing new revenue opportunities and working to ensure that we share with our affiliate partners in the success of the branded content we provide.[5] Revenue was flat in the segment that includes Viacom's cable networks and video games.[15]

Viacom, the media conglomerate controlled by billionaire Sumner Redstone, owns a wide range of media properties including the MTV and BET cable networks and the "Rock Band" video-game franchise.[15] Discovery reported a 25% decline in net income, largely on an expense from the increased value of stock-based compensation. Viacom, which owns a suite of cable networks including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, saw its U.S. ad.[39]

Discovery Communications' U.S. Networks' saw a 5% rev increase in the third quarter, primarily driven by distribution and ad growth.[30] On a conference call Tuesday morning, management struck cautiously positive tones about the ad market, saying it strengthened throughout the third quarter and seems on the right track.[10]

We didn'''t make real progress in the third quarter as the rate of MTV'''s ratings decline decelerated to 3% year over year.[5] The third quarter proved to be an opportune time to extend our long-term debt maturities at favourable rates, which allowed us to further strengthen our balance sheet,' said Philippe Dauman, president and chief executive officer.[13] "Over the course of the third quarter, we started to see some of the negative economic trends that we've all been dealing with begin to attenuate," Dauman said.[19]

The increase in theatrical revenues was principally due to the strong performance of Transformers 2, which was released on June 26 as well as the current quarter'''s theatrical release of G.I. Joe. Partially offsetting this was lower revenues from third party distribution titles. [5] We'''ve been very diligent about controlling the costs and as long as the revenues cooperate we'''ll be in the range that you suggest. As far as ad growth as I mentioned in my remarks, its really too early to tell at this point in the quarter.[5] Our overall revenues in the quarter remained a bit soft, but the structural changes we'''ve made to streamline certain operations and our ongoing vigilance on controlling costs boosted our profitability and helped us to expand margins.[5]

Decline at filmed entertainment was principally due to lower distribution and production costs as a result of fewer theatrical releases in the quarter.[5] Good quarter, two questions about the sustainability of a couple of line items, so in terms of the programming costs you talked about. Programming costs grew 4% on an adjusted basis, as we get out of the recession how should we think about the programming cost growth next year, do we see the cost will increase at a faster pace and secondly you talked about affiliate fees increasing 80% in the domestic affiliate fee growth came from the pricing increase, how sustainable is that pricing improvement when do we start seeing lapping those price increases.[5] The better-than-expected results, however, were tempered by concerns over future growth and continued weakness in advertising markets. "Investors are split because some are saying, 'It's encouraging because management has done a good job on making the business more efficient, rationalizing programming expenses and generally cutting costs,' " said Anthony DiClemente, media analyst with Barclays Capital.[20]

New York -- Viacom Inc. reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit gains thanks to improved theatrical film and TV advertising trends, as well as cost controls.[10] Sumner Redstone, the company's executive chairman, said Viacom "is already beginning to reap the benefits of a highly focused and well executed strategy." "By keeping a sharp eye on costs while continuing to invest in programming," he said, "Viacom is in a strong position to benefit as the economic clouds begin to part."[9] Viacom posted a 15% rise in net income, with cost cutting boosting brisk ticket sales for the company's summer blockbuster movies.[39]

Cost-cutting also helped Viacom, which overcame a continued slump in advertising sales that has hurt the entire media industry, as corporations have held back on rolling out big, new television campaigns.[28] Viacom blames a six percent drop on crummy DVD sales, which it says suffered compared with strong results a year ago.[11] Viacom (VIA) says Q3 ad sales dropped four percent in the U.S., which is two points better than Q2.[11]

Rocket Fuel has partnered with Morpheus Media to drive sales, loyalty and brand engagement for Lord & Taylor. The fledgling hybrid ad network that launched earlier this year helped to triple the retailer's campaign goals from the first to the second for online sales of women's fashion, apparel.[30]

Q+A Douglas Ferguson How will we consume media in five and 10 years' time? Ferguson: When everything is digitized and libraries offer materials, we will have access to anything and everything whenever we choose, at a trivial long-tail price. Q+A Lance Broumand How will get your news in a few years? Broumand: I think it's one page that looks a lot like what the Drudge Report looks like right now.[30] Vivek Shah Leaving Time Inc. To Go 100 Percent Digital After 15 years at Time Inc., digital head Vivek Shah is leaving at the end of the year to pursue an as-yet-undetermined entrepreneurial endeavor, he tells Online Media Daily. "I think it's about time that I do something different," said Shah, who would only say of his next.[30]

Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM joined a year ago to start Epix, envisioned as a premium cable movie channel and subscription online movie service competing against Time Warner's HBO, CBS's Showtime and Liberty Media's Starz.[1]

