When Viacom CEO Bob Bakish took the stage on the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, the story he was there to inform was certainly one of turnaround. The firm, he instructed the gang of buyers, will “get again to historic profitability ranges within the subsequent few years.”
Bakish had cause to be feeling good. Just days earlier, CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves was ousted after a brand new group of ladies accused him of sexual abuse. The change appeared to present Shari Redstone, the bulk proprietor of Viacom and CBS through her National Amusements, the upper-hand in a battle she has been waging to merge the 2 companies, which separated in 2005. If that state of affairs unfolds, Bakish is the main contender to take over the mixed companies.
Bakish by no means straight referenced the goings on at CBS, however did acknowledge the company maneuvering by saying, “there’s numerous noise and exercise round consolidation and scale. For our functions, what we’re very centered on is working the property we already personal.”
Redstone’s man at Viacom — she helped set up him as CEO in 2016 after the ouster of Philippe Dauman, the longtime ally of her father Sumner Redstone — has certainly presided over a interval of stabilization for Viacom. The firm reported better-than-expected fiscal third quarter earnings in August caused by some cost-cutting measures. The movie unit’s working revenue grew to $44 million, up from $9 million throughout the identical interval a yr in the past, whilst income slumped 9 p.c. The tv unit’s working earnings was down eight p.c.
“We’re concurrently engaged on a Viacom turnaround and an evolution of the enterprise,” Bakish instructed the Communacopia crowd, ticking off latest acquisitions of digital studio Awesomeness and influencer advertising agency WhoSay.
Though Viacom is preventing in opposition to client developments relating to rising its tv enterprise, Bakish spoke with enthusiasm about that unit at Viacom. “If you are taking MTV circa November ’16, there have been lots of people saying that it is over, it is misplaced its relevance. I, however, consider it was about unhealthy execution and the incorrect administration,” he mentioned, explaining that after a change in administration “MTV has had a string of development quarters.”
At Paramount particularly, he famous that Jim Gianopulos “undoubtedly has turned out to be” the suitable man for the job. “You see it within the numbers within the third quarter and you may see it within the fourth quarter,” he defined, noting the success of titles like The Quiet Place and Book Club. He added, “There’s no query that the mountain is again.”
This article was initially revealed by The Hollywood Reporter.
