Blog: viacom

Media mergers have a storied history, and one that is often not too positive. Whether it is Time Warner or AOL, talk of synergies often fades when confronted with consumer appetite – but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, perhaps it is worth considering how this time it may be different.

Dutch production house Endemol is no longer going to be making cult reality TV show Big Brother for Viacom’s UK terrestrial channel, Channel 5. It announced that it was “disappointed not to reach an agreement with Channel 5”, following Channel 5’s admission to the BBC that “the forthcoming series of Big Brother will be the last – of either celebrity or civilian versions ­– on Channel 5”.

Following the release of its first earnings call since its IPO in March, Snapchat creator Snap Inc has seen its stock price drop 28% to its lowest price since going public. The development increasingly reflects investor uncertainty as to whether the company will be able to continue following a period of intense competition from Facebook and a consequent slowdown in growth.

The last minute renewal of the carriage agreement between TV Network giant Viacom and Dish Networks, the third biggest pay TV operator in the US, revealed just how much the balance of power is shifting in the US TV industry.

Pandora this week announced that it signed a deal to become the exclusive streaming partner for hugely successful podcast Serial. The move is interesting on many fronts, not least what impact having near-on-demand content within the otherwise only semi-interactive environment will have on users.