Business/Finance

Advertising on Viacom’s cable nets “remains challenged” and is expected to endure “continued slow growth in the coming years,” maintains UBS. Resulting is a heavy reliance on unproven segments such as online to drive the company going forward, said the firm, noting that Viacom’s digital strategy “remains less well-defined than that of several competitors.” But the recent launch of TheDailyShow.com highlights a promising digital strategy that augurs linear ratings growth for Viacom’s cable nets, wrote Pali’s Richard Greenfield. “It shows that Viacom… is willing to let the content live and grow on its own,” said Greenfield, who is particularly bullish about Viacom’s enabling content embedment at sites such as MySpace and Facebook.