Viacom Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

Viacom Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

Grew Domestic Advertising Revenue 6% for the Quarter and 1% for the Full Year

Achieved Domestic Affiliate Revenue Growth of 1% for Both the Quarter and Full Year

Returned Paramount to Profitability, with Full Year Adjusted Operating Income Improvement of $117 Million

Accelerated Viacom’s Evolution with Continued Growth at Advanced Marketing Solutions – including Pluto TV – and Studio Production

NEW YORK--Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) today reported financial results for the quarter and full year ended September 30th, 2019.

Statement from Bob Bakish, President & CEO

“Our strong performance in the fourth quarter capped off a pivotal year for Viacom and reflects the successful execution of our strategic priorities to evolve the company for the future. We achieved several important milestones. First, we grew domestic ad sales for the full year, driven by the continued acceleration of Advanced Marketing Solutions. We also grew full year domestic affiliate revenue, driven by the extended reach of Viacom's distribution across more viewing platforms. And, for the first time in four years, we returned Paramount to full year profitability – a testament to the strength of our strategy and content slate. As we look to the future of a combined ViacomCBS, we’re thrilled with the momentum we have to create one of the world’s preeminent content companies.”

FILMED ENTERTAINMENT

Paramount delivered three straight years of year-over-year adjusted operating income improvement and achieved full year profitability for the first time in four years.

• Full year adjusted operating income grew by $117 million YOY.

- For the quarter, adjusted OI increased 42% to $54 million.

• Full year revenue growth of 1% was principally driven by licensing and ancillary revenues, which were partially offset by lower theatrical revenue.

- Licensing revenue increased by 5% for the full year and 26% for the quarter, driven by growth in TV production.

- Ancillary revenue grew 33% for the full year, driven by higher licensing fees from international theme parks and a new music rights agreement.

- Theatrical revenue declined reflecting the comparison to Mission: Impossible – Fallout in the prior year.

Operational Highlights

• During the quarter, Crawl and Dora and the Lost City of Gold performed well at the box office.

-- Crawl generated over $90 million worldwide.

- Dora and the Lost City of Gold drove over $116 million worldwide.

• Paramount’s fiscal year 2020 film slate is at 17 films versus 11 in the prior year.

- Looking forward, highly anticipated releases include A Quiet Place Part II, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run and Top Gun: Maverick.

- Paramount Television continues to grow and deliver great content, with 26 shows ordered to or in production.

- Third season of 13 Reasons Why premiered on Netflix in August.

- Looking For Alaska premiered on Hulu in October.

- Second season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan premiered on Amazon Prime Video in November.

• Beyond its core business, Paramount expanded and reached new theme park licensing deals in London, Korea, China and the Middle East over the course of the fiscal year.

MEDIA NETWORKS

Viacom Media Networks achieved full year growth in domestic advertising and affiliate revenue, driven by continued acceleration in Advanced Marketing Solutions and advancement in Viacom’s distribution strategy.

• Driven by the continued success of Advanced Marketing Solutions (AMS), domestic advertising revenue grew 1% for the full year, representing its first full year of growth in six years.

- AMS revenue grew 76% for the full year.

- For the quarter, domestic advertising revenue grew 6%, benefiting from 83% growth in AMS revenue.

• Domestic affiliate revenue increased 1% for the full year and quarter, driven by higher OTT and studio production revenue and contractual rate increases, which were partially offset by subscriber declines.

• Viacom International Media Networks delivered strong revenue growth, benefiting from SVOD and studio production gains.

- On a constant currency basis, international revenue grew 2% for the full year and 15% for the quarter. †

• Adjusted OI was impacted by investments in key growth initiatives, including Pluto TV and the launch of BET+.

Operational Highlights

• Viewing performance in the quarter and year:

- Domestic Media networks continued to gain audience share with the total portfolio up 2% YOY for the quarter and achieving growth for the full year.

− Viacom owned more top 30 original cable series in the quarter than any other cable family among key demos.