Jeff Zucker Is Not Going Anywhere Jeff Zucker, CEO and president of NBC Universal, has been trying to turn digital dimes into digital dollars for years. Currently he's delivering tv programs online through Hulu, transforming nbc tv stations into hyper local Web destinations, and selling tv advertising based on the Internet's automated, targeted model. Jonathan Miller Preaches the Agnostic Gospel of the Cloud Jonathan Miller is more determined than ever to crack interactive media's money-making code in his new job as News Corp.' s digital chief. He's got plenty of learning experience to draw from, both as a partner at venture capital firm Fuse Capital and as the chairman and CEO of.[30] For us hits matter across all sectors of our business, and the advertising results for our major hits reflect that truth. Successful tent pole events such as the VMA'''s, continue to be winners with year over year gains. Our marketing partners recognize that these events are can'''t miss opportunities to reach their target audiences. Our brands also provide great value to our affiliate partners and we continue to invest in high quality content and to develop innovative product that drives their multiplatform businesses and maximize new experiences.[5] We need to be weaned off the click. That's what the online marketing world needs right now to improve branding, according to eMarketer. When Algorithms Collide The online advertising marketplace has seen its fair share of arms race-like tit-for-tat technology battles over the years.[30]

Excluding a one-time tax-related gain and a charge for restructuring debt, Viacom delivered earnings of 76 cents a share compared with 65 cents last year.[20] Viacom Inc. and Discovery Communications Inc. said they are seeing increased demand and higher prices for TV commercials as they head into the holiday season, adding to an up-tempo chorus after a brutal year for advertising. Both companies reported third-quarter earnings Tuesday.[39]

Viacom's adjusted net earnings from continuing operations were up 24% to $421 million.[25] Viacom said Tuesday that its third-quarter earnings increased 15 percent - beating most analysts' expectations - due to the success of its "Beatles: Rock Band" video game and feature films "Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra."[9] ANALYST TAKE: Cowen & Co.' s Creutz said he expects "The Beatles: Rock Band," Paramount films and favorable exchange rates to boost earnings. He said investors have largely anticipated the results, leaving shares little room to head higher. He has a "Neutral" rating on the shares.[29]

As you think about China as an international market, given the success of Transformers in that market, what can you share with us on the learning experiences and why do you think that title was so successful out there, and what does that mean for your overall strategy in that market, not just for the film but also for the media networks.[5] The decrease in the quarter principally reflects lower capital spending, while the nine months is due primarily to lower capital lease depreciation expense resulting from transponder lease expirations in the Media Networks segment, as well as the impact of decreased capital spending.[16] Before I move on to media networks, I also want to note the launch of Epix which debuted last Friday. Epix is close to additional distribution announcements, which I had hoped to make around now, but the conclusion of these negotiations while they are going well, is taking just a little longer.[5]

The largest part of our business is the media networks segment. That is the driver of the vast majority of our operating income.[5]

Not to be a gloomy gus and all, but making a sequel to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY would be questionable at best and foolhardy at worst. This film, like its spiritual foremother THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, was fine as its own film with just enough mythos to keep the fans wanting more through other media like comics and books. If the Suits wants a sequel, they better do right. or not at all! Personally, I prefer the latter. This film should just be a stand-alone treasure, not a franschise. [24] Given the way the first film ended (to avoid spoilers, we'll just say that it ends pretty definitively and is a completed story), the general idea behind a sequel would have to either be a prequel (which would hold no weight) and/or a separate, but similar story about someone being tortured by a demonic spirit. Either way, I can't see a reason to attach the Paranormal Activity name to such a project, other than the obvious cash-grab reasons. If Paramount can figure out a way to get a creative, innovative sequel off the ground, then they deserve to have success.[7] We also reserve the right to modify any curse words in your comments and make you look like an idiot. Didn't Paramount also wanted to do a sequel to another blockbuster hit hand held horror film called "Cloverfield' ? I guess their over that! Soon enough, they'll be over the success of "Paranormal Activity".[7]

To Paramount Pictures which is benefiting from a creative resurgence coupled with the disciplined approach to the bottom line. They are on a roll having revived venerable franchises like Star Trek, introducing new franchises like Transformers and G.I. Joe and demonstrated the financial benefit of some paranormal activity.[5] The inspired marketing approach illustrates the breadth and prowess of our marketing team. Over the last few months this team created and executed a comprehensive campaign for a large budget blockbuster, Transformers, pushing it to number one at the box office and a quiet, relatively inexpensive viral campaign for a very low budget Paranormal Activity, that empowered the audience, spread like wildfire, and pushed it to number one at the box office. Finishing out this year will be Jason Reitman'''s Up in the Air, staring George Clooney and Peter Jackson'''s, The Lovely Bones.[5] The nyc Wine and Food Festival had taken over half the Meatpacking District for the weekend, putting the focus. Trim Marks Original online video took a beating this year, but the shine hasn't quite worn off yet. Despite a string of high-profile broadband start-up flops earlier in the year, media companies like Alloy Media + Marketing, studios like Generate and Web destinations such as the Sony-owned Crackle continue to.[30]

