• by Wayne Friedman , November 10, 2011

Viacom witnessed a continued rise in advertising revenues in its fiscal fourth quarter, but the company also warned of an unexpected decline in Nielsen ratings for Nickelodeon for the start of the holiday season.

Worldwide advertising revenues rose 7%, with overall revenues (including affiliate fees) growing 8% to $2.3 billion for its media networks. Affiliate fees climbed 11% to $$883 million. This helped operating income for those networks, including MTV and Nickelodeon, rise 10% to $958 million.

For the year ending Sept. 30, Viacom's total advertising revenues increased $444 million -- or 10% -- to nearly $5 billion, with U.S. domestic advertising revenues rising 10%, mostly coming from the strength of last year’s upfront and this year’s scatter markets. International advertising revenues increased 9%.

Philippe Dauman, chief executive officer of Viacom, stated: "Our financial position is as strong as it has ever been, which allows us to continue to invest in the growth of our businesses, including new branded television networks in the U.S. and internationally, and Paramount's recently launched animation label."

Overall financial results were also boosted by big results from its "Transformer" movie franchise. Filmed entertainment revenues rose nearly 50% to $1.8 billion because of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

Overall net earnings were $576 million, 18% higher versus $488 million for the similar period of a year ago. Revenues grew 21.7% to $4.05 billion.

In a call with analysts, Dauman said there was an "anomaly" in its viewership metrics coming from the mid-September Nielsen ratings drop. He says this goes against "very predictable" ratings results for Nick during this period.

He noted that the independent Media Rating Council is looking into it, and that the company has compared independent set-top-box ratings, which are showing different viewership trends.

Some estimates, according to reports, are that Nickelodeon has been hit with unexpected 15% to 20% declines in ratings during the period. Before this Nielsen hiccup, Viacom was expecting double-digit advertising revenue gains for the holiday season.

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