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Mario Gabelli Comments on Viacom Inc. Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA) (5.8%) (VIA - $34.10 - NASDAQ) is a pure-play content company that owns a global stable of cable networks, including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, VH1, BET, and the Paramount movie studio. Viacom's cable networks generate revenue from advertising sales, fixed monthly subscriber fees, and ancillary revenue from toy licensing. We believe a low valuation and M&A potential outweigh the secular risks of cord-cutting.From Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio)'s second-quarter 2019 Value 25 Fund commentary. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. What to read next.

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Viacom shareholders will receive 0.59625 CBS shares for each share they own, according to Bloomberg. The merger gives the combined company a stronger content lineup to offer a digital service that competes with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) upcoming streaming bundle. That streaming offering has been a sort of also-ran in the market because -- while it offers originals like Star Trek: Discovery, The GoodFight, and a rebooted Twilight Zone -- it lacks the quantity of content needed to compete with Netflix, HBO, Hulu, or the soon-to-launch Disney+. With Disney bundling Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+ for $12.99 a month, CBS All Access -- even at $5.99 a month for ad-supported content ($9.99 ad-free) -- does not look like a very good deal. What's next for ViacomCBS?

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Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) and Japanese car IT solutions provider Access have formed a partnership to make the US media company’s TV brands accessible to vehicle passengers via the Twine4Car system in Germany. Under the terms of deal, Access is acquiring the rights to make linear feeds of MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon available in German language for integration into in-car infotainment systems being developed by German car manufacturers. “Viacom believes in-car entertainment is an exciting new frontier for the video industries, with the next generation of mobile network technology ushering in a new era of connected vehicles and immersive entertainment experiences on-the-go,” said Raffaele Annecchino, president and managing director of VIMN Southern and Western Europe, Middle East and Africa. Filed Under: Channels, Newsline, PlatformsTagged With: ACCESS, Comedy Central, MTV, Neale Foster, Nickelodeon, Raffaele Annecchino, Twine4Car, Viacom International Media Networks Edited: August 19, 201909:45.

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The deal brings together CBS' broadcast, sports, and news networks, Showtime, and streaming services like CBS All Access, with Viacom's movie studio Paramount Pictures and array of international TV networks like Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, and BET. The feeling at Viacom internally, based on Business Insider's interviews with a half dozen current and former employees, is relief that the deal is finally done and anxiety around what comes next. Executives from both companies said on a call with analysts this week that they'll continue looking for opportunities to grow their businesses, and that their merger will put them in better financial shape to jump on future deals. One big upside to deal, and reason we may see more combinations like it, is that it could help CBS and Viacom scale their streaming services and production resources to better compete - and sell movies and TV shows to - media giants like Netflix, Disney, and Comcast.

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Aviva PLC’s holdings in Viacom were worth $3,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Viacom’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viacom, Inc. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Viacom from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 16th.

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Jim Cramer Shares His Thoughts On Viacom, Yeti And More. On CNBC's "Mad Money Lightning Round," Jim Cramer said he likes Penn National Gaming, Inc (NASDAQ: PENN) at its current price. Viacom, Inc. Class B (NASDAQ: VIAB) and Viacom, Inc. Class A (NASDAQ: VIA) are both trading lower and it is driving Cramer crazy. Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM), but he would rather buy Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL). Yeti Holdings Inc (NYSE: YETI) is a great brand name, said Cramer.

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(Bloomberg) -- While there may be some relief now that CBS Corp (NYSE:CBS). and Viacom Inc. have finally settled on a merger plan, Wall Street’s attention has turned to whether the deal is enough to stem the bleeding subscriber declines plaguing the pay-TV industry. Some analysts question if the estimated synergies of $500 million will be enough to compete with a market turning to streaming services. But “scale, after all, is a necessary (but not sufficient) first step to a robust [direct-to-consumer] offering,” Citigroup (NYSE:C) analyst Jason Bazinet wrote in a note to clients. According to Ryvicker, the “two surprises relative to our expectations” were the name ViacomCBS as the presumed name was simply CBS, and also the exchange ratio given the thought that Viacom “would get some level of a premium.”. The anticipated deal close time, slated for year-end 2019, is “arguably the only surprise in yesterday’s announcement.”. While the merger “does not fully address the long-term uncertainties” confronting CBS and Viacom’s assets centered around pay-TV, the deal offers a number of benefits from greater scale in content production to cost savings and improved negotiation leverage. “As the pay-TV market slowly pivots to cloud-based direct-to-consumer offers, this deal makes sense.”. But in order for ViacomCBS “to benefit from multiple expansion, the management team will need to take bolder steps by, for example, putting the lion’s share of the content on a single, unified app.”.

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The media giants on Tuesday announced an all-stock merger aimed at competing in a business that’s shifting as cord cutters move to watching streamed programming. BMO Capital Markets analyst Daniel Salmon downgraded CBS from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered the price target from $60 to $51. Credit Suisse analyst Douglas Mitchelson has an Outperform rating and a $66 price target on CBS and is Neutral with a $33 target price on Viacom. “While we’re intrigued by the differentiated message of ViacomCBS building a larger third party licensing business when competitors are pulling back, we think the next 12 months are more likely to be focused on near-term content investment and potentially more M&A news to come,” Salmon wrote.

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CBS Corp.’s pending reunification with Viacom Inc. is eliciting strong reactions on Wall Street, with at least two analysts downgrading CBS’s stock after the merger announcement and one upgrading it.

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CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) confirmed a merger agreement Tuesday with its sister company Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB). One of the biggest surprises from the details of the merger agreement: acting CEO Joe Ianniello will remain with the newly formed company and play a "significant role" in leading the CBS side of the business, New York Times corporate media reporter Ed Lee told CNBC Wednesday. The merger of CBS with Viacom is a "great triumph" for Shari Redstone and comes at an "incredible" time for the media industry given a slew of recent M&A deals, Jeff Sonnenfeld, the senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, told CNBC. Lee said Redstone will likely be looking to acquire other media assets over a two- to three-year period. Even if she acquires a company like AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC), the larger entity will be "more attractive overall," but won't be big on the same playing field as Netflix, he said.

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