One-time cash cow Nickelodeon—home to SpongeBob SquarePants — is scoring failing grades for parent Viacom and forcing ad revenues into decline. (©Nickelodeon Network/Courtesy Ev)
Quick, someone give SpongeBob SquarePants a hug.
Viacom’s Nickelodeon network, home to the popular cartoon character, which has been experiencing a ratings and advertising-revenue slide in 2012, will continue to report lower ad sales in the current quarter, one Wall Street analyst said.
Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research, said yesterday he expected ad revenue at Nick and Viacom’s other cable properties to fall by a total of 6 percent in the three months ending Sept. 30 — and that the decline would stretch into mid-2013.
In the three months ended June 30, the cable properties, led by a weakness at Nick, reported a 7 percent drop in ad revenue.
Competition and aging programming likely accounted for Nickelodeon’s ratings woes, according to Pivotal set-top-box research.
Nickelodeon US operations account for $900 million of ad revenue — a huge portion of Viacom’s $5 billion global ad revenue.
Viacom acknowledged the problem, and CEO Philippe Dauman said in August that more than a dozen new TV series and movies were being developed.
Nick is also experiencing a brain drain.
Yesterday, Nick’s No. 2 ad executive resigned to join cinema ad firm Screenvision.
Jim Tricarico, who was Nick’s executive VP, sales and marketing, was a 12- year veteran of Viacom.
Last month, Brown Johnson, the head of animation, left the company.
Viacom shares are off 3.5 percent this year and closed yesterday at $51.45, up less than 1 percent.
A spokesman didn’t immediately return a call for comment.