The ability to target and buying audience segments is rapidly becoming the holy grail of online marketing, replacing traditional media planning strategies built around content. Who will win in this race to deliver targeted audience? The new crop of ad exchanges? Ad networks? Agencies creating their own.[30]

The ad tech company's new Ad Visibility Suite tracks the total and average time (in seconds) someone is exposed to an ad as well as what.[30] 'Baked In' Could Have Used More Time In The Oven Los Angeles Times Dan Neil doesn't think much of Alex Bogusky and John Winsor's new book about advertising. He feels it's short-winded (150 pages of large type), self-serving (why don't marketers realize that the ad guys are the smartest guys in the room?),.[30]

Google, Uber Disrupter Above the Crowd "Business disruption," which requires incumbents to abandon core strategies for new ones, is the key premise behind recently successful business movements like Software as a Service, open source architecture, and the so-called "Freemium" Internet model, argues Benchmark Capital's Bill Gurley. Apple Readies Web TV's Killer App MediaMemo et al. It looks like Apple's making yet another and more aggressive go at Web TV, this time by extending its iTunes software with a $30-a-month subscription service. Riding "over the top" of existing infrastructure, the yet-to-be-announced service could potentially rival those.[30] During the annual "upfronts," in which advertisers bid on commercial time ahead of the fall television season, Viacom and other TV studios held on to a bigger chunk of inventory. They hoped that by waiting for an improving economy later in the year, they could sell ad slots closer to air time for more money.[15] Dauman said premium TV joint venture Epix, in which Lionsgate and MGM are Viacom's partners, is "close to additional distribution announcements." Redstone, whose National Amusements recently struck a deal to get rid of its debt burden, said: "I'm very pleased to get the events of the past year behind me."[10] About a week into its launch, the Epix movie channel is closer to additional distribution deals, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said on a conference call with analysts Tuesday.[17] During Viacom's earnings call on Tuesday morning, CEO Philippe Dauman said that "Paranormal" is a type of hit that comes along only rarely.[40]

Viacom ( VIA ) is expected to report Q3 earnings before the market open on Tuesday, November 4 with a conference call scheduled for 8:30 am ET.[33]

NEW YORK — Viacom Inc., the media conglomerate controlled by Sumner Redstone, reports third-quarter earnings before the market opens on Tuesday.[29] Pretty, pretty, pretty good. Sure, Viacom's earnings beat most analysts' expectations - with one gushing on Bloomberg Television that Viacom's Paramount Studio division "has some genuine hits on their hands." All of this is good news.[19]

The CEO touted a further push into animation built around Nickelodeon's animation operations in Burbank and support facilities elsewhere. Viacom is looking to build them "into a production hub for television" and is considering leveraging them for film productions, too, he said. He didn't pick up on an analyst question whether the animation push could also help Paramount prepare for a possible loss of its distribution relationship with DreamWorks Animation next year.[10] You talked both about the improvement in the film cost structure, the success of your films so as you look forward do you now see the ability to move Paramount up to peer film margins or is there some structural difference in operations or scale that we should be more conservative in our models as we look forward to the next couple of years. As far, and again I'''ll remind everyone that we don'''t have a television business to speak of at Paramount so that makes it different from its competitor studios, the major ones, and the numbers aren'''t always broken out that neatly given how overheads are allocated and so forth.[5]

Today I'''d like to start our discuss with the film entertainment segment. Paramount had a strong quarter as its strategy to improve its return on capital began to yield dividends.[5] Paramount benefited from lower marketing expenses in the quarter because it released only two films, including the hit "G.I. Joe."[20]

The horror film "Paranormal Activity" also provided a surprise boost to earnings, an unexpected box office success despite a small budget and relatively little marketing.[15] Separately on the success of Paranormal Activity, I just wanted to get a sense of kind of how confident you might be able to replicate that strategy in future films in terms of the market income etc., that you were able to kind of hit it out of the park so to speak and I think you talked about a possible sequel on that.[5] Some movies I could care less about (Transformers for example. and i enjoyed the shit outta the 2nd one) but rare surprises like Paranormal Activity just deserve to be left alone and be remembered for what they are and not for the unnecessary careless sequel.[40] Paranormal Activity captures the zeitgeist of a generation fixed on shows like Ghost Hunters and does what it does very well. A sequel capturing the haunting of another couple, or family, will only be seen as a carbon copy - that is, if they choose to go that route.[37] Paranormal activity is waaaaaay overrated as it is! A sequel will just suck fools money from their pockets, just like the first.[37]

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount Pictures has come to the unsurprising decision that a sequel to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY would be a good idea.[24] Ever since the micro-budgeted Paranormal Activity began gripping audiences earlier this year, the gears have been turning at Paramount Pictures.[6]

