Viacom Delivers Q2 Profit Gain

Second-quarter net earnings at Viacom rose by 42 percent to $363 million on revenues of $3 billion, 6 percent lower than the year-ago period.

“This quarter we executed strongly on our strategic priorities and made significant progress in advancing our evolution,” said Bob Bakish, president and CEO. “We grew viewership share at our flagship networks, accelerated our Advanced Marketing Solutions and continued our momentum at Paramount Pictures. We also achieved important milestones in expanding our distribution across traditional, digital and mobile platforms, while dramatically improving our audience reach through the integration of Pluto TV. As the media landscape continues to segment across price points, we’re confident in our strategy, strong results and the opportunities ahead as we continue to position Viacom for the future.”

At Viacom Media Networks, revenues were down 7 percent to $2.3 billion, with U.S. revenues of $1.8 billion and international revenues of $443 million. Ad revenues slipped by 7 percent to $1 billion and affiliate revenues by 6 percent to $1.1 billion. Consumer products, recreation and live events brought in $95 million, an 18 percent fall compared to last year. U.S. ad revenues were down 2 percent ($820 million), as were affiliate revenues ($936 million), while consumer products, recreation and live events saw a 3-percent lift ($68 million). International revenues, impacted by foreign exchange, macroeconomic headwinds in the U.K. and the timing of SVOD, included $213 million in ad revenues, $203 million in affiliate revenues and $27 million from consumer products, recreation and live events.

Total revenues at Paramount Pictures were stable at $730 million, as strong theatrical gains—led by Bumblee—made up for lower licensing and home-entertainment revenues.