Philippe Dauman, the CEO of Viacom, which, just like CBS Corp., is controlled by Sumner Redstone, received a compensation package worth $33.5 million for the company's fiscal year ended Sept. 30. That was a decline of 22 percent, but still allowed him to stay ahead of many of his peers.
On a conference call with analysts, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman announced that Nickelodeon will soon be launching a direct-to-consumer service.
“We believe it will be very attractive to consumers,” said Dauman. “We will announce the name next month.”
The decision to offer a way to see the popular kids network without cable or satellite TV subscriptions follows a trend in the entertainment industry. In recent months, HBO, CBS and other networks have announced similar plans.
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In talking with analysts after the release of Viacom’s first-quarter financial results, Dauman touted how the company has been leading on the TV Everywhere front and how the company’s children-friendly fare in particular has been doing well on digital channels. He said the Nick Jr. app has topped iTunes charts since launching last year.
More details about Viacom’s new over-the-top service are expected to be revealed at upfronts presentations in February.