Derp88 writes: on November 3rd, 2009 at 8:29:04 PM If stupid cunts stopped wasting there money on shit remakes and sequels then movie studios wouldn't keep on making them,of course if they make money then the studios will keep on dishing out unoriginal rubbish and we will end up with Paranormal Activity 8.[40]

The entire point of the film was bringing in an audience that had no idea what to expect. Now the jig is up, and it's time for everyone to come up with, I don't know, maybe more original stories? As much as we grumble about sequels and remakes as part of our daily routine, it's genuinely soul-crushing to see the response to original material (like Paranormal or The Hangover ) turning into the knee-jerk reaction of a sequel. Originality succeeds for a reason, guys, but it's a lesson that will never, ever be learned so long as there's a dollar to make.[23]

The CEO said that the company may be in the hunt as a buyer, albeit for smaller acquisitions like Nickelodeon's recent purchase of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise for about $60 million.[17] Motley Fool Gets $25MM Investment The Motley Fool, a popular finance portal and a multimedia publishing company, has received a $25 million investment from BIA Digital Partners and Patriot Capital II. The company will use the funds to provide shareholder equity, growth capital and for general corporate purposes, according to Tom Gardner, co-founder.[30]

We do have in 2011 a repurchase of the library, I think that the estimated value at that time is about the $380 million level. We take all these things into account and clearly after we look at our capital needs and the situation of the economy we will evaluate the return of some of that capital to our shareholders.[5]

The last movie (which starred Christian Bale) cost $200 million to make but took in $371 million.[36] Please note that discontinued operations includes a $20 million benefit resulting from Viacom being released as a guarantor on certain Blockbuster lease obligations.[5] The tiny-budget chiller, once destined to be released straight to DVD if at all, has now become the sleeper hit of the year, with $86 million amassed as of yesterday.[24] In terms of leverage we have $6.9 billion of debt and capital leases outstanding and approximately $250 million of cash and cash equivalents at September 30.[5] Operating expenses decreased $511 million, or 9%, to $5.481 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2009.[16] We also successfully tendered a further $1.3 billion of our 5.75% senior notes that were due in 2011, leaving $193 million outstanding.[5]

Guaranteed the next one will be made for like $5 million and wont nearly as good or nearly as scary.[40]

We will continue to build on our biggest successes, for example, the ultimate SpongeBob'''s Sponge Bash weekend averaged nearly three million total viewers throughout the weekend, more then 30% higher then the day part average for the quarter. The iCarly tent pole event iFight Shelby Marx, drew an average of nearly eight million total viewers, a new record for an iCarly telecast and the number one telecast of all TV among kids and tweens during its premier week. We are also developing new opportunities for these brands.[5] The Programming Insider posts the previous nights broadcast ratings results and weighs in on any number of TV issues, from the latest hits to the best of the classics. Berman, aka The Programming Insider, offers tasty tidbits from his daily enewsletter, dishes on TV news (occasionally with a guest editor from Mediaweek) and previews upcoming shows to watch or avoid. Other than Lost, the last science fiction show I really got into was cheesy daytime serial Dark Shadows, and that was 40 years ago.[2] As we move into the new year, MTV will build a schedule across four nights of consistently programming by demos.[5]

If you exclude the savings from last year'''s fourth quarter restructuring charge, programming expense increased 4%.[5] Just two quick questions, first you mentioned that programming costs would accelerate a little bit in the fourth quarter but that overall margins wouldn'''t be impacted.[5] We try to manage it across our portfolio and making sure that we grow the programming costs in accordance with the revenue opportunities for our networks and where the needs are. As far as affiliate fees, as I mentioned in my remarks, we provide great value to our distributors and we are happy to provide great value to them.[5] By keeping a sharp eye on costs, while continuing to invest in programming, Viacom is in a strong position to benefit as the economic clouds now begin to part. As most of you know, Viacom benefits from a well-balanced asset mix with entertainment content at its core.[5]

Viacom nonetheless gets about 30 percent of annual revenue from ads, and the slump has proven painful. [27] Domestic ad revenues were down 4 percent, which is a 2-percentage point improvement over Q209 results.[3]

A solid quarter at the box office from Paramount helped make up for lower ad revenue.[18] Our domestic ad revenues were down 4%, a two-percentage improvement over the second quarter. Worldwide affiliate fees grew 10% in the quarter reflecting both rate and subscriber increases.[5]

