Rentrak Edges Further Onto Nielsen's TV Turf
After enjoying a ratings monopoly during television’s first six decades, Nielsen increasingly finds itself challenged by upstart competitors…
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Jersey Shore No Laughing Matter At Viacom; Helps Push Revs Up 20 Percent
A strong quarter from Viacom (NYSE: VIA), thanks to home entertainment, television licensing and domestic advertising combined with a 50 per…
TWC’s TGIF: Live Streams Of Fox Cable, Discovery Nets Are Back On iPad App
Two weeks after removing a batch of cable networks from its in-home live streaming iPad app, Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) has Fox and Disco…
paidContent Week In Review: NYT Paywall; Ad Age Digital; TWC Vs. Viacom
In case you missed it, links to some of the top stories in digital media this past week — including David Kaplan’s coverage of the Ad Age D…
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Facebook Video Count Has Been Plummeting For Five Months
Facebook is practically synonymous with explosive growth–with one notable exception. An examination of comScore’s U.S. online-video ranking…
Viacom Digital Head Clayman Tapped To Run News Corp. Tablet News Venture
Greg Clayman is leaving his post as MTV’s EVP, digital distribution & business development, and is jumping to News Corp (NSDQ: NWS). to mana…
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IAC, Yahoo, Facebook, Others Come To Google’s Side In Viacom Suit
A host of Google (NSDQ: GOOG) competitors have come to the company’s defense in its $1 billion lawsuit with Viacom (NYSE: VIA). In a joint b…
Silicon Valley Stands Up for YouTube in Viacom Case
In a case that is increasingly starting to look like a battle between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, eBay, Facebook, IAC and Yahoo an amicus brief in support of YouTube in its case against Viacom, arguing that a decision in favor of Viacom could stifle web innovation.
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Hollywood Backs Viacom in YouTube Case
A group of Hollywood studios, including Walt Disney, NBC Universal and Warner Bros., have thrown their support behind Viacom in its lawsuit against YouTube, filing an amicus brief arguing against the video sharing site’s defense in the long-running copyright infringement case.
Viacom Turns In Double-Digit Profit Increase Despite Drop In Revenue
If you’re still looking for an explanation of Viacom (NYSE: VIA) CEO Philippe Dauman’s lucrative five-year contract extension, this should h…
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Viacom Releases More Unsealed Documents In Google Case
Scant hours before Google (NSDQ: GOOG) releases earnings, Viacom (NYSE: VIA) has released another batch of just-unsealed documents in its $1…
Viacom: Google Used Piracy for Profit
UPDATED The latest volley has been filed in the copyright infringement suit between Viacom (s VIA) and Google (s GOOG): Just hours…
How Much Did It Cost to Build YouTube?
Let’s say it’s 2005 and online video is in its infancy. If you’re a Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, how…
YouTube-Viacom, Part One: Google Says Viacom ‘Covertly’ Put Its Own Clips On YouTube
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) attorneys argue in the trove of documents unsealed in the long-running legal battle between YouTube and Viacom (NYSE: VI…
Viacom: Google, YouTube Founders Willfully Ignored Infringement
The release of court filings in the three-year old copyright infringement suit between Viacom and YouTube has opened a whole new can of worms. To grow, Viacom says that YouTube’s founders and later executives at Google turned a blind eye to copyrighted material.
Viacom’s Profits Up As Recovery Sets In
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) reported its Q309 earnings this morning, and its profits rose to $463 million from $401 million a year earlier, beating a…
Viacom May Have E-Mails Showing YouTube Knowingly Violated Copyrights
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) may be in the possession of e-mails proving that YouTube employees knowingly uploaded unauthorized videos, which could he…
Did YouTube Employees Upload Copyrighted Content?
In the ongoing back and forth of Viacom’s (s VIA) $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube/Google (s GOOG), evidence may have been uncovered…
Earnings: Viacom Profits Drop 32 Percent On Ad Declines; Even Rock Band Sales Disappoint
As the media slump continues, Viacom (NYSE: VIA) has been hit hard in Q2, as profits fell 32 percent to $277 million ($0.46 cents per share)…
Mobile Content Bits: E! IPhone, Android; Kraft; MTV; Ringtone Recorder Pro
— E! IPhone And Android: E! Entertainment Television plans to launch a free app for the iPhone and Android platforms this week, followed by…
Earnings: Viacom Profit Down 34 Percent; ‘Rock Band’ Sales Strike Sour Chord
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) reported Q109 revenue decreased 7 percent to $2.9 billion, while net income decreased 34 percent to $177 million and earn…
Getting Back On Track: Some Tips For The Music Business
Last week, in the wake of Sony (NYSE: SNE) and YouTube reupping their licensing agreement, we wrote about how rare it is to see deals betwee…
Earnings: Challenging Fourth Quarter For Viacom, But Few Surprises
Viacom
Mobile Video Use Doubled Last Year; Long-Form Popular
Although it’s still one of the least popular forms of mobile entertainment mobile video is showing some respectable growth. Perhaps more int…
Viacom And Time Warner Cable Play Chicken; Programmer To Pull Networks Over Fee Dispute
Subscribe to Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Cable and have a kid with a Dora addiction? Get ready to pop in DVDs. Need your daily fix of The Daily…
Mobile Content Bits: VH1 IM Application; People Mobile; Verizon-aFLIX; Playphone-Cincinnati Bell
— Flavor Flav in your pocket: Yeah boyeee! America
Earnings: Viacom Ekes Out Q3 Revenue Increase; Profits Drop 37 Percent
