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Snooki and the rest of the “Jersey Shore” cast couldn’t save Viacom in the latest quarter.
The media giant, which houses cable network MTV and the Paramount film studio, said profit declined 12 percent in the fiscal first quarter after higher cable ratings and film revenue failed to make up for slumping DVD sales.
Revenue fell a more-than-expected 5 percent, sending the shares down in early trading before rebounding. Class A shares of the company, controlled by Sumner Redstone, fell 47 cents to close at $50.04. It’s ‘B’ shares fell 42 cents to $43.55 in New York Stock Exchange trading.
Much of the decline was attributed to a 77 percent drop in profit at Paramount as DVD sales of “How to Train Your Dragon” and the latest “Shrek” faced tough comparisons with year-earlier hits “Transformers,” “Star Trek” and “GI Joe.”
Despite a strong box-office that benefited from films like “True Grit” and “The Fighter,” revenue at the Hollywood unit fell 16 percent, dragged down by a 44 percent drop in home entertainment.
At the media networks division that includes MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, revenue rose 6 percent, reflecting rising ad sales. Lifted by higher ratings for MTV’s “Jersey Shore,” US ad sales rose 10 percent. “Jersey Shore” has posted record ratings in its third season, which began last month and ranked No. 1 in the 18-49 age group advertisers most want, beating broadcast networks, MTV said last week. On Jan. 25 MTV ordered a fourth season.
Despite the cable ad growth, Viacom still lagged it peers. Time Warner’s global cable ad sales grew 21 percent, while News Corp.’s grew 12 percent in the same period. News Corp. also owns The Post.
“Some of our competitors had the benefit of some pretty strong sports programming in that quarter,” Viacom COO Tom Dooley said in response to questions about its performance relative to rivals.
Net income fell to $610 million, or $1 a share, from $694 million, or $1.14, a year ago. Revenue fell to $3.83 billion, below analysts’ average estimate of $4.08 billion.