Industry Contributor
12 Aug 2019 -
2 min read
Viacom-CBS merger close, ad sales up for Ten's owner
By Paul McIntyre
- Executive Editor
Viacom, owner of Nickelodeon, MTV and Paramount Pictures, saw ad sales increase for its cable networks for the first time in five years, says Variety.
Key points
- Advertiser interest in advanced TV advertising products, which include audience targeting and data-driven ad placement, was helping with ad growth
- Viacom's ad revenues rose 6 per cent in the third quarter
- Group revenues for the third quarter rose 4 per cent to $3.6bn, over the same period last year
- The results come as Viacom is in ongoing talks to merge with CBS Corp.
- A deal could be sealed within days
Network Ten will be subject to plenty of market conjecture when the Viacom-CBS merger is done - and it is close, by all accounts. A Viacom-dominated merged entity will most certainly bring a different dynamic to Ten's operations - given it was CBS which did the deal. The timing for Ten management is probably a little better than even four weeks ago given the strong performance of recent shows like The Bachelor. But with a new set of American masters, there will be a new set of challenges around structure, reporting lines and performance.