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) execs did a little earnings inoculating last month with a warning that it wouldn’t meet earlier guidance for Q3 so there…
Viacom-YouTube Update: VCs Will Have To File With Court On Decisions To Back YouTube, Sell To Google
YouTube’s VC backers are being asked to explain to a federal court why they invested in the video venture — and why they sold to Google (NS…
Viacom, NBCU and Others Form ‘Advocacy Group’ Arts+Labs With Songwriters Guild
To add to the confusion about industry consortiums, another new advocacy group called Arts+Labs has been formed by heavyweights in the enter…
@ CTIA: Mobile TV Still A Poor Experience Overall
A group of executives from MediaFLO USA, MobiTV, MTV, Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Fox sat in on an afternoon panel that addressed the various bus…
Fox International Buys Made-For-Mobile Program ‘The Cell’ For First Push Into Online Programming
The Cell — no, not the J. Lo flick — but a made-for mobile show, produced by Endemol, has been purchased by Fox International Channels as…
Earnings: Viacom Q2 Beats, But Worldwide Ad Growth Weak; Domestic Ad Revs Up Just 1 Percent
Viacom (NYSE: VIA), parent of MTV and Rock Band, reported Q2 revenue of $3.85 billion, a 21 percent increase from $3.18 billion in the year-…
MobileBeat: Show Us The Money; Mobile Java Gap Makes It Harder
The MobileBeat 2008 conference ended on a high note yesterday
Lionsgate Brings Movie Clips To YouTube; Rev Share; YouTube on Tivo
This could represent an easing of tensions between Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and the Hollywood studios… Lionsgate has a deal with YouTube to run…
Viacom-YouTube: User Logs Will Be Anonymized
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is claiming a minor victory in the ongoing copyright case – though Viacom (NYSE: VIA) last week won in its request for a…
Viacom: Easy Tiger, We Don’t Want Your Data
Viacom doesn’t want to know what you watch on YouTube, so you can all relax. At least, that’s what an representative from…
Viacom Denies It Wants YouTube Data
On a day when iPhone app madness has swept the planet (or planet blog at least), there is a bunch of news…
Viacom Denies It Wants YouTube Data
Viacom has issued a statement about the recent court ruling that ordered YouTube to hand over its user data to the media…
Viacom-YouTube Case: Google Doesn’t Have To Reveal Innermost Secrets
Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) $1 billion YouTube copyright suit may have gone quiet in recent months, but it picked up again on Tuesday when Google (…
Ad Industry Roundup: Viacom; Up And Comers; Coors; Nielsen
— Viacom warns of slowing ad growth: CEO Philippe Dauman told attendees at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions conference that U.S. ad revenu…
Viacom Ups Ante In YouTube Copyright Spat: Google More Than A Mere Enabler
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is getting a lot of attention for claiming in its latest court brief (.pdf) that Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) lawsuit against Yo…
Music Bits: Grand Theft Auto’s Easy Button; WMG’s Dynamic-Pricing Test; Sony BMG-EMI-Amazon
Music and games have proven a potent combo, particularly when it comes to download sales. Last week, Viacom (NYSE: VIA) announced 1Q earning…
Earnings: Viacom Call: Ad Revs Up 8 Percent; $100 Million Max Investment In JV; Social Media Deals?
Quarters like this only increase Sumner Redstone’s love for Viacom (NYSE: VIA) CEO Philippe Dauman: “It’s always great to start the day off…
Earnings: Viacom Q1 Revs Up 15 Percent; Tops Estimates; Rock Band Drives Media Growth
Another solid quarter from Viacom (NYSE: VIA), which continues to out perform. The parent of Rock Band (and a little network called MTV) ann…
Industry Moves: Viacom; Oxygen; Ascent Media; IODA
— Viacom: MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) and BET have promoted Melody Tan to SVP for strategy and business operations in the Content Distribution…
Guitar Hero: Gibson Asserts Patent Claims; Viacom’s Harmonix Negotiating Higher Royalties
As if you needed any more evidence that Guitar Hero had made it big: Guitar company Gibson has accused the game’s maker, Activision (NSDQ: A…
Earnings: Viacom Q4 Revs Up 19 Percent; Net Income Up 14 Percent; No Ad Slowdown Seen
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) has reported Q4 revenue of $4.24 billion, up 19 percent from $3.56 billion in the year-ago quarter. Net income on a conti…
Google Response Time To Viacom Copyright Lawsuit Extended Two Months
The timeline for Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) megabucks copyright lawsuit against Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and YouTube has been extended, well past the M…
Viacom's $1 Billion Lawsuit Of YouTube: Google Replaces Attorneys On The Case
Yes, the Viacom-Google (NSDQ: GOOG) lawsuit on YouTube is kicking up again and, well, “progressing”: Google has replaced the high-profile at…
Holidays-Almost-Over Wire: Star On SE; MTV Mobile Increase; Mobile TV Superstars?; BBC Phone-Ins
— TV company Star India has signed a deal with Sony Ericsson to embed its mobile TV application Plus on two Cybershot/Walkman handsets. Sta…
Viacom, Microsoft Team Up, Target Google
There is no love lost between Google and Microsoft. Same holds true for Viacom. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that…
Social Round-Up: Mobile Social Networks; ITV's Communities; Tr3s; BuzzCity
— Mobiles bring immediacy to social networks — people can comment on what they’re doing when they’re doing it. The USA Today has a big fea…
Earnings: Viacom Q3 Revenues Up 24 Percent; Net Income Up 80 Percent
A good performance from Viacom, with net income of $641.6 million in Q307, up 80 percent from $356.8 million. Revenues rose as well, up 24 p…
MTVN Broadcast Music Channels Prep Programming Tied To Lyrics Across TV, Web And Mobile
This November, MTV Networks will start a wave of multi-platform programming centered around song lyrics for its three primary music brands M…
Should YouTube Open its Video ID Index?
