Viacom’s quarterly revenue falls 10.6 pct

Viacom shares have decreased 32 percent since the beginning of the year. Time Warner, for its part, relied on videogame revenue to drive earnings in its latest quarter.

Domestic advertising revenue fell 9% because of a decline in traditional TV ratings, worse than the ad sales drop of 5% to 8% expected by analysts. Worldwide advertising revenues decreased 2 percent, despite a 58 percent surge in global advertising revenues driven by Channel 5, which was acquired in September 2014.

The New York-based company reported quarterly reported net income of $591 million, or $1.47 per share, versus $610 million, or $1.40 per share, in the year-ago period. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion.

As the U.S. TV market matures, Viacom has hedged by expanding internationally, and that proved to be a bright spot in the quarter.

Viacom has staked future growth on global expansion. Also its home-entertainment revenues was down 30% to $199 million. The company had benefited in the year-earlier quarter from the release of its blockbuster “Transformers: Age of Extinction”.

Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) is an entertainment content company that connects with audiences in over 160 countries and territories and creates compelling television programs, motion pictures, short-form video, applications, games, consumer products, social media and other entertainment content. The Company operates through two segments: Media Networks and Filmed Entertainment.

Media Networks’ revenues for the quarter edged up slightly from last year to $2.60 billion, primarily due to higher affiliate fees.

During a conference call with investors, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said Paramount Pictures will expand its annual release slate to 15 movies in 2016.

Viacom reaffirmed the network’s talent pipeline of young stars on Comedy Central, as Jon Stewart prepares to depart as host of “The Daily Show” Thursday night. Viacom’s profit excluding some items rose to $1.47 a share, in line with projections. Mr. Dauman billed his replacement, Trevor Noah, as “late night’s first millennial host”.