-- [B] Viacom's Karmazin bullish on 2001 ad scatter market --
--Viacom's Karmazin sees up-front double-digit rev growth
--Viacom's Karmazin sees very strong outdoor ad ops in FY00
--Viacom's Karmazin sees Infinity Q2, Q3 radio pacings "good"
--Viacom Karmazin bullish on 2001 cable ad revs
--Viacom Karmazin sees 2001 cable revs up at least 20% vs 2000
By Georg Szalai, BridgeNews
New York--May 15--Viacom Inc., the No. 2 media and entertainment company in
the world after its just-completed acquisition of CBS Corp., will see strong
growth in advertising revenue through at least 2001, President and Chief
Operating Officer Mel Karmazin said at the Banc of America Securities "Growth
Telecommunications, Media & Entertainment Conference" on Monday in New York.
* * *
"Business is soaring," Karmazin said. Infinity Broadcasting Corp., Viacom's
radio broadcasting and outdoor advertising company, will see second- and
third-quarter ad revenue pacings for radio business that will be "at least as
good as in the first quarter," he said. Infinity's outdoor advertising business
will remain "very, very strong through the fourth quarter", he added. Karmazin
also expressed optimism about advertising revenue performance beyond those
points in time.
He also said he was bullish on the 2001 cable and network television season,
which starts in the fall, in terms of advertising revenue growth. "Upfront
revenues will grow double digits," he predicted. Cable advertising revenues will
rise at least 20%,
he added.
"Upfront" is a term used to describe advance advertising sales. Pricing for
upfront advertising will be negotiated in the coming weeks.
Viacom expects to sell approximately 80% of its advertising inventory during
the upfront sales period, the same percentage as last year, Karmazin said.
Shares of Viacom were up 1/16 or 0.11% at 56 11/16 in afternoon trading Monday.
The company's stock has been trading a little lower after hitting a 52-week high
of 63 5/16 in early February.
New York-based Viacom is the second-largest entertainment firm behind Time
Warner Inc., which is scheduled to be acquired by America Online Inc. later this
year. Viacom's holdings include the Paramount Pictures movie studio, the
television networks CBS and UPN, cable TV unit MTV Networks -- with properties
such as MTV, VH-1 and Nickelodeon -- as well as a 50% stake in Comedy Central,
TV stations, movie theaters and book publisher Simon & Schuster. The company
also owns 82% of Blockbuster, the largest video rental chain.
End
Copyright 2000 Bridge Information Systems Inc. All rights reserved.
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