YouTube yesterday launched its long-awaited copyright infringement antidote, a system that checks new video uploads against files submitted by copyright owners. The…
YouTube Copyright Protection Tool Launches Finally; Initial Unauthorized Posting Still Possible
After months of promising a piracy content filter, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is now beta testing its YouTube Video Identification technology desig…
@ Convergence 2.0: Keynote: Michael Fricklas, General Counsel, Viacom
The right of established content holders to distribute their content as they please has been an underlying theme of much of the discussion h…
Tom Freston's New Company: Firefly3
This came out in bits during the Sun Valley confab in July, but some more details today: We reported on online video site Veoh’s $25 million…
Broadband Content Bits: Starz-Manga; Yahoo-Viacom; Yahoo-NFL; Fox
— Starz Media’s Manga Ambitions: Starz Media is taking its manga content online…it has licensed 40 hours of popular manga content to Heav…
More on MTVN-RealNetworks Music JV; VZW's Role
We’re covering it in details on paidContent.org:
— MTV-RNWK Music Venture: The Financial Details; Cash Plus $230 Million Note From MTVN
–…
MTV Closing Urge Music Service, Merging With RealNetworks' Rhapsody; Verizon Deal
The news was supposed to be announced at a press conference tomorrow at 11 A.M. in NYC, but WSJ jumped the gun on it (to be fair, no one car…
MTV Plans $500 Million Investment In Gaming; Includes Mobile
A few weeks after its younger sibling Nickelodeon said it would put up $100 million to develop online and mobile casual gaming initiatives,…
Viacom, Google/YouTube Play Deposition Poker: Colbert, Stewart Could Wind Up Under Oath
Most of the names on the deposition lists in Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) copyright suit against YouTube and parent Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) are busine…
Alltel Increases MTV Content; Widgetizes It
Alltel has extended its deal with MTV — A couple of days ago various MTV channels were announced as part of a new on-demand video service,…
Earnings: Viacom Q2 Profits Slip 1 Percent; Revs Up 13 Percent; Expects To Surpass Digital Rev Goals
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) reported that profit dipped 1 percent in Q2, coming in at $434 million, or 63 cents per share, down from last year’s $437…
Industry Moves: MTVN Mobile’s Greg Clayman Promoted To EVP, Digital Distribution
Some mobile media related changes at MTV Networks: Greg Clayman, who was promoted to SVP of MTVN Mobile Media in December, has been promoted…
Broadband Content Bits UK: BET Web TV Channel; Brightcove; Five News/Friction
-Viacom: Viacom’s BET Networks has partnered with Brightcove to launch a new black culture internet video channel in the U.K. BETonBlast.co…
MTV Debuts Feature Film On Vcast Before On Air
MTV has announced it will run the feature-length film Super Sweet 16: The Movie on Verizon’s V Cast TV (ie MediaFLO) before it goes on air,…
@ D: Colbert Introducing His Boss
Very funny intro to Philippe “Dough Man” Dauman’s interview at D: Updated: Looks like it got taken down by D for some reason…will post whe…
@ D: Viacom CEO Phillipe Dauman
One of the first calls I got when I became the CEO was Eric [Schmidt]. I am not about lawsuits, I like doing deals. We have had no problems…
Viacom To Sell Famous Music To Sony: Report
Viacom could announce as early as Wednesday the sale of music publishing business Famous Music to Sony/ATV Music Publishing for about $400 m…
Earnings: Viacom Touts Mobile In Q1 Earnings; BET Mobile Has 200K Subs
A detailed report on Viacom’s Q1 earnings is on paidContent.org here…CEO Philippe Dauman touted the company’s mobile growth in the call. A…
NBC U And Viacom File Brief Supporting LA Copyright Case Against YouTube, Google
Add another voice in the spate of Google/YouTube lawsuits: NBC Universal has joined Viacom in a friend of the court brief opposing YouTube’s…
Yahoo’s Panama Notches A Win With Exclusive Viacom Broadband Deal
Yahoo will be the exclusive provider of contextual and sponsored search ads for Viacom’s 33 broadband sites with the potential of expansion…
Industry Moves: BET Appoints Rolle New EVP & CMO; Liburd, Bowles New SVPs
Viacom’s BET is shoring up its marketing and communications team to support digital expansion and original programming. The changes include…
@ CTIA: Interview: Philippe Dauman, President & CEO, Viacom
As mentioned earlier, I interviewed Philippe Dauman, president and CEO of Viacom, following his CTIA keynote this morning. We talked as we w…
CTIA: “Go Gaming” Mobile Video Channel From GameTrailers
There are a number of things that have been proposed as the reason for mobile games doing less well than was predicted a few years ago, rang…
@ CTIA: Interview: Philippe Dauman, President & CEO, Viacom: The C Word
I interviewed Philippe Dauman, president and CEO of Viacom, following his CTIA keynote this morning. We talked as we walked through the conv…
@ CTIA: Keynote: Viacom CEO Phillipe Dauman
Last year, BET’s Debra Lee and MTVN’s Van Toffler addressed CTIA attendees; this year, to underscore Viacom’s claims of being the leading p…
Comedy Central Racing Ahead, South Park Starts Gaming With Mobile
The New York Times has a panegyric to Viacom’s cable channel Comedy Central, and its success compared with broadcast TV…its ratings have i…
@ CTIA: Viacom CEO Phillipe Dauman After Hours
Monday night, the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal City Walk was the site of a lovely but sedate Verizon Wireless party. Tuesday night, though, t…
Daily Show’s Demetri Martin On Viacom vs YouTube
The funniest Daily Show bit in years, not that it isn’t funny otherwise. The Viacom vs YouTube dispute, as interpreted by Demetri Martin.