− Internationally, Telefe remained #1 in ratings, while Channel 5, MTV and Paramount Network International grew YOY share in the quarter.

• Licensing agreements:

− Licensed South Park streaming rights to HBO Max, demonstrating the appeal and value of Viacom IP.

• Next generation platforms:

− Viacom expanded its suite of streaming products, with the launch of BET+.

− Viacom International Media Networks reached several new distribution deals for Viacom’s owned and operated SVOD and mobile apps.

• Pluto TV continued to scale:

− Monthly active users rose to approximately 20 million domestically, up nearly 70% this calendar year.

− Launched 43 new channels, including 24 Viacom-branded channels in the quarter.

− Pluto Latino now has 22 channels with over 4,000 hours of Spanish and Portuguese programming.

• Studio production & live events:

− Media Networks studio production continues to expand, with 17 domestic series ordered to or in production, up from 6 last year.

− Nickelodeon Studios announced a new multi-year output deal to produce original animated films and series for Netflix.

− Driven by Viacom Digital Studios, Viacom reached its highest ever social video consumption, rising to #5 in Tubular’s Media & Entertainment ranking in September, up from 26 two years ago.

− Viacom increased global live event attendance +14% to more than 4 million people for the fiscal year.

BALANCE SHEET AND LIQUIDITY

Viacom continued to strengthen its balance sheet in FY 2019.

• At September 30, 2019, gross debt outstanding was $8.74 billion, a 13% reduction from September 30, 2018. Adjusted gross debt was $8.09 billion.

• For the full year ended September 30, 2019, net cash provided by operating activities declined year-over-year to $1.58 billion and free cash flow declined to $1.38 billion, driven by higher cash taxes and lower operating income.

• Repaid $1.35 billion of senior notes and debentures, including $220 million that matured in September.

You can read Viacom's press release featuring the company's 4th Quarter 2019 and full year results report in full, including tables of Viacom's statements and balance sheets, here on BusinessWire.com.

Domestic advertising revenue grew 6% in the quarter, driven by the continued success of Advanced Marketing Solutions.

Advanced Marketing Solutions accelerated, with revenue growing 76% for the full year.

Pluto TV’s monthly active users rose to approximately 20 million domestically, up nearly 70% this calendar year.

Paramount returned to full-year profitability and delivered three straight years of year-over-year adjusted operating income improvement.

About Viacom

Viacom creates entertainment experiences that drive conversation and culture around the world. Through television, film, digital media, live events, merchandise and solutions, our brands connect with diverse, young and young at heart audiences in more than 180 countries.

For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com. Viacom may also use social media channels to communicate with its investors and the public about the company, its brands and other matters, and those communications could be deemed to be material information. Investors and others are encouraged to review posts on Viacom’s Twitter feed (twitter.com/viacom), Facebook page (facebook.com/viacom) and LinkedIn profile (linkedin.com/company/viacom).

