ViacomCBS, created in December 2019 via the recombination of Viacom and CBS Corp., has this year seen a management change at its studio. It alleged that the $2 billion deal “would give Penguin Random House outsized influence over who and what is published, and how much authors are paid for their work.” In particular, the government alleged that the combination would be harmful to authors of “anticipated top-selling books” by depriving them of competition in the publishing market.īakish said on Tuesday that Penguin Random House “has agreed to take all necessary steps to obtain the required regulatory approvals, including defending the transaction through litigation. government recently filed an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block ViacomCBS from selling its publishing unit, Simon & Schuster, to Penguin Random House. Combined with the conglomerate’s existing portfolio in Latin America, including its studio business and broadcasters Telefe in Argentina and the recently acquired Chilevisión in Chile, this deal “will position ViacomCBS as one of the leading Spanish-language content-production companies in the world,” the conglomerate has said.
ViacomCBS’ ViacomCBS Networks International unit recently acquired a majority stake in Spanish-language content producer Fox TeleColombia & Estudios TeleMexico from The Walt Disney Co. “You see us extracting significant value from it, particularly on the streaming growth side.” As such, management will focus “overwhelmingly” on organic growth opportunities that don’t require deals. “But big-picture, we really like the configuration of the company,” Bakish emphasized. “There is certainly potential for additional consolidation in this industry, particularly with respect to the smaller players,” he said, with ViacomCBS ready to look for acquisition opportunities, pointing out past deals in international markets. Discovery, along with Netflix in the streaming age.
ViacomCBS’ linear TV advertising revenue will still grow in the current fourth quarter though, he added.īakish was also asked about his thoughts on the outlook for further mergers or acquisitions across the sector and the need for smaller players to take on such Hollywood giants as The Walt Disney Co. “We are not immune from the supply chain issues,” but that is a “transitory” issue, he said. Most of the movies for the new year are “all pretty much in the can,” Bakish said, but mentioned there was “a little more work” to do on Sonic 2.īakish also got a question on the advertising market and supply chain challenges. Looking ahead, Bakish said on Tuesday, “I can’t wait for ’22,” touting a “fantastic pipeline” of content, including a “killer film slate,” including Scream, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7.
Bakish said on Tuesday that the acceleration in the current period is looking even more pronounced now than previously thought. Management said on an earnings conference call that streaming subscriber growth in the current fourth quarter would come in ahead of the third quarter. ViacomCBS had added 4.3 million global streaming subscribers in its third quarter ended in September, driven by the Paramount+ service, to reach nearly 47 million global paid users, the entertainment company reported in early November. Hollywood Flashback: 'Departures' Gave Japan a Surprise Oscar Win in 2009