Op-Ed Page Duel: Lichtman For Viacom, Lessig For YouTube
Before Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against against YouTube comes close to a courtroom, law professors Doug Lichtman (University of Chicago)…
VIA-GOOG: Google’s Response: Will Not Let Suit Be A Distraction For YouTube
Updated below to include comment from Google’s general counsel. Google, which sometimes refers reporters to YouTube PR for comment, responde…
Viacom and YouTube’s Dance Around: History Through Links
The links below will give you an overview of previous history between the two companies around YouTube and video compliance efforts, arrange…
Sony Brings Social Net, User-Gen Aspects To PS3; Viacom Extends Distribution Deal With Microsoft
In a move designed to maintain its competitive strength in the increasingly crowded video game space, Sony will unveil its new online, soci…
Bear Stearns: Viacom’s Dauman: Line Of The Day
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman: “People aren’t going to spend money for user-generated content like a cat going to the bathroom.” (via CNNMoney)
YouTube’s Going Small in Hunt For Content Deals; Viacom’s Chest-Thumps On Numbers
A good trend story in NYT about YouTube’s quest for small content deals, as it waits and litigates for big media content licensing deals.
Ju…
Viacom’s YouTube Foil: Broad Licensing Deal With Joost
Viacom and online TV provider Joost have done a broad distribution deal, all of which should put more pressure on YouTube to work out its di…
Redstone: We Didn’t Miss The Boat
Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone’s interview with Hollywood Reporter has some good gems about his view on digital media. Asked about whether…
@3GSM: While Music Frets Over Mobile Usability, TV Forges Ahead
Warner Music Group’s Edgar Bronfman, Jr., may have urged mobile industry bosses to simplify their screens for music in Barcelona this mornin…
@ 3GSM: MTV Rediscovers Videos, Million Mobile TV Streams Per Month
One of MTV Networks’ mobile TV strands, the eponymous MTV Mobile, is now pulling down 1 million streams per month, Greg Clayman, SVP-mobile…
@ 3GSM: MTV Mulls PPV EMAs; Prefers Custom Mobile Content
MTV Networks will favor made-for-mobile TV strands over simulcasts, will eschew short clips in favor of lengthier programming and could laun…
Nickelodeon Jumps On "Virtual City" Bandwagon: Nicktropolis For Tweens
Viacom-owned Nickelodeon previewed its latest interactive offering Monday, a “virtual city” called Nicktropolis, its most ambitious digital…
Industry Moves: Gambino Leaves Top Digital Post At MTV UK
Angel Gambino, MTV UK
Germany
News Corp
Verizon And MTV Plan Live Concert Series
MTV and Verizon Wireless have announced a new series dubbed MTV Live, which will consist of live performances at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times…
@ CES: Viacom Brass, Elvis, More Make The Flickr Stream
You never know who or what will show up in our CES photos. Neither do I — some pictures that look great on the small camera LCD turn out to…
Industry Moves: Viacom Ups Wade Davis To SVP, Strategy and M&A
Viacom has expanded the role of its lead deal executive: Wade Davis has been appointed SVP of Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions. Previously…
MTV Forms New Digital Team, Focus on Mobile Content & Relationships
Viacom-owned MTV Networks has formed a new Global Digital Media executive team with a brief to provide strategic guidance to the company’s p…
MTV Teen network "N" Goes Mobile With Sprint
MTV Networks’ teen-targeted N cable channel is going mobile as part of a deal between the Viacom property and Sprint. The N network — as in…
MTV Takes Wraps Off Its Mobile Content Subscription Service
[by Peggy Anne Salz] MTV has launched Bananas, a cross- carrier, direct-to-consumer subscription offering that features exclusive content fr…
MTV Takes Wraps Off Branded, D2C Mobile Content Subscription Service
MTV has launched Bananas, a cross- carrier, D2C subscription offering that features exclusive content from MTV, MTV2 and mtvU (including mat…
More on MTVN Mobile Media: Clayman Promoted To SVP; More Promotions
We mentioned yesterday about the newly formed MTVN Mobile Media Group within MTV Networks. Turns out it is not so much a reorg, but a new gr…
MTV Reogranizing Mobile Efforts; Forms Mobile Media Group
MTV Networks, which last year earned about $100 million in mobile worldwide last year, is reorganizing and centralizing all its mobile effor…
Industry Moves: Paramount Appoints Digital SVP
Movie studio Paramount, part of Viacom, has appointed former Microsoft exec Derek Broes as the SVPof its new-ish digital unit Paramount Digi…
More On New MTVN Division
The official announcement about the new MTVN Entertainment Group was made today. I left a couple of the sites involved out of last night’s p…
Media Week: CSFB Day 1: Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman
Philippe Dauman made his first Media Week appearance as Viacom CEO Monday; he was the keynote speaker at CSFB’s lunch.
