CMO Today: Paramount Prepares Turnaround Pitch for Viacom Board

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CMO Today: Paramount Prepares Turnaround Pitch for Viacom Board

By Steven Perlberg

“Ben-Hur” was Paramount’s latest flop at the box office. Philippe Antonello/Paramount/Everett Collection

PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE: Brad Grey, chief executive of beleaguered film studio Paramount Pictures, is about to have one very important meeting. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the studio head will have to present his turnaround proposal to parent company Viacom’s newly expanded board. The film unit, whose most recent release “Ben-Hur” flopped at the box office, has been a drag on earnings and a consistent concern for Viacom investors. People close to Shari Redstone, a board member and the daughter of controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone, say she has expressed concerns about current leadership. Mr. Grey, at the helm for 11 years, renewed his contract last year through 2020, and Viacom’s interim CEO Tom Dooley said “there is no consideration of replacing him.” Though, Mr. Dooley is only in charge through September with no guarantee of landing the permanent gig. Another option still on the table is the sale of a minority stake in the studio. The potential move was put on hold during the boardroom drama in recent months, but former CEO Philippe Dauman will still get the chance to present a plan for the stake sale in the coming weeks.

BRANDED VIDEOS: Publishers have been diving into Facebook video to create viral hits for themselves, and increasingly, on behalf of brands. But as CMO Today reports, publishers are getting anxious about how Facebook’s policies could change when it comes to branded content videos. In April, the social network began requiring companies to label videos paid for by brands, and now media executives are worried Facebook will restrict sponsored videos in users’ feeds, effectively forcing media companies to buy ads to drive viewership. Some say you already need to buy ads so that Facebook will offer better analytics on how videos perform. For its part, Facebook says it doesn’t have plans to take a cut of revenue from branded content deals and that it doesn’t penalize sponsored videos. That hasn’t quelled the Facebook Kremlinology, as one executive described it, particularly given that the company has been reaching out to publishers to make sure videos mentioning a brand are properly tagged.

FOX SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: ESPN reigns in the world of sports media, but two of its most well-known rivals are teaming up to form an advertising and editorial partnership. As CMO Today reports, Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated and 21st Century Fox’s Fox Sports will share significant editorial content and allow their ad sales teams to sell across both properties. Sports Illustrated offers news-breaking articles at a time when Fox Sports has pivoted its focus to personality-driven opinion, while Fox Sports has a boatload of video and rights deals with major leagues ripe for syndication across Sports Illustrated’s properties. In a maneuver known as “traffic assignment,” the companies are combining their comScore-measured traffic, effectively making the duo second to ESPN in the sports media rankings. Together, they’re hoping they can have the heft necessary to pique the interest of media buyers. “Scale really matters in this business,” said Rich Battista, president of Time Inc. Brands.

TV HOPES: The conventional wisdom is that digital media companies are vying to get on television at a time when television companies are trying to understand digital media. Think Vice, BuzzFeed and Vox, and their various tie-ups with traditional media companies. Another such digital company is Thrillist, a male-focused digital media publisher whose CEO Ben Lerer joined the latest episode of the WSJ Media Mix podcast. “There are not all that many brands that really matter from a digital perspective,” Mr. Lerer said. “And I think the TV companies are generally not perfectly positioned right now to thrive in digital because of the cost structures they have set up and the fact that they have to spend so much time and energy defensively protecting their turf.” Mr. Lerer argues that TV provides an opportunity for traditional and new media companies to link up “naturally,” since “both sides respect each other.” Check out the episode and subscribe on iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify or Stitcher.

ELSEWHERE

ESPN’s Outside the Lines has a deep dive into the legal saga of DraftKings and FanDuel, the once high-flying daily fantasy sites beset with regulatory scrutiny and legal fees. The two companies are heading into a new football season, but in a very different state than last year. [ESPN]

Vice CEO Shane Smith predicted a “bloodbath” in media consolidation in the next year and said that selling his digital media company to Disney “makes sense.” Disney already owns 18% of Vice. [Hollywood Reporter]

WPP has increased its stake in measurement company comScore from 18.6% to 19.2% since June 30. But the ad giant took a write-down on its investment in comScore amid the company’s executive shake-up after accounting issues came to light. [CMO Today]

Facebook is looking to expand its ad network, called Audience Network, and is testing a complicated and increasingly popular ad tech process called “header bidding.” [The Information]

Upstart political Facebook pages have thrived during this election season, posting cheaply produced memes and videos as mainstream publishers struggle to figure out what works on Facebook. [NYT]

SpinMedia, which owns websites like Death & Taxes and Idolator, is on the block. The company, formerly known as Buzz Media, is said to be losing at least $5 million a year. [New York Post]

Ryan Lochte’s public relations recovery tour has begun. The embattled U.S. swimmer has signed on for the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars.” [Us Weekly]