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Viacom Digital Studios generating 5.5 billion monthly views across platforms

Viacom Digital Studios channels are yielding 5.5 billion monthly views thanks to its cross-platform strategy, according to President Kelly Day.

The unit is producing a vast amount of content for its owned and operated channels, including those on Google LLC's YouTube and Facebook Inc., Day said.

Viacom Inc.'s cable networks MTV (US), Comedy Central (US) and Nickelodeon were the first to be disrupted by a younger generation that consumes content on multiple platforms, Day told attendees at the Future of Television Conference on Sept. 24.

Audience expectations are driven by platform type, rather than brand, Day said. Viacom Digital Studios is structured so that each brand has a dedicated team and access to talent.

Developing this strategy involved a lot of trial and error and refinement over almost two years, Day said. "Everything has not worked right out of the gate," she said, citing "Wild 'n Out," a long-running show on both MTV and MTV2 (US). Over time, it was decided the show would work best as its own YouTube channel, which Day said has 6 million subscribers.

The show's format is well-suited for YouTube because it is talent driven and the comedy challenges can be broken down into short, three to five minute segments, Day said.

Comedy Central has taken a different approach, hiring a multi-skilled troupe through auditions on Instagram LLC.

The platforms attract different audiences. While MTV's linear audience spans those in their late 20s to early 30s, the brand's digital audience is much younger, appealing to those aged 16 to 24. "It's not one size fits all," she said.

For the most part, Nickelodeon's linear audience correlates with its YouTube channel, as both appeal to kids aged 6 to 11. The same holds true for the Nick Jr. (US)'s 2-5 set.

Day noted that Viacom Digital Studios works closely with the company's Advanced Marketing Solutions unit, which helped the company drive domestic sales to second quarter growth for the first time in five years.

She declined to specify Viacom Digital Studios' revenue, but said growth has been "material."