— AdAge: Dauman ga…
MTV To Offer New Web Sites Covering … Pretty Much Everything
Having carved its cable music stations into a wide variety of offerings (some of which present little actual music programming), MTV Network…
Weekend Reading: Sumner Redstone Gets The Vanity Fair Treatment
The December Vanity Fair has a glossy Bryan Burroughs spread on Viacom/CBS Chairman Sumner Redstone — the fish-filled house in exclusive, g…
10-Q Watch: Viacom Paid $22.7M For Buying Back 58% Of BET.com; $84.6M For MTV Japan Buyback
So says Viacom’s third quarter 10-Q report, filed with SEC last week…we reported in August on Viacom buying back the rest of the stake in…
Earnings: Viacom CEO: “Good Chance” For $500 Million From Digital In ’07
New Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman used the 3Q earnings call for a thorough rundown of the company’s digital moves — most in place or in the wo…
Industry Moves: MTVN Appoints Mika Salmi President, Global Digital Media
Atom’s Mika Salmi has been appointed to head MTV Networks multiplatform efforts as president, global digital media, reporting directly to Ju…
@ Forbes MEET: Paramount’s Grey: Can’t Afford To Miss Digital Distro; Can’t Afford To Do It Wrong
Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO Brad Grey is a funny guy — he actually had a prety tired audience laughing out loud with his tales of b…
Freston Severance Package Finalized, Detailed; Worth About $85 Million
If Viacom shareholders weren’t thrilled by Tom Freston’s compensation as CEO and president wait until they see the going away package. Frest…
MTV Acquires Quizilla, Launches Video Service With Baidu
MTV has made one of its “smaller internet acquisitions” in the form of teen UGC site Quizilla.com. The site is said to be profitable and has…
Viacom’s Redstone Not Bidding For Facebook
Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone has ruled out bidding for Facebook, he told U.S. journalist Charlie Rose in a televised interview, last nigh…
Judy McGrath Staying at MTV, Post Freston-Firing
We missed it earlier this morning: Judy McGrath has made peace with herself and the new Viacom management: the MTV networks chairman intends…
Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone Agrees To Less Upfront Cash
Several weeks after two new top Viacom executives agreed to pay packages with low upfront cash payments, Sumner Redstone has agreed to follo…
MTV To Buy Game Developer Harmonix Music For $175 Million: Report
Viacom’s MTV Networks is acquiring Cambridge, Mass.-based Harmonix Music Systems, the music-oriented video game developer, for $175 million;…
Communacopia XV: New Viacom CEO: Flight To Web “Big Myth”
Making his first public pitch since succeeding Tom Freston earlier this month, new CEO Phillipe Dauman told the Goldman Sachs audience that…
MTV’s Online Avatar Play
NYT had a long paean to MTV’s latest efforts, which like most others it has done in the online world, is copying others (except when it buys…
Nickelodeon Extends Brand Thru Social Net For Parents, Pays Selected Users
Nickelodeon’s public beta of its social net parentsconnect.com is now live, following the private trial started in July. This is a canny ex…
Exec Compensation: New Viacom Execs; Rupert Murdoch
Viacom: New CEO Phillipe Dauman said the compensation packages for himself and new CAO Tom Dooley would be structured differently from the c…
M&A Overpayment Fears At Viacom; Viacom Part Sale?; Freston’s Future Gig?
A day after the craziest big media shakeup, speculation is rife on various aspects of Viacom, as well the future of the ousted CEO Tom Frest…
Viacom Exec Changes: All About Sumner
Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone’s September surprise — the firing of Tom Freston and the hiring of Philippe Dauman to replace him — is bei…
Viacom Exec Changes: What The Street Thinks; Hint: Not On Same Page As Redstone
So much for Sumner Redstone’s contention that CEO Tom Freston had a problem with Wall Street. It’s not that simple, as witnessed by the mark…
Viacom Exec Changes: Redstone: The Street Didn’t Like Freston
Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone said this morning that discussions at the board level about replacing Tom Freston as CEO have been going on…
Viacom Exec Changes: More On New CEO Dauman
Peter Lattman goes memory diving and pulls up a 1995 Forbes glow-file of Phillipe Dauman, then dubbed the country’s most powerful “Trophy La…
Billy Bragg vs MTV Flux Spat Continues
He does love a ruckus. Billy Bragg appears to have given MTV Flux’ terms and conditions a good fisking, highlighting some selective copying…
MTV Flux Doesn’t Grab Artists’ Rights – MTV Responds
It didn’t take MTV long to respond to Billy Bragg’s rights-grabbing accusations yesterday. “It is accepted practice to ask artists to “waive…
WSJ Discovers MTV Online
It is almost as if Mr. Karnitschnig reads our site…just kidding. WSJ has a page-one story about how MTV is not as dominant online, most of…
Viacom/BET Networks Buys Back BET.com From MSFT, News Corp, Liberty Media and IAC
Updated: Viacom owned 42 percent of BET.com prior to this transaction, according to Viacom’s latest 10-K.
