Early in February, after missing earnings, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman promised substantial savings for his company, which really meant cutbacks. At Viacom’s shareholder meeting in the coming week, there will be some indications of what progress the company has made in belt-tightening, as reported by the New York Post.
Viacom has two major upcoming events, its shareholders meeting and Deutsche Bank’s media conference. CEO Philippe Dauman is expected to report on how the company is faring. Some predict it is likely to cut costs at about $100 million, consistent with its peer, Time Warner. The company has made some staff cutbacks and has outsourced some of its operations. Some say selling Paramount might be a good option, but the options Chairman Sumner Redstone exercised was selling options that made him $4.2 million.
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Viacom announced last month that it was creating a direct-to-customer streaming option for Nickolodeon. While the traditional children’s network will still be a part of Viacom’s cable family, some of its kid-oriented programming will be spun off into a new streaming entity. During a conference, Dauman said, “We believe this innovative service, which will have a distinct brand and will target the fast-growing mobile market, will be very attractive for parents and children.”
