- Viacom (NASDAQ:VIA-OLD -1.5%, VIAB -1.9%) says it's culled a list of 40 bidders for a stake in Paramount Pictures down to a handful, with negotiations set to start late next month.
- Chief Philippe Dauman gave the update on the company's conference call following its fiscal Q2 beat today. Shares are lower as domestic ad sales proved a disappointment, dropping for the seventh straight quarter.
- "There is strong interest from all around the world," Dauman says of the minority interest in the venerable studio that Viacom is shopping. Chinese suitors are still a favorite for many reasons, including the chance for Viacom to get a stronger presence in a burgeoning cinema market.
- Meanwhile, other suitors are falling by the wayside as they would have preferred majority control of the studio.
- Also today, Viacom announced a partnership with Roku to deliver targeted advertising using aggregated audience insights. "This is the first time dynamic, 1:1 advertising will be possible as part of a larger linear TV buy," says Viacom's Kern Schireson.
- And it introduced Vantage Studio Edition, a version of its data-driven offering targeted exclusively to movie studios. It's set to combine title-level film ticket purchase data with household viewing behavior.
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