The news: BET Networks, owned by V…
Redstone Says Variable Digital Movie Pricing Needed; His Digital Manifesto
Updated: Redstone’s speech is archived in full, here.
This should create some more buzz in the movie industry, coming from a powerhouse like…
Audio Interview: MTV’s New User-Gen TV Service Flux
Ed’s Note: Peggy is our European contributing writer, covering mobile search & discovery, and conducting interviews for MocoNews.net. Below…
Viacom Ties Up With Adobe For Online, Mobile Media Delivery; Will Adopt Flash, FlashCast
Viacom continues its march to digital dominance … well, at least its effort to take more control over the digital future. This time, the c…
Viacom-Atom: Sale Price & Synergy With iFilm
Mika Salmi and his team have been at this for a long time now…almost eight years. The founders and shareholders had been weighing for the…
Earnings: Viacom 2Q06 Digital Revenues Up 58 Percent; Digital Ad Sales Rise 75 Percent
Updated: Viacom’s 2Q06 revenues included $51 million from digital, up 58 percent from 2Q05. Digital advertising revenue, comprising 68 perce…
Viacom-Atom: The Official Take
The announcement of Viacom’s aquisition of Atom Entertainment is out. The official take: MTV Networks has a definitive agreement to acquire…
Viacom Acquires Atom Entertainment For $200 Million
Atom Entertainment CEO Mika Salmi confirmed to sister site paidContent.org a WSJ report that Viacom is acquiring the company for $200 millio…
Viacom Looking At Social Networking Site Bebo
It may just be lazy August ramblings: FT is reporting that Viacom is considering making a bid for social networking site Bebo. Remember, Via…
Viacom, Google To Test MTVN Clips with AdSense; MTVN Downloads For Sale
Viacom is pairing up with Google to test a video distribution model based on AdSense — test being the operative word here — in an effort…
Viacom’s mtvU Acquires Online Campus Newspaper Network Y2M, For About $20M
Updated below: MTVN’s 24-hour college network mtvU is expanding its scope by acquiring Y2M: Youth Media & Marketing Networks. Y2M is the par…
Analyst: Redstone Should Take Viacom Private
Pali Research’s Rich Greenfield follows his recent harsh assessment of Viacom and his suggestion that CEO Tom Freston’s replacement might be…
MTV’s User-Gen TV Channel Flux To Launch in UK; Possible U.S. Rollout
Updated: read below: MTV is doing a extreme version of CurrentTV in UK: it has already announced plans for its Flux brand (as a mobile and u…
CTAM Summit 06: MTVN’s McGrath; MySpace’s Gold
CTAM Summit 06 is well underway in Boston. I had to cancel my trip so am following from afar. One good resource: the Multichannel News micr…
Comedy Central/Viacom In Talks To Buy TheOnion: Reports
So say two different reports today, and one of my sources at MTV says that talks are only in prelim stage (I’m not so sure on the veracity y…
MTV Has No Plans For MVNO
Greg Clayman, MTV Networks’ vice president of wireless strategy and operations, has said MTV has no plans to launch an MVNO, saying it “is f…
MTV/Nick Film Units To Report To Paramount; David Gale Heading New Media
Some more reshuffle within MTV Networks/Viacom, but this time on the movie side: Paramount Pictures will bring in house its two sister movie…
Ex-MTVers Start Video Site For Affluent Urbanites
When the My-Super-Sweet-16-ers grow up, they would be interested in this video site: two former executives at MTV are launching (it will go…
MTVN’s Logo Acquires Three LGBT Sites
MTV Networks’ Logo has acquired news site 365Gay.com and Erosion Media’s AfterEllen.com and AfterElton.com; it will combine the three with L…
Industry Moves: Jason Hirschhorn Leaves MTV Networks; Nick Lehman Interim Digital Head
You’re reading it here first … Jason Hirschhorn has resigned from MTV Networks after a six-year run topped off by his late November appoin…
Urge-WMP11: Can’t Win If The Idea Is To Woo Current iPod Users
I was a guest on Tom Ashbrook’s On Point (on WBUR) Monday, along with Brian Cooley, editor at large for CNET for a brief chat about the diff…
Urge/WMP 11 React: Serious Contender With More Work To Do
The Urge-WMP11 combo doesn’t officially go to public beta until Wednesday but a leaked version of WMP11 is accessible. These impressions of…
VH1 Podcasting Full BWE Episodes, Sans DRM
VH1 and its parent MTV Networks are banking on their hit (well, I like it a lot) show Best Week Ever as the skunkworks for a lot of experime…
First Look: MTVN Urge/Windows Media Player 11
We’ve all been calling it MTV Urge for months but that misses the point. It’s the music service of MTV Networks- not one network — somethin…
MTVN’s Urge On Verge Of Live Beta; Debuts Wednesday With WMP11
Some betas can sneak onto the scene. That’s not the case with MTV Networks’ Urge, scheduled to move into public beta Wednesday along with th…
Earnings: VIA: Q1 Revenues Up 12 Percent; Profit Dips
Viacom reported the results of its first quarter as what CEO Tom Freston calls “a new, focused and more nimble company”: a 12-percent uptick…
MTV To Air Online, On-Air Versions Of Some Shows Simultaneously
MTV’s restructuring with an emphasis on cross-platform/multi-platform programming gets its first real test as the network moves to simultane…
Viacom Buys Video Gaming Community Service Xfire For $102 Million; Yahoo Lawsuit Settled
Updated below: This one was coming for a long time…Xfire was on the block for a while. Now Viacom has snapped it up for $102 million in ca…
Interview: Van Toffler, President & Jason Hirschhorn, Chief Digital Officer; MTV Networks Group
[By Staci D. Kramer] After venue changes at CTIA, Van Toffler, Jason Hirschhorn and I wound up being led through wending passages in the Las…
MTV URGE Will Go To Market As Beta
