VIACOM CHANNELS GO DARK ON DIRECTV

At midnight Eastern Time, some 20 million DirecTV subscribers lost Viacom-owned channels including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET, Logo, TV Land and a dozen other channels. In a statement, DirecTV exec Derek Chang said, “We have been very willing to get a deal done, but Viacom is pushing DIRECTV customers to pay more than a […]

GM TO PUSH CADILLACS ON BET AWARDS

General Motors may have pulled out of the Super Bowl and Facebook, but it appears to be funneling the money it saved from those disengagements into more elaborate and focused sponsorships. Advertising Age reported today (Thursday), that GM’s Cadillac division plans to sponsor the BET Awards for the first time this summer. Often criticized in […]

RIHANNA VIDEO TOUCHES OFF UPROAR

“Man Down,” a music video by Rihanna in which she appears to advocate that women who are assaulted exact murderous revenge on their attackers, has produced a storm of criticism — directed at Rihanna for performing it and BET for airing it. Industry Ears, an advocacy group co-counded by Paul Porter, a former BET program […]

REDSTONE’S BIRTHDAY PRESENT: $84 MILLION

Sumner Redstone on Thursday received a fine birthday present, two days before he turns 88. Viacom, home of Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, Spike TV, MTV, BET, TV Land, VH1 and Comedy Central, increased its quarterly dividend to 25 cents a share, up from 15 cents a share — a whopping 67 percent boost — which increases […]

BET STUDY SLAMS STUDIOS FOR BLACK MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

Studios attempting to target African-Americans in their ad campaigns are making a mistake by focusing narrowly on films that feature African-Americans or on storylines that might be especially relevant to black moviegoers, according to a study conducted for BET Networks. The study, “REEL FACTS: A Movie Goer Consumption Study,” observes that African-Americans are bigger movie […]

CABLE NETWORKS PUT VIACOM BACK IN THE BLACK

With ad revenue at its cable networks up 12 percent in its second quarter, Viacom on Thursday reported higher-than-expected profits of $39 million. A year ago, it reported an $83-million loss for the same quarter. Each of the media company’s principal networks, including MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and BET, reported strong earnings. The company in particular […]

BET DRAWS BEST RATINGS IN ITS HISTORY

In three seasons on the low-rated CW broadcast network, the sitcom The Game never averaged more than 2.3 million viewers, and in its final season, it averaged a measly 1.68 million, but in its debut on the BET cable network on Tuesday, the show attracted 7.7 million, putting it ahead of much of its broadcast […]