Viacom Inc

Due to the coverage of the US presidential elections this year, 21st Century Fox (FOXA) expects substantial advertising revenue from Fox News.

In fiscal 1Q16, Time Warner bought back $700 million worth of shares. Including dividends, it has returned around $1.3 billion to its shareholders year-to-date.

Facebook has been concentrating its efforts on video for a long time now. It has ambitions of becoming the number one player in the video ad market.

Media companies like Time Warner (TWX) derive their revenues primarily from affiliate fees and advertising.

During the past month, the FOXA’s stock price has gone up by 11.6% while CBS and Disney have seen their stock prices go up by 15.4% and 6.2%, respectively.

On February 10, 2016, Time Warner (TWX) reported its 4Q15 and fiscal 2015 earnings. The company reported revenues of $7.1 billion in 4Q15, a decline of 6% year-over-year.

Netflix has stayed away from sports programming but has not ruled it out entirely. However, Netflix does not consider it to be as attractive an opportunity as news programming.

Viacom, despite being undervalued by analysts, is expected to see growth from its media networks segment especially with its digital partnership deals.

The CBD market is growing, and acquisitions are heating up. Real Brands is a top, under-the-radar investment candidate that should be on your radar.

ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) has struggled since it reported disappointing fourth-quarter results. The company reported revenue of $6.9 billion.

Netflix (NFLX) stock fell 0.6% on December 4, the day Viacom and CBS completed their merger to form a new entity, ViacomCBS (VIACA) (VIAC).

Media players Viacom (VIAB) and CBS (CBS) are again talking about a merger.

There was a sell-off in Disney (NYSE:DIS) stock amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the pandemic has mainly paralyzed the company’s operations.

Time Warner (TWX) announced its fiscal 2Q16 earnings on August 3, 2016. It reported revenues of $7 billion, a decline of 5% year-over-year.

On November 23, 2015, StreetInsider.com reported that Deutsche Bank downgraded Viacom (VIAB) to “hold” from an earlier “buy” rating.

Children watching a cartoon on Netflix are also likely to want to buy a licensed toy ot other product related to the cartoon.

Early this year, Viacom stated that it is willing to sell a minority stake in Paramount. The company elaborated on this potential sale at the June 9, 2016, Gabelli & Company Movie & Entertainment conference.

Viacom’s (VIAB) Media Networks segment had affiliate fees of $1.1 billion in fiscal 2Q16, a decline of 1% over fiscal 2Q15.

ViacomCBS investors have been disappointed. So far, the stock has fallen 36% YTD. However, ViacomCBS isn’t the only media company with struggling stock.

Media networks face stiff competition for acquisition and distribution of content. Quality and exclusivity add to competition across the media value chain.

This week, Viacom (VIAB) and CBS (CBS) agreed to merge to form a new media entity, ViacomCBS. That merger could affect Netflix in several ways. With their merger, Viacom and CBS aim to become a major player in the video streaming market. Viacom CEO Bob Bakish, who is set to lead ViacomCBS, said in an […]

Netflix (NFLX) is struggling to dominate India’s online video market like it has in the US, where it boasts a subscriber base twice as large as that of its closest competitor, Hulu.

Netflix (NFLX) has long relied on international markets to drive its streaming video business growth.

CBS (CBS) and Viacom (VIAB) are progressing with merger talks, according to a report from Fox Business. Currently, the deliberations are quiet.

Many analysts reportedly don’t believe Disney’s streaming service will threaten Netflix or Amazon Prime Video given their vast worldwide presences.

Roku (ROKU) stock fell more than 5% in premarket trading on April 8 after Citi downgraded its rating from a “neutral” to a “sell.”

Roku (ROKU) shares fell nearly 6% on April 4 to $64.49. Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris cut Roku’s rating to “neutral” from “buy.”

Univision and Dish Network (DISH) reached a carriage agreement on Tuesday after undergoing one of the longest disputes between a programmer and distributor.