Domestic advertising revenue was down 4% in the period, an improvement over the 6% decline in the second quarter.[17] Domestic advertising revenues were down 4% year over year, but marked an improvement of 2% sequentially.[26] If there are other opportunities of that ilk, we will certainly look at it and we are happy to invest in a business like Nickelodeon which not only has affiliate fees and advertising revenue opportunities, but has a very robust consumer products licensing and recreation revenue stream that over the long-term we should grow.[5] Twitter Gets Dedicated Device Wall Street Journal It's safe(ish) to assume that you've developed a truly killer app once device makers start making products dedicated solely to supporting your service. Even though it was at Twitter's urging, a company named Peek has developed just such a device. Barnes & Noble Has E-Reader Hiccup eweek It looks like Amazon and its Kindle e-reader can count on monopolizing the digital book market for at least a little while longer. IT startup Spring Design is claiming that Barnes & Noble's forthcoming e-reader Nook infringes on its own. Gawker Launches TV Business Insider Gawker has long been an admirer of juicy video clips, but on Tuesday it made its devotion official with the launch of Gawker TV. Company head Nick Denton often attributes traffic peaks to the popularity of various video posts --. Best Buy Makes Digital Leap NYTimes Bits Blog Best Buy, a top seller of DVDs, is not ignoring their likely extinction. It's expected to announce a partnership with Sonic Solutions' Roxio CinemaNow service, which will allow it to stream first-run DVDs directly to consumers online.[30]

Soft sales of consumer products and home entertainment offset the strong sales of our Rock Band franchise.[5] Growth is expected to be fueled by September's release of "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game, as well as by strong initial sales of DVD and Blu-ray units for Paramount's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."[33]

The film segment's overall revenue fell 6 percent, pulled down by weak DVD sales.[15] The revenue figure beat analyst's consensus estimates. Analyst Ben Mogli wrote in a note this morning that both media and film performed better than expected but the turn was largely at the film unit.[25]

Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.[10] Our highly successful summer tent pole movies released on home video in our fourth quarter.[5] "We expect to break even or be slightly profitable in the fourth quarter from a margin point of view," Viacom Chief Financial Officer Tom Dooley said. "It really depends on how many units we sell in the holiday season. the next three to six weeks."[20] Through the first three quarters in a very challenging economic environment Viacom has become a stronger company.[5] Summing up, Dauman said Viacom is emerging from the recession "a stronger company, more efficient and streamlined."[2] Dauman said the strategy has paid off in part, with advertisers during some recent weeks paying 10 percent or more above ad rates earlier in the year. He said ad prices remain volatile and uncertainty remains about whether advertisers will buy up all of the extra time, making predictions for the rest of 2009 difficult.[15] The core question: Are Dauman and other Viacom execs mildly optimistic about recovery because of an easy comparison with a year ago or because ads are really coming back? A little of both, Dauman says: "Right now the tone is feeling better, but we have to be cautious."[11]

"We continue to work with our customers to maintain that." Dauman also said that in spite of the recent rush to buy cable networks -- evident by pending deals for NBC Universal and Travel Channel -- Viacom is not interested in selling any of its cable holdings.[17] Expect a major thrashing of Viacom Stock. Why? Because Viacom is not worth the paper its shares are printed on. Just ask them about their advertising at their cable channels. Ask about their overhead, and about the management situation.[19] Competition continues to weigh on the cable operator, which is battling not only satellite TV deals but aggressive promotions from Verizon Communications Inc. They expect earnings per share to fall by a penny to 25 cents, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.[35] PHILADELPHIA — Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable TV operator and largest home Internet service provider, reports third-quarter earnings before the market opens on Wednesday.[35]

The slump in the ad market is expected to hurt revenue, but there is also expected to be a slight improvement in earnings. Cowen analyst Doug Creutz said he expects "The Beatles" game, as well as favorable exchange rates, to give a boost to earnings. [33] In addition to advertising our success at creating world-class friends and compelling content help us attract steadily increasing levels of affiliate revenues as well as lucrative opportunities in promising ancillary markets.[5] Our advertising revenues continue to reflect marketer'''s preference for just in time buying.[5]

Analysts are looking for a profit of 57c on revenue of $3.3B. The consensus range is 52c-61c for EPS, and revenue of $3.14B-$3.59B, according to First Call.[33] MTV Networks has held back inventory for the scatter market which is expected to provide improved opportunities for generating revenue than the tough upfront market which concluded at the end of August.[25] The media conglomerate controlled by billionaire Sumner Redstone owns a wide range of media properties including the MTV and BET cable networks and the "Rock Band" video-game franchise.[21] Cable Up! is the cable network programming resource for media planners and buyers during the crucial upfront selling season.[2]

Turner Triple Play Backs 'Lopez' Debut 10 hours ago It's all hands on deck for Turner Broadcasting cable networks when it comes to TBS' new "Lopez Tonight." The late-night Monday-to-Thursday TBS show, hosted by comedian George Lopez, gets a simulcast premiere on TBS, as well as TNT and truTV on Nov. 9, its debut.[30] HBO Sports senior vice president Mark Taffet discusses the PPV performance prospects for the Sept. 19 Floyd Mayweather Jr. -Juan Manuel Marquez boxing event as well as the network's PPV fight schedule for the rest of the year during a recent'' interview with Multichannel News.''[17]

