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Viacom’s quarterly revenue took a dive after a ratings slump dragged down its cable networks.
Double-digit ratings declines for its biggest networks, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, contributed to a 17 percent drop in revenue.
Viacom’s Paramount film division also suffered a big hit due to tough comparisons. The studio released just one new film in the quarter ended September, “Katy Perry: Part of Me,” compared with last year’s $1 billion blockbuster, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.”
Still, it’s the sluggish ratings for Viacom’s cable networks, which account for the bulk of revenue, that has Wall Street on edge.
For the year, MTV’s total viewership in primetime is down 27 percent; Nickelodeon dropped 26 percent; and Comedy Central is down 19 percent.
MTV is also losing the show that helped bring the network out of its last ratings funk, “The Jersey Shore.”
When an analyst asked yesterday if MTV was broken, CEO Philippe Dauman retorted, “It’s not broken, it’s highly successful.”
Dauman has been spending on programming in a bid to boost ratings. MTV just hired Susanne Daniels, a former Lifetime executive, to head programming and find the next “Jersey Shore.”
Meanwhile, Nickelodeon has been adding fresh “Sponge Bob Squarepants” episodes and is replacing aging shows like “iCarly.”
Domestic ad revenues fell 6 percent in the latest quarter. Dauman said it would continue to be negative in the fiscal first quarter.
Affiliate revenue from program distributors, however, rose 12 percent in the US, thanks in part to a new deal with satellite-TV provider DirecTV.
Despite revenue woes, profit was better than expectated. Viacom’s stock rose 2.48 percent to $49.92.
Net income from continuing operations was $643 million, or $1.24 a share, compared with $576 million, or $1, a year earlier.