• by Wayne Friedman , February 9, 2017

Viacom’s U.S. advertising revenue sank 3% in its fiscal first quarter.

In its earnings report, the company said that while ratings were softer, it was positively impacted by higher pricing. Viacom added the domestic advertising did narrow its losses versus that of the fourth quarter of 2016.

International advertising revenues grew 1% -- and excluding an unfavorable impact of foreign exchange -- was up 16%. Overall ad revenues declined 2% to $1.3 billion.

Overall, Viacom media networks inched up 1% in total revenue to to $2.6 billion -- with affiliate revenue 2% higher to $1.14 billion. Viacom says this increase stemmed from growing subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and over-the-top (OTT) agreements. There was a overall “modest” decline in cable network subscribers.

The company said MTV showed its first quarterly ratings growth since 2014.

Reports say Viacom’s Spike TV will be rebranded at the Paramount Network to make it better align with Paramount, the company's movie studio. Viacom will also look to focus on six core channels brands: Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., MTV, Comedy Central, BET and Spike (Paramount Network).

Todd Juenger, media analyst for Bernstein Research, says this means there are 19 “non-core” Viacom networks, which contribute 29% of Viacom’s domestic network revenue.

“The problem is these non-core networks contribute a lot of incremental profit. Which makes sense, because even though they only collect nickels-and-dimes of affiliate fees, there is very little content investment,” he noted.

Viacom’s Paramount studio grew 24% in $758 million in revenue, with domestic theatrical revenues climbing over 120%; licensing revenues grew 3% to $245 million; and home entertainment revenues gained 2% to $243 million.

Overall Viacom revenues for the quarter were up 5% to $3.3 billion, with net income down 11% to $408 million. Mid-day pricing of Viacom’s stock was up 5.4% to $44.32.