[By Staci D. Kramer] A little teaser from a long interview at CTIA with Van Toffler, president, MTV Networks Group President and Jason Hirsc…
MSN Video Renews IFilm Contract, Expands Use
MSN Video has renewed its contract with IFilm and will expand its use of the site’s viral videos across all of its own sites. In addition t…
MTV’s Multiplatform Relaunch in Canada; Fight Against Chum
It is MTV vs Chum in Canada, an interesting multi-platform fight to watch out for…MTV is relaunching in Canada with local broadcaster CTV…
Why Neopets Works As A Way To Reach Kids
Maybe this caught my eye because I spent a lot of time on a 10-year-old’s computer last week complete with Neopets screensaver and cursor. (…
Nickelodeon Continues Multiplatform Programming Experiments; Commits To Multi-million Dollar Develop
The new programming slate Nickelodeon is showing off for its upfront ad presentations includes a number of programs developed from alternati…
YouTube Ties Up Wth MTV; First Formal Media Company Agreement
After some small rumblings from media companies like NBC and CBS (where they asked YouTube to take off unauthorized clips off the service),…
Freston: Viacom Will Enter Social Networking Space
Viacom CEO Tom Freston told the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit the company will get into social networking this year:…
MTVN Supplies Four Sprint TV Channels And First Domestic Streaming Radio
No, this isn’t our sister site MocoNews.net but we’ve had a slew of mobile content deals worth noting here in the last 24 hours. … The lat…
Industry Moves: Ex-WB CEO Levin’s New Firm Will Supply Content, Talent For Three Screens; Launches
Ex-WB CEO Jordan Levin is one of five partners in Santa Monica-based Generate, a production and talent company for three screens — TV, mobi…
Earnings: The New Viacom: 4Q05 Down, Fulll Year Up
Updated: read below: A combination of a bad quarter for Entertainment and one-time charges dragged Viacom’s net income for 4Q05 down to $130…
Analysts Appreciate Viacom’s Pure Content Play; New Media, International Should Fuel Growth
On the eve of its 4Q05 and year-end earnings call, Viacom’s recent road show seems to have the desired results with at least a couple of ana…
Son Sues Redstone For Fair Share; Could Make Life Complicated for Mogul, Viacom, CBS
Brent Redstone, the Redstone you don’t hear much about, is trying to force his father Sumner — aka chairman of Viacom and CBS– to break up…
“L Word” Drives One-Third Of Sho.com Traffic
The “L Word” may be Showtime’s breakout online hit, the one that actually gets people to remember that the domain is Sho.com, not showtime.c…
Can MTV Stay Cool And Relevant in Digital Age?
MTV’s the cover story on BW’s latest issue, and the premise is what it has been for a few years: would you still want MTV in this age of alt…
MTV Announces “Radical” Reorganization; Creates Confusion Over Status Of Digital Group
Updated: Some reorganizations make sense … not sure that’s the case with a batch of changes coming out of MTV today. It looks like the tra…
Friendster Sales Saga Continues; Viacom Takes A Pass
: [Staci D. Kramer] When I first heard last December from a reliable source that Viacom had made a $20 million offer for Friendster, I held…
Comedy Central’s Eight Web-Only Shows
Comedy Central’s getting serious…eight-original-web-only-shows-serious. It is introducing its 2006 slate of new shows today for its online…
@ CES 2006: Bill Gates: Pitch Man: Vista, Urge, Media Center In The Spotlight
Work in progress: Sitting in the orchestra with Microsoft execs courtesy of a Microsoftie, who saved me from overflow oblivion when I explai…
Viacom’s First iFilm-Acquisition Synergy: Web Junk 20
Viacom-owned VH1 is launching the first programming initiative to result from the company’s $49 million purchase of iFilm earlier this year:…
Weekend Reading: Freston, Moonves Look Back, Forward As Viacom Split Nears
Two long pieces from Diane Mermigas about the soon-to-diverge paths of MTV and CBS. To recap, when Viacom unbundles into two separate compan…
MTV Invests $50 Million in Amp’d Mobile Service
Is it me, or is MTV Networks the “desperate housewives” version of Fox Interactive Media? Now that MTV/Viacom lost the two big deals to Murd…
MTV Urge: A Departure For Microsoft; Basis For Next Version Of Windows Media Player
The new version of the Windows Media Player being developed for MTV’s Urge will also be the next major iteration of the player. Kevin Unang…
MTV Urge: Interview, Jason Hirschhorn, Chief Digital Officer, MTV Networks
It’s not easy to be effusive and try to lower expectations at the same time but that’s the position Jason Hirschhorn, chief digital officer…
Nickelodeon Buys GoCityKids.com
Nickelodeon, the kids-focused TV and online division of Viacom, has bought out GoCityKids, an online city directory and resource for both vi…
Industry Moves: Viacom Names M&A Chief
The new new Viacom has appointed an M&A head: Wade Davis is the senior VP of M&As. Davis was formerly a managing director, co-head of invest…
CBS To Stream NCAA BasketBall Games Free Online
This is a major step in the world of online sports rights: CBS Corp. has tied up with NCAA to webcast most out-of-market games online…Beg…
MTV Networks Acquires GameTrailers.com
MTV Networks has made its second acquisition in the broadband video space, after buying out iFilm: it has acquired online gaming video site…
CBS Is Looking For Video Search, Distribution Partners
Not exactly breaking news but CBS chairman Les Moonves says the company is talking to Google and Yahoo about potential video search and dist…
Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon License Shows To Hasbro’s VuGo (sub. req.)
