ITV

Tag: Philippe P. Dauman

  • Viacom’s revenues for the year rise 19% to $11.5 billion

    Viacom’s revenues for the year rise 19% to $11.5 billion

    MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Viacom has reported financial results for the full year and fourth quarter ended 31 December, 2006.

    For the year, revenues were up by 19 per cent to $11.5 billion. Media networks revenues rose by seven per cent to $7.24 billion, led by an increase of 11 per cent in affiliate revenues to $2.03 billion.

    Global ad revenues were up six per cent to $4.29 billion, while ancillary revenues grew two per cent to $916 million.

    Viacom executive chairman Sumner M. Redstone, said, “Viacom delivered solid results for 2006, guided by a new management team under the leadership of Philippe Dauman, who has moved quickly to put the Company back on a steady path of success. I have great confidence that we will continue to build on the momentum of the last several months both in expanding our digital horizons and continuing to grow in traditional markets.”

    Viacom president and CEO Philippe P. Dauman says, “We are making significant progress financially and operationally to ensure that we thrive in all distribution channels, including the evolving digital marketplace. Financially, our 2006 performance was strong, with double digit growth in revenues and operating income and 16 per cent growth in adjusted net earnings per share.

    “During the first quarter of this year, we took decisive steps to deploy our capital in more productive ways, including restructuring our operations here and abroad. At the same time, we continued to introduce popular new programming on our linear channels, to expand our digital operations organically and to reach innovative agreements with new digital partners. 

    Additionally, we continue to expand on our position as a leading global provider of digital wireless video, and to innovate with new online sites and experiences.”

    In 2006, acquisitions contributed $125 million in incremental revenues to media networks. The increase of 46 per cent in film revenues to $4.38 billion in 2006 from $3.00 billion in 2005 principally reflected the acquisition of DreamWorks and distribution activities for DreamWorks Animation and the DreamWorks live-action library.

    This contributed $1.36 billion to 2006 revenues. Fourth Quarter revenues of $3.59 billion grew 32 per cent from $2.72 billion in 2005. Media Networks revenues rose by four per cent in the quarter to $2.08 billion from $1.99 billion in 2005 led by growth in affiliate revenues which were up 14 per cent to $532 million. Worldwide advertising revenues rose six per cent to $1.26 billion from $1.19 billion in 2005.

    Ancillary revenues declined 15 per cent in the quarter versus 2005 to $289 million, principally due to timing and mix of home entertainment releases. Acquisitions contributed $78 million in incremental revenues to Media Networks in the quarter. Film revenues doubled to $1.57 billion, with the acquisition of DreamWorks and the distribution activities for DreamWorks Animation and the DreamWorks live-action library films contributing revenues of $560 million.

  • Viacom revises employment agreement with Redstone

    Viacom revises employment agreement with Redstone

    MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Viacom’s board of directors has announced that it has entered into a revised employment agreement with its Executive Chairman Sumner M Redstone.

    The agreement reduces cash salary and bonuses effective 1 January, 2007 and immediately directly links the majority of Redstone’s compensation to superior shareholder returns.

    Redstone and the Compensation Committee of the Viacom Board are extending the equity driven approach to compensation and incentives adopted by Viacom in its recently announced agreements with Viacom president and CEO Philippe P Dauman and Viacom’s senior executive VP and chief administrative officer Thomas E Dooley.

    Redstone said, “As both a major shareholder and as the executive chairman of the company, I have long been in favour of the pay-for-performance model, which I believe is good for shareholders and good for the company. I want to commend the Compensation Committee for not only listening to our stockholders, but for their leadership, creativity and discipline in creating this new shareholder-friendly compensation structure.”

    Under the terms of the new agreement, beginning in 2007, Redstone’s salary will be reduced to $1 million per year (from current $1.75 million), and deferred compensation, presently $1.3 million per year, will be eliminated. His target cash bonus under Viacom’s short-term incentive plan will be reduced from $6.1 million to $3.5 million per year.

    Redstone will receive an annual award of stock options having a grant-date value of $3 million. He will also receive an annual award of performance share units (PSU’s) with a grant-date target value of $3 million.

  • Tom Freston quits; Philippe Dauman named new Viacom CEO

    Tom Freston quits; Philippe Dauman named new Viacom CEO

    MUMBAI: Barely eight months after Viacom chairman Summer Redstone split the global media powerhouse into two units — CBS Corp and Viacom Inc — one of his anointed CEOs has announced his resignation.

     

    Viacom CEO Tom Freston’s decision, which was sudden and unexpected, comes at a time when the company’s stock price was falling (down 20 per cent since January when the split from CBS became effective). The key properties under Freston’s charge were MTV Networks, which he literally created and built, as well as Paramount Pictures.
     

     

    Viacom announced today that the 60-year-old Freston was being replaced as president and CEO by Philippe P. Dauman. The Viacom board also named Thomas E Dooley to the newly created position of senior executive vice president and chief administrative officer. Dauman will report to Redstone, while Dooley will report to Dauman.

     

    Both Dauman, 52, and Dooley, 49, have previously held a number of executive positions at the company, and both currently serve on Viacom’s board.
    The official release quoted Freston as saying: “I’ve spent over 26 years at Viacom, 18 of them with Summer. With my exceptional colleagues, we built a worldwide powerhouse of brands and businesses, literally from scratch. I leave many good friends knowing that they have an unmatched track record, a great plan going forward and incredible abilities to execute on it in this digital age.”

     

    Official comments apart, it is clear that Freston was forced out by Redstone. Newswire service Associated Press quoted Redstone as telling analysts on a conference call that the board wanted a more entrepreneurial and aggressive management team that would have a closer relationship with investors. Investors didn’t seem too thrilled by the news though, sending the company stock down nearly 6 per cent in early trading.

     

    But far more than the slip-sliding stock price, what probably had the biggest hand to play in Redstone’s dumping a loyal lieutenant who built MTV into a global entertainment powerhouse was over Freston’s failure to aggressively chase MySpace, the youth social networking phenomenon that has taken the world by storm.

     

    It irks Redstone no end that a site that was a perfect fit as far as MTV’s youth demographic is concerned was snapped up from right under Viacom’s nose by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation for what in hindsight has turned out to be a steal at $ 580 million.

     

    “We bought a lot of little things and you can add it all up, but it’s not MySpace,” Redstone has been quoted as saying of the start-up that had been “sitting out there for a long time” before News Corp bought it out.

     

    Freston’s departure comes less than two weeks after Viacom announced it was parting ways with Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise’s production company, ending a 14-year relationship. Redstone’s stated reason for dumping Cruise was that his “erratic” behaviour made the association an unviable one.

    Viacom’s brands include MTV Networks (MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV, TV Land, Logo and more than 120 networks around the world), BET Networks, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Entertainment, DreamWorks and Famous Music.