Viacom Profit Falls 37 Percent

NEW YORK, November 4:
While Viacom's third-quarter revenues were up slightly, rising 4 percent to
$3.4 billion, its net earnings dropped 37 percent to $401 million, as a result
of lower theatrical earnings at Paramount and reduced advertising revenues at
MTV Networks.

At the Media Networks,
revenues gained 6 percent to $2.13 billion. This included $313 million in
ancillary revenues, which were up by 36 percent, driven in part by sales of Rock Band. Worldwide affiliate revenues
gained 12 percent to $660 million, reflecting rate and subscriber increases
across the company's core channels. Worldwide advertising revenues, however,
were down 2 percent to $1.16 billion, and U.S. ad revenues fell 3 percent.

Filmed Entertainment
revenues were stable at $1.31 billion. While there was a 30-percent growth in
home-entertainment revenues to $593 million, theatrical revenues fell by 36
percent to $312 million. Television license fees rose 16 percent to $342
million.

Sumner M. Redstone, the
executive chairman of Viacom, stated: "Viacom remains focused on running
its business efficiently and continuing to invest wisely in our brands. As
we've seen in the past, we believe audiences the world over will increasingly
turn to the television, film and multimedia programming we offer. This, in
turn, creates opportunities for us to deepen our audience connections."

Philippe Dauman, the president and CEO of Viacom, added: "The
economic environment and ongoing uncertainty have posed new challenges for the
media industry, and Viacom has not been immune to the impact of these forces.
Over the past two years, however, we have been judiciously managing our finances
and operations. Thanks to these efforts, we believe that we will be well
positioned both in the near term and as the global economy regains its footing
over time. With a talented team, world-class brands, a strong balance sheet and
significant cash flow, we will continue to drive our strategy forward."

—By Mansha Daswani