MUMBAI: Viacom18, the joint venture between Viacom and TV18, has posted a net loss of Rs 284 million for the quarter ended 30 September. This is compared to a net profit of Rs 140 million the company had posted in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The loss was mainly triggered by a 29.33 per cent jump in the expenses, out of which Viacom18 more than double the spent on marketing and promotions.

Total expenses incurred by Viacom18 were at Rs 3.23 billion, as compared to Rs 2.50 billion in the year ago period. Out of this Rs 1.12 billion were spent on marketing, distribution and promotional expenses, as against Rs 480 million in the year ago. Production expenses remained same at Rs 1.83 billion with rest attributing to staff cost.

Meanwhile, the company saw a 15.85 per cent hike in revenue to Rs 3.15 billion, as against Rs 2.72 billion in the year-ago period. In the first quarter of FY?12, Viacom18 posted revenues of Rs 2.77 billion.

On the operating level, the company?s loss from the quarter stood at Rs 77 million, compared to an operating profit of Rs 220 million. However, from the TV business, the company reported operating profit of Rs 123 million, and the loss is from the film business (The Indian Film Company and Motion Pictures business) to the tune of Rs 200 million.

Viacom18 runs Hindi general entertainment channel Colors, youth entertainment channel MTV, kids channel Nick and English entertainment channel Vh1.

During the current quarter, Viacom18 charged one-time cost towards impairment of film rights amounting to Rs 1.39 billion to reflect the realisable value of the film library held by its subsidiary The Indian Film Company (TIFC). However, this is getting fully indemnified by Network18 Holdings Limited and hence there is no impact on the profit and loss account, the company clarified.

MUMBAI: Percept Sports and Entertainment has appointed Joji George as chief executive officer.

George comes to Percept from the Global Brand Forum, Singapore where he was its executive vice president.

In his new role, George will be responsible for providing strategic direction, creating opportunities for integration and paving the roadmap for the overall businesses of the Percept Sports and Entertainment vertical. His expertise lies in strategic planning and corporate branding, organisational brand alignment, global event management, regional sponsorship, licensing and merchandising.

Commented George on his appointment, "Having worked with leading brands across Asia over the last decade, I am excited about working with India?s leading entertainment conglomerate that transforms brands by offering ?complete brand solutions? for clients, looking to take a leadership position in a competitive marketplace both within India and globally. I want to make Percept Sports and Entertainment the preferred partner for businesses that are looking for creative and memorable brand experiences for its stakeholders and consumers and meet their needs.?

Elaborated Percept Limited joint managing director Shailendra Singh, ?Percept is India?s only conglomerate that provides 360-degree services in the Entertainment, Media and Communications (EMC) industry. Joji brings a wealth of ideas, knowledge and experiences from leading brands across the region and together we shall takePercept Sports & Entertainment to another level."

Previously, George has worked with organisations like Astro (Astro All Asia Networks Plc) ? Malaysia, Yahoo! Asia ? Singapore, MTV Asia LDC ? Singapore and Sony Music Entertainment (India) Ltd among others.

MUMBAI: Janson Media has announced its slate of programming for next month?s television trade event Mipcom 2011, to be held from 3-6 October in Cannes, France.

The company is at Mipcom for the 23rd consecutive year. ?Crossing Borders? is a new feature documentary that follows four Moroccan and four American university students as they travel together through Morocco and, in the process of discovering ?The Other,? discover themselves. Although filmed in an MTV ?Real World?-style, the documentary looks at serious real-world issues, and was produced in anticipation of the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

?The Wereth Eleven? is a riveting new docudrama narrated by Corey Reynolds. It recounts the heroic battle waged by the African American 333rd Field Artillery Battalion against the massed attacking German army at the start of the Battle of the Bulge and the dramatic escape made by 11 men of Battery C. They were soon after captured and massacred at Wereth, Belgium by Hitler?s most ruthless soldiers, the SS.

 
?USS Franklin: Honor Restored? is a documentary which tells the complete story, for the first time, of ?The Ship That Wouldn?t Die,? the aircraft carrier that survived a direct hit by a Japanese armor-piecing bomb just 50 miles off the coast of Japan in March 1945. In an instant the crew?s lives were changed forever and the events that followed would make the story of ?Big Ben? one of the most dramatic and inspiring in naval history. The film is narrated by actor Dale Dye (Saving Private Ryan).

?Harvest Eating with Keith Snow? is a new lifestyle series about food with celebrity chef Keith Snow that is entertaining, inspiring, and informative, featuring engaging interviews, easy-to-follow recipes, on-location segments at local farms and produce markets, and of course, healthy and delicious food.

Meanwhile ?Betsy?s Kindergarten Adventures? is an animation series, told from the perspective of 5-year old Betsy. It is designed to ease a child?s transition from the home setting to a school environment by generating interest and excitement about the kindergarten experience in young viewers.

