Viacom Stock Plunges Nearly 8 Percent Ahead of Tomorrow’s Earnings Report

With upfront and newfront seasons here (the time of year when media companies present their programming to advertisers), concerns about the effect of cord-cutters as they move toward slimmer, internet-based services have likely been a contributing factor in a broader selloff of old-line entertainment stocks Thursday.

[...] while Fox and Disney still have popular broadcast networks and sports programming to lean on, Viacom doesn’t have either.

[...] with streaming live TV services becoming increasingly popular among people who are turning away from traditional pay-TV packages, Viacom can’t count on its networks being a must-have for a younger crowd opting for a smaller — and cheaper — set of channels.

During its first-quarter earnings call earlier this year, Viacom CEO Bob Bakish — who was elevated to that position late last year — announced plans to develop movies around Viacom’s brands, beginning with an “Amusement Park” movie, based on the Nickelodeon property and planned for a summer 2018 release.