Viacom announced its 4th quarter 2019 earnings. In it, the company confirmed that Pluto TV now has 20 million active users as of October 2019, up from 18 million in July. Pluto TV has grown by 67% since January 2019. When Viacom purchased Pluto TV in January, it had just 12 million subscribers.
3,500 brands advertised on Pluto TV during September, which Viacom CFO Wade Davis said was the highest-ever revenue month for the service. He also said that total viewing minutes tripled year over year during the month. Ahead of the closure of the CBS-Viacom merger, expected to happen in December, Pluto TV added new CBS channels including CBSN New York, CBSN Los Angeles, and ET Live.
Viacom’s media networks business – which houses its cable channels, Advanced Marketing Solutions and Pluto TV – reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $2.6 billion, up 4% year over year. The segment’s advertising revenue stayed largely flat year over year but affiliate revenue registered 6% growth. But adjusted operating income for the segment fell 16% to $597 million, impacted by Viacom’s BET+ launch and ongoing investments at Pluto TV. Viacom’s consolidated revenues were down 1% to $3.43 billion, and the operating income fell 18% to $530 million.
Pluto TV added 43 new channels, including 24 Viacom-branded channels in the quarter. Pluto TV also now has 22 Latino channels with over 4,000 hours of Spanish and Portuguese programming. “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,” said Bob Bakish, President and CEO of Viacom.
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