Commenting on a fairly successful third quarter, Viacom
Mark one more major content producer down for understanding the importance of a digital strategy in today's entertainment industries. Walt Disney
Viacom's financial strength today rests on its assortment of cable networks, including Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central. The occasional blockbuster from the entertainment division provides some extra juice, but really, it's all about South Park, Dora the Explorer, and Two-A-Days. This quarter, for example, the networks brought in $778 million of operating income, while Paramount et al lost $6.7 million on the same basis. Even with the runaway hit War of the Worlds contributing last year, filmed entertainment only brought in a relatively paltry $108 million operating income.
The trick going forward will be to monetize SpongeBob and Stephen Colbert through new channels, mostly online. For now, Viacom is relying mostly on a Google
Again, it's great to see that Viacom's top leadership understands this new reality, and I'm ready to see the details of Redstone's digital plans. Ready when you are, Sumner.
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Fool contributor Anders Bylund is a Disney shareholder, but holds no other position in any of the companies discussed here. You can check out Anders' holdingsif you like, and Foolishdisclosureis fully digital already.