The renewal deal with AT&T was significant for Viacom, which is struggling to produce consistent earnings.

With its acquisition of 21st Century Fox (or 21CF), Walt Disney (DIS) gained Fox’s film and TV studios, cable networks, a 30% stake in Hulu, and India’s satellite TV group, Star India.

Discovery (DISCA) was quick to deny a CNBC report last month that said the company was interested in selling itself to the highest bidder.

Altice USA (ATUS) carried $21.6 billion in debt at the end of the third quarter.

Dish Network (DISH) quietly filed a lawsuit against Spanish-language broadcaster Univision in January.

AT&T (T) gained a number of assets through its acquisition of Time Warner including HBO, Turner, and Warner Bros.

Viacom (VIA) (VIAB) is shutting down its music video channel Viva in Germany, ending the channel’s 25-year run.

CBS’s (CBS) Entertainment segment, which contributes nearly 57% of the company’s total revenues, reported $1.8 billion in revenues for the 3Q17.

Media conglomerate CBS (CBS) reported 3Q17 financial results that showed that its overall revenues rose 2.8% YoY (year-over-year) to nearly $3.2 billion.

Viacom’s MTV, a global youth culture brand that creates original music and pop culture content, has witnessed double-digit growth in its ratings for the first time in six years.

Comedy Central’s features Viacom’s (VIAB) Comedy Central, part of its Media Networks segment, has continued to gain popularity and followers. The channel carries comedy programming and is a leading platform for comedic talent. It features late-night, scripted, animated, and stand-up specials and series. The graph above shows Viacom’s media and advertising revenue growth over the last […]

Features of the deal Media conglomerate Viacom (VIAB) has continued to strengthen its ties with leading toymaker Hasbro (HAS) by entering into a new production and content distribution agreement connected with Hasbro’s huge brand portfolio. As part of the deal, original stories will be developed. The five-year deal will see the companies collaborating on live-action and animated […]

Nickelodeon’s growing user base Viacom’s (VIAB) Media Networks segment continues to gain, thanks to the popularity of its Nickelodeon channel and its growing number of followers. The network, which targets kids aged two to 17, witnessed television subscriber growth of 22% to 602 million in fiscal 2017, buoyed by the success of strong content such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, School of […]

In this series, we’ll take a close look at Viacom’s flagship brands and how they’re driving the company’s revenue.

In this final series of our three-part series, we’ll be looking at the last seven stocks among the top 18 cheap stocks in the S&P 500 for 2018.

Pixar’s historical success The Walt Disney Company’s (DIS) Pixar continues to boost its Studio Entertainment segment with hit movie releases. To date, Pixar has produced 18 films, including Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Cars. These movies have generated business of more than $11 billion for the company worldwide. Even its latest movie, Cars 3, released this year, […]

Share repurchase trends The Walt Disney Company (DIS) continues to boost shareholders’ wealth through huge share buybacks. The company aims to buy stock worth $6 billion in fiscal 2018, the same rate at which it has been purchasing shares for the last five years. In 4Q17, the company bought 33.6 million shares for $3.4 billion, and in […]

Media companies’ programming costs Media companies, including Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner (TWX), are expecting higher programming costs this year. Cable company Comcast (CMCSA) has high content costs, similar to the fixed costs incurred by media networks such as The Walt Disney Company (DIS) and Viacom (VIAB). However, as distributors, cable companies have additional infrastructure […]

In fiscal 4Q16, Comcast’s programming expenses rose 12.2% year-over-year, driven by the renewal of programming contracts, higher retransmission consent fees, and rising costs for sports programming.

The Walt Disney Company (DIS) has a high forward EV-to-EBITDA multiple of 10.2x.

Rising competition in the media industry has forced many media companies to focus on premium programming.

