Viacom, parent company of MTV, CBS and Paramount Studios, reported net income dropped to $33 million (or 2 cents a share), from $97 million (or 14 cents a share) in the same period last year. The 2 cents a share drop barely squeaked by most market forecasts, which averaged right at 2 cents a share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.
Thanks in a large part to the ridiculous success of CBS' "Survivor," revenues rose 79% to $6 billion from $3.3 billion.
Pro forma revenues, which are much more talented than the "amateur forma" revenues, rose 7% to $6 billion from $5.6 billion in the same period last year. Pro forma revenues at Viacom's cable networks rose 13% to $1 billion, led by double-digit increases in MTV ad revenues.
Third quarter EBITDA—the world's third most exciting acronym—rose to $1.4 billion from $540 million last year. The company claimed it was on track to deliver full-year EBITDA of $5 billion and to achieve a growth of 20 percent for all of 2001. Ironically, 5 billion is exactly the number of adults, age 24-50, who have no idea what EBITDA means.
"The quarter was fueled by double-digit ad sales growth across the board," said Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone in a latte-stained statement, "spurred by such ratings triumphs as CBS' ‘Survivor,' which generated significant prime-time audience gains at CBS, and MTV's Video Music Awards, this year's highest-rated cable entertainment program. Thank god for Rage's Timmy C."
And for those of you still not sleeping, might we suggest a dramatic reading of the periodic table?
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