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations concerning future results, objectives, plans and goals, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and which may cause future results, performance or achievements to differ. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: technological developments, alternative content offerings and their effects in our markets and on consumer behavior; competition for content, audiences, advertising and distribution in a swiftly consolidating industry; the public acceptance of our brands, programs, films and other entertainment content on the various platforms on which they are distributed; the impact on our advertising revenues of declines in linear television viewing, deficiencies in audience measurement and advertising market conditions; the potential for loss of carriage or other reduction in the distribution of our content; evolving cybersecurity and similar risks; the failure, destruction or breach of our critical satellites or facilities; content theft; increased costs for programming, films and other rights; the loss of key talent; domestic and global political, economic and/or regulatory factors affecting our businesses generally; volatility in capital markets or a decrease in our debt ratings; a potential inability to realize the anticipated goals underlying our ongoing investments in new businesses, products, services and technologies; fluctuations in our results due to the timing, mix, number and availability of our films and other programming; potential conflicts of interest arising from our ownership structure with a controlling stockholder; the pending merger may not be completed on anticipated terms and timing; a condition to closing of the pending merger may not be satisfied; the anticipated tax treatment of the pending merger may not be obtained; the potential impact of unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, costs, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition and losses on the future prospects, business and management strategies for the management, expansion and growth of the combined business after the consummation of the pending merger; litigation relating to the pending merger against CBS Corporation (“CBS”), Viacom or their respective directors; potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the pending merger; any negative effects of the announcement, pendency or consummation of the pending merger on the market price of CBS’ or Viacom’s common stock and on CBS’ or Viacom’s operating results; risks associated with third-party contracts containing consent and/or other provisions that may be triggered by the pending merger; the risks and costs associated with the integration of, and the ability of CBS and Viacom to integrate, the businesses successfully and to achieve anticipated synergies; the risk that disruptions from the pending merger will harm CBS’ or Viacom’s business, including current plans and operations; the ability of CBS or Viacom to retain and hire key personnel and uncertainties arising from leadership changes; legislative, regulatory and economic developments; and other factors described in our news releases and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including but not limited to our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019 and reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made only as of the date of this news release, and we do not have any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. If applicable, reconciliations for any non-GAAP financial information contained in this news release are included in this news release or available on our website at ir.viacom.com.

Important Information About The Pending Merger Between CBS and Viacom and Where To Find It

In connection with the pending merger between CBS and Viacom, CBS has filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333 234238) (the “Registration Statement”) that includes a joint consent solicitation statement of CBS and Viacom and that also constitutes a prospectus of CBS (the “joint consent solicitation statement / prospectus”). The Registration Statement was declared effective by the SEC on October 25, 2019. Viacom and CBS commenced mailing the definitive joint consent solicitation statement / prospectus to Viacom stockholders and CBS stockholders on or about October 28, 2019. This news release is not a substitute for the joint consent solicitation statement / prospectus or Registration Statement or any other document which CBS or Viacom may file with the SEC. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF CBS AND VIACOM ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, WHICH INCLUDES THE JOINT CONSENT SOLICITATION STATEMENT / PROSPECTUS, AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT ARE FILED OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PENDING MERGER AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the Registration Statement, which includes the joint consent solicitation statement / prospectus, and other documents filed with the SEC by CBS and Viacom through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov or by contacting the investor relations department of CBS (+1-212-975-4321 or +1-877-227-0787; investorrelations@CBS.com) or Viacom (+1-212-846-6700 or +1-800-516-4399; investor.relations@Viacom.com).

No Offer Or Solicitation

This news release is for informational purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute an offer to subscribe for, buy or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for, buy or sell, or an invitation to subscribe for, buy or sell any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, invitation, sale or solicitation would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and otherwise in accordance with applicable law.

† Non-GAAP measures referenced in this release are detailed in the Supplemental Disclosures at the end of the release.

Notes about Viacom's 4Q19 and Full Year financial results:

(1) The tax impact has been calculated by applying the tax rates applicable to the adjustments presented.

(2) In the quarter and year ended September 30, 2019, we recognized restructuring charges of $22 million and $114 million, respectively. In addition, we recognized $20 million and $63 million, respectively, in connection with other corporate matters. In the quarter, these consist of merger-related costs. In the year, the costs consist of merger-related costs of $20 million, restructuring-related costs of $3 million and $40 million in connection with the settlement of a commercial dispute.

We recognized restructuring costs of $13 million and $176 million in the quarter and year ended September 30, 2018, respectively. We also recognized $12 million and $49 million, respectively, of restructuring-related costs comprised primarily of third-party professional services associated with our cost transformation initiatives.

(3) Pursuant to our adoption of Accounting Standards Update 2016-01 - Financial Instruments - Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, which requires the changes in fair value measurement of marketable securities to be recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings, we recorded a non-operating gain on marketable securities of $11 million and $32 million in the quarter and year ended September 30, 2019, respectively, included within Other items, net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

(4) The net discrete tax benefit in the quarter ended September 30, 2019 is associated with reconciling the recently filed tax returns to prior year estimates and the net discrete tax benefit in the year was principally related to the tax benefit triggered by the bankruptcy of an investee.