Comcast’s programming costs Cable companies such as Comcast (CMCSA) have high content costs. These costs are similar to the fixed costs incurred by media networks such as The Walt Disney Company (DIS) and Viacom (VIAB). However, as distributors, cable companies have additional infrastructure investments. Content costs account for much of a cable company’s operating costs. […]

As distributors, cable companies have additional content infrastructure investments compared to content providers and aggregators.

Dish expects that “there’s going to be more flexibility in M&A transactions” that don’t “harm the public interest” and don’t “violate anti-trust laws.”

Dish has experienced disputes over carriage or retransmission fees—particularly in 2016, with Viacom, Comcast, and Tribune Broadcasting.

Cable companies such as Comcast have high content costs. These costs are similar to the fixed costs incurred by media networks such as The Walt Disney Company and Viacom.

Price movement Hasbro (HAS) has a market cap of $10.8 billion. It rose 0.24% to close at $86.73 per share on December 8, 2016. The stock’s weekly, monthly, and year-to-date (or YTD) price movements were 3.1%, 4.1%, and 32.0%, respectively, on the same day. HAS is trading 1.6% above its 20-day moving average, 5.1% above […]

Time Warner’s (TWX) stock price closed at $86.66 on November 14, 2016, a rise of 34.5% YTD (year-to-date).

Valuation metrics In this part of the series, we’ll look at some key metrics investors can use to compare the values of media companies. Specifically, we’ll look at media valuation multiples. Some valuation metrics include the PE (price-to-earnings), EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization), PCF (price-to-cash flow), and PFCF (price-to-free […]

In this part of the series, we’ll look at some key metrics investors can use to compare values of media companies. We’ll specifically look at media valuation multiples.

21st Century Fox’s (FOXA) stock price has fallen 17.2% in the past three months and 12.6% year-to-date.

Time Warner (TWX) has a forward PE multiple of 13.4x, which is high among its peers.

On August 29, 2016, Time Warner’s stock closed at $79.14. It has risen by 22.8% YTD, whereas Walt Disney has seen its YTD stock price fall by 10.8%.

In a July 2016 blog post, the FCC’s chairman, Tom Wheeler, announced that the FCC would not frame additional rules regarding retransmission consent fee negotiations between MVPDs such as Dish Network and television networks such as Viacom (VIAB).

In this part of the series, we’ll look at The Walt Disney Company’s (DIS) technical indicators and compare them with those of other media companies.

Disney stands out from its competitors in the media industry due to its large amount of intellectual property.

On July 26, 2016, 21st Century Fox (FOXA) was trading 7.8% below its 100-day moving average.

In this final part of our series, we’ll look at some key metrics investors can use to compare the values of media companies.

21st Century Fox is expected to announce its 4Q16 results on August 3. Its stock (FOXA) price has fallen 13.6% in the past three months and 2.1% year-to-date.

On July 25, 2016, Time Warner’s (TWX) stock closed at $78.50. It has risen 21.8% year-to-date. Time Warner is expected to announce its fiscal 2Q16 results on August 3.

Hasbro (HAS) has a market cap of $9.9 billion. It fell by 6.6% to close at $79.82 per share on July 18, 2016.

Hasbro (HAS) has a market cap of $10.5 billion. It fell by 0.82% to close at $85.54 per share on July 13, 2016.

On July 6, CBS (CBS) was trading 3.9% above its 100-day moving average of $53. What about peers?

For 2Q16, Netflix (NFLX) has forecast net additions of 2 million international subscribers. This forecast is lower than its 2Q15 net additions of 2.4 million subscribers.

CBS (CBS) declared a dividend of $0.15 per share in fiscal 1Q16. Now let’s take a look at CBS’s five-year average dividend yield.

CBS (CBS) is also looking at international markets, where it perceives revenue-generating opportunities for its Showtime content.

Brexit could impact Disney movies at global box offices, especially in Europe and the United Kingdom. Brexit weakened the pound and the euro against the US dollar.

