Viable Viacom

Viacom’s multiplatform strategy won’t include going head-to-head with big portals like Yahoo and Google. Instead, it’s exploring bigger distribution deals with them, Tom Freston said during Viacom’s investor presentation Tues. "The portals are telling us they can’t exclusively rely on [themselves] to develop compelling video content," he said. — Downloadable Video: Last week, MTV Nets made select programming available on iTunes. The result? More than 700K MTV shows and 13K full seasons from Comedy Central and Nickelodeon were bought, Freston said. — Advertising: Viacom has generated about $150mln in digital revenue, primarily from ads and subscriptions. It expects that number to grow to $500mln over the next 3 years. "We have written business in the upfront last year for VOD, and we expect to see a big increase in that area this year in terms of the dollars that we write," Freston said. — Affiliate Fees: Freston expects high-single digit increases in licensing fees for 3-5 years. He’s not concerned about losing CBS retrans rights: "Our deals go through the end of the decade. I believe that when we get there we have enough scale and scope that we’ll stand tall at the negotiating table."