The net discrete tax benefit in the quarter ended September 30, 2018 was principally related to the recognition of certain loss carryforwards. In addition to the items in the quarter, the net discrete tax benefit in the year ended September 30, 2018 was principally related to tax reform, as well as a tax accounting method change granted by the Internal Revenue Service.

(5) In the year ended September 30, 2019, we recognized $77 million of programming charges associated with continuing initiatives primarily related to management changes and reorganization at Media Networks. The programming charges resulted from decisions by management newly in place, as part of our 2018 restructuring activities, to cease the use of certain programming, and are included within Operating expenses in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings.

(6) In the years ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, we redeemed senior notes and debentures prior to their maturity of $1.128 billion and $1.039 billion, respectively. As a result of these transactions, we recognized pre-tax extinguishment gains of $18 million and $25 million, respectively, in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

(7) We completed the sale of a 1% equity interest in Viacom18 to our joint venture partner for $20 million, resulting in a gain of $16 million in the year ended September 30, 2018, included within Other items, net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

(8) We recognized a $46 million impairment loss in the year ended September 30, 2018, included within Other items, net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings, in connection with the write off of certain cost method investments.

The following table reconciles our net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP) for the Year Ended months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 to free cash flow (non-GAAP). We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities minus capital expenditures.

From the Viacom Newsroom:

VIACOM Q4 & FULL YEAR EARNINGS: ACCELERATING THE EVOLUTION

Paramount Returns to Profitability While Domestic Ad Sales, Domestic Affiliate Sales grow full-year revenue.

Quick Takeaways

- Paramount profitability: Paramount returned to full-year profitability for the first time in four years thanks to the strength of its balanced slate and the success of Paramount Television.

- Domestic Ad Sales growth: Viacom achieved 6% revenue growth in the quarter and delivered full-year revenue growth for the first time in six years.

- Advanced Marketing Solutions (AMS) grew revenue 83% in the quarter and 76% for the full year, further demonstrating how Viacom has evolved the Ad Sales business to thrive beyond linear.

- Domestic Affiliate Revenue grew 1% in the quarter and for the full year, demonstrating Viacom’s strong execution in a challenging environment.

- Pluto TV Continues to Scale: The leading ad-supported streaming TV service in the U.S. has grown domestic monthly active users to approximately 20M, or nearly 70%, this calendar year.

Viacom reported fourth quarter and fiscal 2019 earnings this morning, delivering on its objectives to grow domestic affiliate and domestic ad sales revenue for the full year and return Paramount to profitability.

Viacom President and CEO Bob Bakish said, “Our strong performance in the fourth quarter capped off a pivotal year for Viacom and reflects the successful execution of our strategic priorities to evolve the company for the future.”

Continued improvement at Paramount
Paramount grew full-year adjusted operating income $117 million year-over-year, reflecting a balanced and growing slate, increased monetization of its library, and the continued success of its Paramount Television production business.

The studio’s 2020 film slate includes several key franchises, including A Quiet Place 2, a new SpongeBob movie, and Top Gun: Maverick.

Paramount Television, with 26 shows ordered or in production, continues to crank out hits such as Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, Amazon’s Jack Ryan, and Hulu’s Catch-22 and Looking for Alaska.

Pluto TV’s momentum continues
Pluto TV has enormous momentum in an increasingly crowded streaming universe, with domestic monthly active users surging nearly 70% to 20 million this calendar year.

Viacom’s focus and investment in Pluto is evident. In the fourth quarter, Pluto launched 43 new channels, 24 of which were Viacom-branded. The company also continues to grow Pluto TV distribution, both globally and on new platforms, which benefits users and business partners.

Domestic ad sales
Viacom’s evolution beyond linear is evident in the company’s return to full-year ad sales growth, an achievement driven by its suite of AMS products, including Pluto TV, and strong brands that resonate with digital audiences. Overall domestic ad sales grew 6% in the quarter, driven by an 83% uptick in AMS revenue.