GSI Interactive, the digital marketing services unit of GSI Commerce that Nick Pahade left Publics to run more than a year ago, today will unveil a new identity for one of its most important brands - its own.[30] We had a great launch. We obviously at this time of year, a great launch of The Beatles product, at this time of year we await the holiday season to begin as the month of November unfolds so we will start putting more marketing dollars together with our retailing partners behind that product.[5]

You will also notice a bigger marketing presence of MTV off channel. The network did once again demonstrate its ability to create a watershed event with the 2009 Video Music Awards show.[5] How To Create A Successful Low-Cost Video Network On YouTube's most-viewed channel list you'll find the how-to video network ExpertVillage in second place for all time with 812 million views.[30] RAM: Wooden Performance Who knew a well-placed Woody could get you nearly a million friends on Facebook? In early September, TV spots, viral videos and digital ads directed Facebook users to "Woody," a 30-something slacker who dubbed himself "Friday's biggest fan."[30]

The show was watched by 27 million viewers on MTV, MTV 2 and VH1, up 17% from the prior year. It was the number one show on cable this year in the 12 to 34 demo.[5] People come in very short time before the ads get aired. While pricing in the scatter market is up double-digits, what remains to be seen is what the depth of that market is as the rest of the quarter unfolds because the entire industry and there I'''m talking about both broadcast and cable, sold less inventory in the upfront then they had before.[5] We saw the ad marketplace continue to firm up as we progressed through the quarter and we benefited from improving ratings trends at some of our core networks.[5] Then second, with the fourth quarter can you just talk a little bit about how we should think about ad growth.[5] I guess should we expect sequential ad improvement domestically in the fourth quarter.[5]

Our 10-Q will be filed shortly. This morning I'''m going to take you through our results in more detail and I'''ll update you on the key factors impacting the fourth quarter.[5] Dauman was particularly pleased with the results from Paramount Pictures, which swung to a profit in the quarter.[20] A solid quarter at the box office from Paramount helped make up for the tough advertising environment.[28] We continued to see sequential improvement in the advertising market as we moved through the third quarter.[5] Right now the best guidance I can give you on foreign exchange is basically that it will look and feel somewhat like the third quarter. It will probably mitigate a little given the current trends of where we are but we still have a long way to go in this quarter and I really don'''t have a good window into how the dollar is going to move. In terms of its impact in the other area or the other item line that we showed this quarter, I'''d say its going to be somewhere in that range. We'''ve done some very smart moves relative to the way we'''ve structured our overseas cash receivables and balance sheet that begin to mitigate that as you saw in this quarter and we'''ll continue to do that. You wouldn'''t be wrong in sort of modeling it this way on a go forward basis.[5] In terms of Rock Band, Rock Band was, had negative contributed to margins in the third quarter.[5] During the third quarter we continued to strengthen our balance sheet and improve our debt maturity profile.[5] Over the course of the third quarter we started to see some of the negative economic trends that we'''ve all been dealing with begin to attenuate.[5]

We'''ve heard Summit Entertainment is up for sale etc., just was curious for how you look at acquisitions in the space and use of capital. Just on the leverage question, we'''ve announced the target leverage range of 2 to 2.5 at the end of this quarter or at the higher end of that range. [5] 'The gain in operating income in the quarter was driven primarily by an 88-million-dollar increase in the filmed entertainment segment.[13] You mentioned greater efficiencies in home video vis-a-vie the Technicolor agreements, there'''s also been talk about potential joint theatrical distribution or back end consolidation, could you talk to the two or three areas where you think there might be more room for efficiencies in filmed entertainment and then does that relate that at all or how might that relate to the potential expansion into more animated product.[5] As I discussed during our last conference call identifying greater efficiencies in the home entertainment sector has been a priority for Paramount.[5] "The home entertainment area was obviously a big bucket we put a lot of focus on it," Dauman said.[4]

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said the recessionary trends are "beginning to attenuate," and that the economy "is now moving in the right direction."[2] UPDATE: CEO Philippe Dauman mentions the new "Sponge Bob Tickler" for the Apple (AAPL) iPhone app, which I believe means that at least one Viacom employee has won a private bet.[11] Now let me turn the call over to my very good friend, Viacom'''s CEO, and the man whom I'''m so pleased to have as Viacom'''s leader, Philippe Dauman.[5]

During the quarter we made demonstrable progress on the three key priorities I highlighted during our second quarter earnings conference call. [5] Wall Street anticipates a slight improvement in earnings as game and film sales improve.[29] Up for grabs are not only future films but rights to a TV series, DVDs and other merchandise. "This is a unique asset -- the only Hollywood tentpole asset that's not owned by a studio,''' said one finance expert working on the sale.[36]

