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Viacom Chief Addresses Concerns About MTV After 31% Plunge in Ratings

Nov 15, 2012  •  Post A Comment

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman sought to reassure analysts about the condition of MTV after the cable channel’s 31% decline in prime-time ratings for the season vs. a year ago sparked concerns among investors, Deadline.com reports.

The channel’s ratings woes have had a hand in a 13% drop in Viacom share prices. But Dauman “assured analysts this morning that MTV is ‘not broken.’ Indeed he says the channel for teens and young adults is ‘highly successful’ and he has ‘no concerns about MTV’s vitality going forward,’” the story reports.

“As evidence he noted that ‘Catfish: The TV Show’ — a reality program that helps people to connect with their online romances — on Monday became ‘the highest-rated launch in MTV history,’” the piece notes. Dauman also said MTV has a “great development platform.”

The piece adds: “Dauman also talked up the decision this week to hire former WB and Lifetime programming chief Susanne Daniels to take charge of MTV’s programming, replacing David Janollari. ‘We’ve had our eye on her for a long time,’ Dauman says, adding that she will help to ‘turbocharge’ development of both reality and scripted shows for MTV.”

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