Viacom Reports Revenue, Profit Gains

NEW YORK, February 29:
Viacom’s profit for the fourth quarter was up 16 percent to $559.5 million,
while net income for the year gained 15 percent to $1.8 billion.

For the full year of 2007,
revenues increased 18 percent to $13.42 billion, and for the fourth quarter
they increased 19 percent to $4.25 billion.

Philippe Dauman, the president and CEO of Viacom, noted: "Across our Media
Networks business, we made substantive changes domestically and internationally
to enhance our operations, from programming development and advertising to
digital initiatives and new branded business ventures. Our investments in
original programming paid off, driving ratings gains and putting us in a strong
position to continue to grow advertising revenues. By increasing our capability
and reach in the digital arena, we comfortably surpassed our goal of generating
$500 million in digital revenues for the year. Today, our digital operations
have reached a critical mass with more than 300 online properties, the Flux
social-networking platform, a thriving online casual-gaming business and
prominent mobile presence. The fourth-quarter launch of our console game Rock
Band was an unqualified success, setting the foundation for another valuable
franchise.”

Dauman continued: "A
strong slate of films propelled Paramount to the number one market share
position in 2007 with the DreamWorks/Paramount blockbuster Transformers leading the charge. We have made substantial
progress in repositioning the studio creatively, focusing on our brands and
franchises. That work will continue as we look forward to a promising slate in
2008."

At the Media Networks
segment, revenues gained 18 percent in the quarter to $2.4 billion and 12
percent in the year to $8.1 billion. Filmed entertainment in the quarter was up
19 percent to $1.8 billion, while for the year, revenues gained 28 percent to
$5.5 billion.

—By Mansha Daswani