Michael Nathanson says, “The old Viacom playbook no longer works”
Joan E. Solsman | April 4, 2016 @ 7:23 AM
Last Updated: April 4, 2016 @ 9:38 AM
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Shares in Viacom slipped Monday after a key analyst told investors he could no longer recommend buying the stock.
Michael Nathanson of firm MoffettNathanson said he’s given up on his belief that Viacom’s television ratings would improve while the cable ad market would strengthen.
“Having seen that trade work many times over the past decade, we expected similar results this year,” he wrote in his note downgrading the stock to neutral from buy. “Clearly, the old Viacom playbook no longer works.”
He also lowered his estimates for earnings from Viacom, which operates cable networks like Comedy Central and MTV, as well as the Paramount movie studio. “It doesn’t take a genius to say that we were wildly wrong in our forecasts,” Nathanson said.
In early trading Monday, Viacom’s Class B shares were down as much as 3.1 percent at $39.91. Recently, they were 1.7 percent lower. Over the last year, they have tumbled more than 40 percent.
The company’s stock has gotten hammered over that span, as investors question Viacom’s future while audiences migrate to online video and households scale back pay-TV subscriptions. Recent box office bombs like “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” and “Zoolander 2” have undermined the company’s movie studio, in which Viacom is hoping to sell a minority stake by the end of June.
Viacom declined to comment.
What 'The People v OJ Simpson' Got Wrong (Photos)
FX's "The People v OJ Simpson" never claimed to be a documentary, but it can hold its head high when it comes to accuracy. Even some of the strangest moments portrayed in the series really happened.
But at times, for the sake of drama, it condensed or dramatized events as any good drama should do. But the show also took some major liberties.
Here's what the show seems to have made up.
A lawyer did not really collapse in court. Prosecutor Bill Hodgman was taken to a hospital, but it happened after court was over.
Remember when a juror says white people prefer Target and black people prefer Ross? We found nothing to indicate it happened, in the court record or the book on which the series is based.
That moment when Darden says he should be held in contempt and Clark offers to take off her watch and jewelry to go to jail? It all happened, but not during a Feb. 23, 1995 hearing on the Fuhrman tapes, as portrayed on the show. Judge Lance Ito's ruling on the tapes didn't come until Aug. 31, 1995. Also, that exchange didn't come during the Furhman argument, but rather at a totally different time.
Simpson turns 70 today. Let’s fact-check FX’s spectacular series about his trial
FX's "The People v OJ Simpson" never claimed to be a documentary, but it can hold its head high when it comes to accuracy. Even some of the strangest moments portrayed in the series really happened.
But at times, for the sake of drama, it condensed or dramatized events as any good drama should do. But the show also took some major liberties.