?Aligned and Well? is a new health and wellness exercise series created by biomechanist, Katy Bowman, which introduces the Biomechanical Model of Preventative Medicine. Based on physics, physiology, anatomy, and engineering, the method explains how many common, expensive ailments are a result of poor motor skills and can be corrected through diligent practice of simple movements.

?Tamara Lackey: Capturing Life Through (Better) Photography? is a lifestyle series combining nearly a decade of superstar photographer Tamara Lackey?s behind-the-camera knowledge and experience with her fresh and playful approach to capturing the emotion and authenticity of real moments in photographs.

Janson Media?s current affairs documentary, Split Estate, airing in the US on the Sundance Channel, takes on the environmental issue of ?fracking? (hydraulic fracturing), as citizens in the path of a natural gas drilling boom in the US struggle against the erosion of their civil liberties, their communities and their health.

Janson Media will also bring new seasons to the market of Quilting Arts TV, Knitting Daily TV, Hands on Crafts for Kids, the jewelry-making series Beads, Baubles and Jewels, a series for scrapbooking enthusiasts, Scrapbook Memories and the popular baking and cake-decorating series, Bake Decorate Celebrate!

MUMBAI: MTV, the youth channel, is gearing up to launch the ninth season of its flagship property ? Roadies. In the ninth season, the show will go to the United States of America.

This time, the show is rechristened as MTV Hero Roadies, following the joint venture split between Hero and Honda.

Apart from Hero, Roadies is powered by Idea and the associate sponsors are Mountain dew, Lava mobiles, Spraymint, Ceat, Steelbird and Denver. Cafe partner is CCD, Radio Partners are Radio Mirchi in Pune, Kolkata, Delhi and Hyderabad and Big FM in Chandigarh, and Multiplex Partners are Inox in Pune and Kolkata and PVR Cinemas in Delhi, Chandigarh and Hyderabad.

MTV India channel head Aditya Swamy said, "This time Roadies is going to the land of the cowboys, The United States of America! It is going to be bigger and deadlier. MTV Roadies created an instant craze in its first season itself (2003) and today boasts of the largest cult following for a television show. Our theme this Season is ?Everything or Nothing?, which simply means you either win or lose and there are no two ways about it."

The five city auditions are starting on 16 September and will be held in Pune, Kolkata, Delhi, Chandigarh and Hyderabad.

Roadies producer Raghu Ram said, "This season is aimed at youngsters who get an adrenaline rush out of a high risk, high gain or high loss life. There are no in-betweens. In true Roadies style, we will go on a journey of exploration from India to the USA and back, but we aim to kick the excitement up a few notches."

Hero MotoCorp Sr VP (Marketing & Sales) Anil Dua said, "MTV Hero Roadies-9 is getting set to vroom at a time when our campaign ?Hum Mein Hai Hero? is being hummed by people across the country. I am sure the catchy tune and the inspirational song will help motivate the contestants of the new season of this cult programme as they battle it out on our bikes in some of the toughest terrains in the United States. We wish all the contestants of the MTV Hero Roadies-9 all the very best. Ride safe and have fun."

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Viacom has reported double-digit gains for the quarter ended 30 June 2011.

Consolidated revenues in the quarter grew by 15 per cent to $3.77 billion, primarily driven by growth in affiliate, dvertising and television license revenues.
 
Adjusted operating income increased by 22 per cent to $995 million, fueled by Media Networks profit growth. Adjusted net earnings from continuing operations attributable to Viacom were up 35 per cent to $583 million with adjusted diluted EPS from continuing operations of $0.99, which represents a 39 per cent increase over the prior year‘s results of $0.71 per share.

Viacom president, CEO Philippe Dauman said, "The breadth of hit programming found across Viacom‘s media network portfolio continues to expand with top-rated shows and tentpole events on MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET and TV Land, as well as many of our international networks, all of which contributed to strong advertising growth and a
robust advertising upfront performance. We are strengthening our global entertainment brands and expanding our reach through new international and digital distribution and bringing our audiences the content they want on new platforms."

Paramount Pictures is the first studio ever to deliver a record six consecutive $100 million-plus domestic box office movies and it was the first studio to cross the $1 billion domestic box office threshold for the fifth year in a row.

Film revenues grew by 13 per cent to $1.41 billion due principally to higher television license fees and home entertainment revenues. The company‘s worldwide television license revenues were up by 36 per cent in the quarter to $416 million, driven by the number and mix of available titles.

Home entertainment revenues increased 33 per cent to $331
million, reflecting one additional release as compared with the prior year‘s quarter as well as the strength of the current year releases. Ancillary revenues also grew, up 57 per cent to $72 million.

These gains were partially offset by lower theatrical revenues, which were down nine per cent to $588 million, principally reflecting the timing of film releases.

"The prior year period benefited from strong carryover revenues from DreamWorks Animation‘s ‘How to Train Your
Dragon‘ whereas ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon‘ was released in the final week of the fiscal 2011 third quarter, which will result in the majority of the film‘s theatrical revenues occurring in the fiscal fourth quarter," the company said.