Domestic affiliate revenue
Growth in the quarter and in the full year follows the renewal or extension of nearly all of Viacom’s traditional subscriber base, as well as inclusion on vMVPDs and mobile partnerships.

Live events
More than 4 million people attended Viacom-branded live events globally in fiscal 2019. By leveraging Viacom’s significant international operating footprint, live event franchises are expanding around the world. In 2019, VidCon held events in Australia, London, Mexico, Singapore, and the Middle East, with more planned in the coming year.

Studio production
In addition to the steady output of premium episodic content from Paramount Television, the Media Network studio production units at Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central have 17 domestic series ordered to or in production for third-parties.

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Highlights from Viacom's 4Q19 Conference Call:

- Nickelodeon's 'Ryan's Mystery Playdate' was the number-one preschool series in Q419!

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Viacom Makes "Aggressive" Play to Remake Exec Team Ahead of Merger

CEO Bob Bakish culls the exec ranks as Wall Street worries about its fortunes.

Viacom and merger partner CBS made a rash of leadership changes Nov. 11 that included naming Chris McCarthy, the chief of MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo, the new president of entertainment and youth brands.

In truth, though, the consolidation of executives, so to speak, has been occurring at Viacom and other conglomerates for a few years now, courtesy a wave of acquisitions as the industry grapples with disruptive digital streamers. And it’s not expected to stop.

In some cases, top executives charged with deciding who goes and who stays are not even safe, such as with Wade Davis, the Viacom CFO who will exit once ViacomCBS is created in December. "There's only so many C-level jobs to go around, and you don't need two of each," notes Mary Ann Halford, a senior adviser with OC&C Strategy Consultants.

Viacom has been steadily streamlining under CEO Bob Bakish. Comedy Central chief Kent Alterman's Nov. 11 exit was preceded by those of Kevin Kay (Paramount Network), Debra Lee (BET), Cyma Zarghami (Nickelodeon), Larry Jones (TV Land) and Brian Philips (CMT).

Now, McCarthy will double the number of networks he oversees, adding Paramount Network, Comedy Central, TV Land and Smithsonian Channel to his purview. "It's like a game of musical chairs," says Halford, "only there were more chairs five years ago than today, and they're not coming back."

Viacom's latest moves confirmed that Jim Gianopulos will stay atop Paramount Pictures as CEO and chairman, while David Nevins, chief creative officer of CBS and CEO of Showtime, will add oversight of BET Networks in the shift. And Marc DeBevoise will become chief digital officer of the combined ViacomCBS and Phil Wiser, chief technology officer at CBS will have that role for ViacomCBS.

And while Viacom said Nov. 8 that it is out of the bidding for the 700-title Miramax library, rumors swirl that after it merges with CBS it will scoop up more content firms to help feed CBS All Access and other digital initiatives.

"It's good to see that ViacomCBS is being aggressive," says analyst Steven Birenberg of Northlake Capital Management. "There is a real concern on Wall Street the company is floundering, so just showing that things are being realigned and 'newco' can hit the ground running is helpful."

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From TBI Vision:

Bakish: Advertiser and distributor partners are “bedrock” of ViacomCBS strategy

Bob Bakish has said that distributor and ad partnerships remain the “bedrock” of the strategy for the combined ViacomCBS going forward.

The Viacom CEO – a regular at the annual MTV European Music Awards, taking place this weekend – was addressing attendees at a pre-awards showcase in Seville, Spain, on Saturday (2 November), where he confirmed that the long-awaited merger, finally struck mid-August, would close in “early December” as opposed to later in the month, as previously thought.

Bakish promised that ViacomCBS will be a “decisive player in the battle for the future of video entertainment” and outlined a three-prong strategy focused on “content, partnership and Pluto TV”.

In particular, the exec trumpeted the importance of advertisers and distributors to the business at a time when these partners have “observed a growing bias in the industry towards direct-to-consumer solutions”.