PageGage Direct aims to reduce costs for publishers by cutting out the paperwork and interaction with sales teams required to process media buys.[30] The cable giant says ad sales are still down, but that the rate of decline is slowing.[11]

EyeWonder Adds 'Visibility' Metrics EyeWonder has introduced a new set of metrics telling marketers how long their rich media ads are actually viewable within a browser.[30] Join AdweekMedia and Advertising Women of New York in celebrating the winners of the third annual Changing the Game Awards. Join us as we examine the evolution on content discover online - including search, portals and social media - and investigate how publishers can leverage these segments to attract and drive traffic.[2] Dylan Stableford is a veteran media reporter based in New York. Most recently, he served as senior editor, digital at FOLIO: magazine. He was formerly the managing editor of Mediabistro.com, including its popular network of media blogs, an editor at MTV.com during the dotcom boom and served briefly as an associate producer of the "Howard Stern Show" on E! He writes regularly about music and culture for several publications, including Rolling Stone, New York and Salon.[19] Q+A: Adam L. Penenberg Adam L. Penenberg is a journalism professor and assistant director of the Business and Economics program at New York University. His latest book, Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today's Smartest Companies Grow Themselves (Hyperion), will be on shelves in October. In the book, he explores trends. Q+A Lloyd Braun Who controls the media, and how (if it changes at all) does this control change? Braun: The consumer controls media.[30] The Age of Consent Consumers may find it intrusive if not downright creepy, but marketers, under immense pressure to meet quarterly goals, depend on behavioral targeting to squeeze digital dollars out of dimes. The question is: Can it be done in such a way that is beneficial to everyone? DOA Q&A: Philip K. Dick At a time when the whole world feels like it's falling apart, who better to talk to than someone who suggested that might be the case? Church & State Can the news business survive once-sacred walls toppling? Work with me on this, because you, the reader, are an integral part of this story. I want you to pick up this magazine.[30] Now at just a few weeks into the quarter we have, we already see while the market is strong you see certain weeks where you have just in a short time you have a surge of extra money coming in a particular week, the next week might still be strong but not quite as much. The next several weeks going forward will really tell the tale as companies in different industries evaluate their own condition and their degree of confidence in the consumer and in the economy. That'''s really all we can say at this point on that.[5] During the quarter Rock Band released The Beatles game to worldwide critical and consumer success.[5] The big news for the quarter was the global launch of The Beatles: Rock Band.[5]

I have two, I think in your opening remarks you said that Rock Band business was improving but not as quickly as you would like it, so can you tell us what disappointed you about the pace of improvement and what should look forward to in the next couple quarters that we can do about it.[5] Now I'''d like to talk about some of the factors impacting the fourth quarter.[5] There weren'''t a lot of films delivered. It will begin to have an impact in the fourth quarter as both we and the other studios begin to deliver film to it and it goes live on the air. It won'''t have a material impact on our margins for the foreseeable future though for any of our businesses.[5] Our continued investment in programming was substantially offset by reduced amortization attributable to the programming abandoned in the fourth quarter of 2008.[16]

As we complete our new programming and scheduling team we are continuing to adjust MTV'''s content mix and schedule bringing in more original shows as well as targeted acquisitions that are being used to help lift daytime and afternoon ratings.[5] The magazine includes comprehensive coverage of industry news and current trends as well as media market data.[2]

We took advantage of the attractive rates in the public debt markets, issuing a total of $1.4 billion in new fixed rate debt spread out amongst five, six and 10-year maturities at rates between 4.25% and 5.625%.[5] The two films have generated a combined $1.1 billion at the box office.[4] Black & Decker And Stanley Form A Dovetail Joint Washington Post Black & Decker and rival Stanley Works are merging in a $4.5 billion deal that puts under one corporate umbrella a number of familiar consumer brands: DeWalt, Kwikset and Price Pfister from 99-year-old Black & Decker, and Mac Tools, Stanley.[30] With the noise level rising over consumers possibly paying a fee for TV shows online, now comes a report that iTunes is considering an all-you-can eat $30-a-month TV service.[30]

Zoom Media has acquired Gym Screen Media -- or Gym TV for short -- a DO network serving fitness venues in the U.K. The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions between.[30] Created from the merger between Anystream and Voxant Media, Grab Networks offers a comprehensive video operating system and syndication network for profitably publishing video anywhere on the Internet.[12]

Updates from Facebook and Twitter are now central to people's information networks, much like bulletins from news wires or major dailies. [30] WHAT'S AHEAD: Paramount will distribute four new films in 2010, including the Marvel action hero movie "Iron Man 2," DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon," "Shrek Forever After," and "Oobermind," a super hero spoof.[29] Sure, starting with China, where we had the ability to distribute a film theatrically in China given the franchise that we have we can do extremely well and I will remind our listeners that China only allows 20 Western movies to be distributed legitimately theatrically a year.[5]

