• by Wayne Friedman , August 4, 2017

Viacom’s domestic U.S. advertising revenue dropped 2% to $955 million in its latest quarterly earnings period.

This is partly attributable to cutbacks on heavy advertising loads per hour, which historically have been some of the highest among TV network groups.

On Thursday, Viacom reported its fiscal third-quarter revenues -- up 8% to $3.4 billion. Net income rose 57% to $680 million. Viacom stock was up nearly 3% for Thursday’s close: $35.07. But after-market trading witnessed its stock sinking nearly 8%. It opened on Friday down 8%.

Revenues for its U.S. networks were flat at $2.04 billion. Offsetting the 2% advertising decline, domestic affiliate revenues were up 4% to $1.01 billion. International revenues grew 8% to $522 million -- excluding currency exchange impact -- that's a 13% rise.

Michael Nathanson, senior media analyst at MoffettNathanson Research, is concerned that U.S. advertising revenue will remain soft, estimating a 2.5% drop for the year overall and a 10% hike for international revenues. All of this means flat overall advertising results for the year.

During the period, ratings improved in specific areas. MTV, Nickelodeon and BET witnessed year-over-year ratings growth.

“It appears that Viacom’s new programming strategy is working,” says John Janedis, media analyst at Jefferies & Co. “On the whole, we view the decision to lower ad loads [and] invest in key networks as a positive step forward toward improving [long term].”

Viacom had previously stated it would be focusing efforts around six network brands: MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central, BET and the new Paramount Network.

Viacom’s filmed entertainment grew 36% to $847 million. Domestic revenues rose 19% to $388 million and international revenues soared 56% to $459 million.

Breaking down film entertainment: Theatrical revenues grew 189% to $263 million — up 85% domestically and up 296% internationally. Much of this success comes from “Transformers: The Last Knight.”

Content licensing revenues rose 1% to $300 million; home entertainment revenues up 14% to $218 million; and ancillary revenues rose 61% to $66 million.