Highlighting a “worldwide distribution network of more than 2,500 partners”, Bakish drove home the point that ViacomCBS would operate in a mixed economy, operating its own platforms but also ramping up production for third-party partners. This was abundantly clear in the ensuing 20-minute presentation of forthcoming Viacom titles, presented under the slogan of ‘We Made That’.

Bakish said: “All of our entities syndicate premium content to a broad range of MVPD, broadcast and digital clients around the world, so while it looks like some of our competitors are looking at going it alone, for ViacomCBS, partnership is deeply embedded in our DNA, and partnership will remain the bedrock of our distribution strategy as a combined company.”

The exec said this commitment also extends to ad partners, who play a crucial role in the growth of Pluto TV – the upstart AVOD service acquired by Viacom for $340m earlier this year.

“Pluto is another extension of our partnership model,” he said, adding that ViacomCBS will extend ad partnerships with the service, “adding billions of brand-safe addressable video impacts to our advertising [and] adding high-quality TV-like reach to strengthen campaign delivery”.

Meanwhile, Viacom International Media Networks CEO David Lynn added that Pluto is available across 150m smart devices in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and will offer more than 150 channels by the end of the year.

“A combination of wider distribution and richer content has helped Pluto more than triple its UK user-base in just one month, and double it in Germany, Switzerland and Austria at the same time,” he said.

Viacom will launch Pluto in Latin America next year, building on the launch of its US Hispanic service, and will also debut in other key European markets.

“Pluto is just one of the exciting opportunities that ViacomCBS will offer partners across international markets in months and years ahead. We will have more to offer you in terms of content licensing, networks, products and advanced marketing solutions,” said Lynn.

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From Forbes:

Viacom CEO Describes Streaming Strategy Ahead Of CBS Merger

ViacomCBS’ streaming strategy will run the gamut from free and paid services fed by library and original content, in-house production, and third-party deals, as Bob Bakish, the Viacom CEO who will run the new entity once the merger closes, said he aims at “differentiation and capital efficiency.”

We’re “in the middle of developing our combined company streaming strategy,” he told analysts on an earnings conference call. The deal is expected to close in December.

Investors were a bit alarmed earlier this week by CBS’ large investment in CBS All Access, one analyst noted on the call, asking about Bakish’ strategy. The CEO said Viacom tries to reduce overall financial exposure with an array of deals — the latest being a licensing pact announced Thursday between Paramount and Netflix giving the giant streaming service rights to make a sequel to Beverly Hills Cop with Eddie Murphy starring and Jerry Bruckheimer producing. The pact, Bakish said, ”will produce a new film based on an iconic IP and further expands our relationship with this important original production client."

Earlier this week, Nickelodeon and Netflix announced an output deal for films and TV series. Viacom is also backing a comedy series by Comedy Central star Trevor Noah for Quibi, the mobile streaming service from Jeffrey Katzenberg launching in April.

Bakish noted that Nick’s Noggin subscription service relies on library content. Recently launched BET+ is developing original fare with Tyler Perry Studios.

Pluto’s model, he said, is revenue sharing based on content partnerships.

Pluto TV, the free streaming service that Viacom acquired early last year saw monthly U.S. active users rise 70% to 20 million for the calendar year and launched 43 new channels, 24 Viacom-branded.

Viacom nailed two milestones, posting its first full-year bump in advertising revenue in six years boosted by Pluto TV, which Bakish said had 3,500 brand advertisers in the fourth quarter. And Paramount posted its first annual profit since 2015. Paramount’s slate will jump to 17 films in fiscal 2020 from 11 in 2019 including A Quiet Place Part II, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run, and Top Gun: Maverick.

The stock is up 3.5% in mid-morning trade.

Outgoing CFO Wade Davis said the merged ViacomCBS will join an elite handful of players “positioned to shape the future of the media industry — and “the center of it all will be content.”

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More Nick: Nickelodeon Embarks on New Direction with its Biggest, Most Wide-Ranging Content Slate Ever!

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