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Viacom Aims To Scale Back In China
The media giant has held talks with at least one interested Chinese entity, the Wall Street Journal was the first to report earlier this week. The talks have focused on a potential sale of Viacom’s TV networks business in China, including MTV and Nickelodeon, according to insiders. However, the Chinese arm of Paramount Pictures, also owned by Viacom, was not said to be involved in such discussions.
The signs look ominous as Viacom has faced challenges to scale its business in China in recent years, and with a looming trade war and softer media industry growth predicted for China…It would be sensible for the company to reduce its political exposure there as Sino-American tensions rise, and opt for a local partner to take majority control of its operations in such a climate.
The potential deal in China echoes of Viacom reducing its stake in its Indian joint venture to a minority position last January. Its Indian partner Reliance Industries had upped its stake by a per cent to 51% for US$20m and also took operational control of Viacom 18.
Viacom also has a similar arrangement in South Korea, where its local partner, SBS, has majority control over the joint venture channels SBS MTV and Nickelodeon Korea. It has been in China for over 20 years, running MTV Mandarin and Nickelodeon China with CCTV, as well as providing content to the country’s OTT players.