Effective today,add Time Warner’s Cartoon Network and Viacom’s Nickelodeon to the on-demand download rolls. The two networks will provide ha…
Viacom:Very Much Underinvested Online
So says Viacom patriach and outgoing CEO Sumner Redstone, in an undreadably long interview in HR. “In the Internet, frankly, we are very muc…
NBC In 99-Cent VOD Pact With DirecTV; So Does CBS With Comcast
Updated: read below: Two major deals in the VOD space:
— NBC-DirecTV: This is a biggie for satellite TV, and hopefully opening-of-mind for…
Viacom To Buy CSTV For $325 Million
Viacom is buying College Sports Television Networks (CSTV), for $325 million. CSTV is a network of college TV channels and more importantly…
Mixed Results, Small Gains, Shareholder Overtures On the 3Q05 Earnings Agenda
A little dated because it previews the Viacom earningds announced Tuesday but a good overview of the media and entertainment earnings landsc…
Earnings: Cable, Entertainment Lead Viacom’s Last United 3Q To 10-Percent Rev Hike
Updated to include earnings call: Given the spate of reports, we may have to declare this Viacom Tuesday. In what likely will be the last ea…
Report: Viacom May Acquire CSTV
Updated: Viacom’s CBS Broadcasting is in talks to acquire College Sports Television Networks for as much as $500 million, according to Bloom…
Industry Moves: Bob Flood Leaves Optimedia For MTV Networks
Busy times for MTV Networks … MediaDailyNews reports that Bob Flood is leaving his post as EVP-director of national electronic media at Pu…
Industry Moves: MTV To Appoint Michael Wolf As COO
The other Michael Wolf…the media strategist and managing partner in McKinsey. MTV Networks, about to be spun off into a new company from p…
Comedy Central’s MotherLoad To Launch Nov 1
Comedy Central has released some more details of its upcoming broadband video service called Motherload (we reported on it here first)..it w…
Its Official: Viacom-MTV Acquires iFilm For $49 Million
As we reported first last month, Viacom and its division MTV Networks has bought out online video site iFilm, for about $49 million. The sit…
Viacom-iFilm Deal To Close This Week
Viacom, which is close to buying online video site iFilm (a story we broke in Sept), is expected to close the deal this week. Shareholders (…
MTVu Uber Usability Update
This is what I call executive attention to details. Jason Hirschhorn, MTV’s SVP-digital music and media, noticed my comment about not being…
MTV Networks’ Broadband Rollout Continues With MTVU Uber
MTV Networks is touting mtvU Uber as its first channel distributed in its entirety over broadband; MTVN’s other broadband sites offer pieces…
Motherload: Comedy Central’s New Broadband Service
Yes, that’s what it is called, according to an SEC filing detailing Viacom’s split into “New Viacom: and CBS Corp: “New Viacom also plans to…
Traditional Media Companies Answer Internet Wake-Up Call — After Sleeping In
After hitting the snooze bar one time too many, traditional media companies are waking to a game of catch-up with entry fees in the billions…
Google Streaming UPN’s Premiere Of New Chris Rock Show
It just wouldn’t be Monday — or any day — without a surfeit of Google news… In a sense, much of it centers on a shift from being a condu…
Warner, MTV In Global Mobile Music Video Pact
Warner Music Group and MTV Networks are announcing their “landmark global agreement” now. Turns out WMG is licensing music videos to MTVN fo…
Forget Multiplatform; Think Unplatform
Jeff Jarvis reads over yesterday’s post on Tom Freston’s remarks at Communacopia and the emphsasis on multiplatform, then makes the case for…
Exclusive: Viacom Close To Buying iFilm
[by Rafat Ali] Viacom, the Tom Freston part of it, is buying iFilm, the online movie-related and broadband content website, paidContent.org…
ML Media Conference: Tom Freston, Co-COO, Viacom
Tom Freston, Viacom’s co-COO (and in line to be the CEO of the new Viacom) spoke at the Merrill Lynch Media & Entertainment conference earli…