The rationalized slate strategy is clearly paying off. In addition to being second in domestic market share Paramount is on track to deliver the highest average domestic box office per picture as any major studio this year.[5] Adjusted earnings totaled 69 cents per share, well ahead of the 57 cents per share analysts had expected.[27] The film still has an international release coming up, so the earnings will keep growing.[40]

Page 12 of the web presentation provides a breakdown of filmed entertainment revenues. [5] We'''re expanding our offering of iPhone applications, building on the success of apps like the SpongeBob Tickler which has sold well over a million downloads.[5] Dauman also trumpeted Paramount's more tightfisted management strategy. "The studio has also maintained much tighter controls over head count and, reflective of the current environment, they are taking a more disciplined approach to new deals with talent and production costs," he said.[20] Credit "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" for helping to improve the company's financial picture, along with pay-TV operators who shelled out more money to carry Viacom's channels, including MTV, VH-1, Nickelodeon, BET and Comedy Central.[20] The industrywide advertising slump and shifting consumer habits have hurt the company as it takes in less money from selling commercial time and DVDs.[15] APRIL 14, 2009 at the TIME & LIFE BUILDING, NYC. A one-day event where seasoned Mediaweek editors will help decipher the strengths and weaknesses among the broadcast and cable networks, TV syndicators and digital players.[2]

MDC's McDonald Building Addressable Marketing, Ad Portfolio MDC Partners has tapped Chris McDonald to advise agencies in bolstering data mining capabilities and help the holding company evaluate potential acquisition opportunities in the research area. [30]

SOURCES

1. Transformers lifts hope for Paramount's Q4 - 11/3/2009 - Video Business
2. Viacom Sees Revenue Drop in Q3
3. Viacom's Profits Up As Recovery Sets In | paidContent
4. Paramount Swings to Quarterly Profit | homemediamagazine.com
5. Viacom Inc. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript -- Seeking Alpha
6. Paranormal Activity Sequel Moving Forward - Reel Movie News
7. Paranormal Activity 2: Paramount Wants It, But Would It Work? - Film School Rejects
8. 'Paranormal Activity' sequel a possibility
9. Viacom Earnings Up Thanks to Beatles, B.O. | The Wrap
10. Viacom Inc. reports Q3 profit gains
11. Viacom Ad Sales Down, Earnings Beat Consensus Estimate | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD
12. Greenfield Ups Viacom Target - 2009-11-03 16:28:57 EST | Multichannel News
13. Viacom reports profit increase in third quarter - Monsters and Critics
14. Viacom Net Earnings Rise 24% | Market News Video
15. The Associated Press: Viacom 3Q profit jumps 15 pct on strong box office
16. Viacom Inc. Reports Operating Results (10-Q) -- GuruFocus.com
17. Viacom's Dauman: Epix Close to Carriage Deals - 2009-11-03 12:57:31 EST | Multichannel News
18. UPDATE 4-Box office hits help lift Viacom profit 15 pct | Industries | Technology, Media & Telecommunications | Reuters
19. Sumner Redstone: Economic Clouds Beginning to Part | The Wrap
20. Viacom posts 15% jump in profit in third quarter -- latimes.com
21. The Associated Press: Viacom's 3Q profit jumps 15 percent
22. Another Hint At Paranormal Activity Sequel - HorrorMovies.ca
23. Paranormal Acitvity Sequel Still Promised By Greedy Executives
24. A PARANORMAL sequel on the way?
25. Viacom Q3 Ad Revenue Falls 4%, Decline Slowing - 2009-11-03 10:14:52 EST | Broadcasting & Cable
26. Viacom Q3: Encouraging Results -- Seeking Alpha
27. Box office hits help lift Viacom profit 15 percent | Industries | Reuters
28. Viacom profit up with box office and The Beatles | Reuters
29. The Associated Press: Earnings Preview: Viacom to report 3Q results
30. MediaPost Publications - Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines
31. The Associated Press: Viacom's 3Q profit jumps 15 percent
32. Investors.com - Theater strength boosts Viacom
33. Earnings Preview: Viacom -- Seeking Alpha
34. Viacom 3Q Profit Up 15% As Filmed Segment Swings To Profit - WSJ.com
35. The Associated Press: Earnings preview: Comcast to report 3Q results
36. MOVIE NEWS: Paranormal Activity Sequel In The Works & Terminator Up For Sale | RadarOnline.com
37. Paramount Keen to Sequelize Paranormal Activity - ShockTillYouDrop.com
38. Paranormal Activity sequel already in the works?
39. Viacom's Profit Rises 15% - WSJ.com
40. Paramount on Paranormal Activity Sequel | WorstPreviews.com

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Viacom posts 15% jump in profit in third quarter

Los Angeles Times - here.

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