In June 2016, Dish Network (DISH) announced an agreement with BidSwitch. Under the terms of this agreement, Dish Network’s ONPOINT Programmatic television platform will be integrated into “BidSwitch’s real-time partner ecosystem.”

Brexit could have a negative impact on Netflix’s international revenues and contribution losses. It operates in the United Kingdom through Netflix UK.

On June 9, 2016, Viacom (VIAB) stated at the Gabelli & Company Movie & Entertainment conference that the company has maintained its leverage ratio at ~2.8.

On June 9, 2016, Viacom (VIAB) stated at the Gabelli & Company Movie & Entertainment conference that Viacom expects India to contribute $300 million in operating income by 2020.

The Channel 5 acquisition has led to Viacom (VIAB) gaining access to nearly 100% of the United Kingdom’s television audience, particularly for the Nickelodeon brand.

Viacom’s Media Networks segment had affiliate fees of $1.1 billion in fiscal 2Q16, a decline of 1% over fiscal 2Q15. Viacom’s affiliate fees fell by 2% in the United States in fiscal 2Q16.

Technical parameters Traders and investors analyze technical aspects of a company while making market entry and exit decisions. Moving averages and the RSI (relative strength index) are among the most widely used technical parameters. Generally, an RSI below 30 signifies that a stock is oversold, while an RSI above 70 indicates that a stock is […]

In 1Q16, Comcast had advertising revenues of $2.7 billion across all its business segments, a slight decline of 7% compared to 1Q15.

In April 2016, Disney expressed interested in buying an equity stake in MLB Advanced Media’s BAM Tech, which offers a subscription service for pro baseball.

In fiscal 2Q16, affiliate fees comprised 54% of Disney’s Media Networks segment’s total revenues of $5.8 billion while advertising comprised 34%.

Comcast, through its Xfinity TV Partner Program, has partnered with Samsung Electronics and Roku to enable Comcast customers to access Xfinity TV cable service through Samsung’s smart TVs and Roku’s programming devices.

On April 28, 2016, Viacom’s (VIAB) last trading price was $42.40. VIAB stock was trading above its 20-day, 50-day, and 100-day moving averages.

At the start of 2016, Time Warner stated that it intended to reduce ad loads on Turner’s TNT channel. It also intends to reduce ads on TNT’s three new dramas set to premiere this year.

Viacom (VIAB) reported its fiscal 2Q16 results on April 28, 2016. It reported revenues of $3 billion, a decrease of 3% YoY (year-over-year), and net income of $303 million.

Television advertising loads up on Fox Though many media companies have been talking about reductions in advertising loads on television, it seems that there’s been little progress on that front. According to a Broadcasting & Cable report from late April citing analyst Todd Juenger from Sanford C. Bernstein, advertising loads on television fell by just […]

In late January 2016, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) put forward a proposal that would give a choice to pay-TV consumers.

The Wall Street Journal stated at the end of last month that in a bid to extend its presence on online media, Disney invested in Playbuzz.

On April 4, 2016, Bloomberg Technology reported that Comcast’s (CMCSA) venture capital company Atairos had invested $250 million in Groupon (GRPN).

Paramount Studios produces movies, but in 2015, it didn’t have many films in its pipeline. Viacom (VIAB) intends to remedy that.

The OTT (over-the-top) video streaming market in India (EPI) is heating up. Viacom (VIAB) is set to launch Voot, an OTT service, in India by the end of March.

According to Viacom, its Channel 5 acquisition has resulted in the company’s acquisition of 23 important networks in the United Kingdom.

Disney stands out from its competitors in the media industry because of its vast intellectual property.

Disney has seen a good response to DisneyLife in the United Kingdom, primarily for movies and TV shows available through its over-the-top service.

Viacom (VIAB) is optimistic about its advertising business in fiscal 2016. Its two key advertising products, Viacom Vantage and Velocity, are the reasons for the optimism.