Rock Band shines in gloomy Viacom results
CEO "very excited by great potential of games business" as movies and TV fail to deliver
While Viacom's third quarter results were generally poor due to bad movie and TV performance, sales of Rock Band were a highlight for the media giant.
Overall profits for the company were down from USD 641 million to USD 401 million for the quarter ended September 30, with total revenues up only 4 per cent to USD 3.4 billion.
However, the division which includes the company's games output grew 36 per cent to USD 313 million, with continued sales of the Rock Band franchise highlighted as a strong performer.
"We are... very excited by the great potential of our games business, led by our rapidly expanding Rock Band franchise," commented Philippe Dauman, president and CEO of Viacom.
In comparison, the company's film division suffered a USD 19 milllion loss, compared to a USD 72 million profit for the same period last year.
"Viacom remains focused on running its business efficiently and continuing to invest wisely in our brands," said Sumner Redstone, executive chairman of the group, discussing the current economic downturn.
"As we've seen in the past, we believe audiences the world over will increasingly turn to the television, film and multimedia programming we offer. This, in turn, creates opportunities for us to deepen our audience connections."