Viacom Acquires Seinfeld Cable Rights, Expands Comedy Lineup

Reportedly, Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB) has bought the exclusive cable rights of popular comedy show Seinfeld from Sony, which is the current distributor of the show. Per Reuters, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Notably, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) grabbed the global streaming rights of Seinfeld. The show will be available on the streaming giant’s platform in the United States, after the end of Sony’s current deal with Hulu in June 2021. The company will also stream the show, which is currently available on Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime, in international markets.

Starting October 2021, Viacom will begin airing all seasons of the show through its entertainment cable networks, including Comedy Central, Paramount Network and TV Land. The show will also be available on Viacom’s on-demand services, websites and apps.

Expanding Portfolio to Aid Growth

We believe Seinfeld’s addition strengthens Comedy Central’s portfolio that comprises popular shows like South Park, Strangers With Candy, and The Daily Show. Moreover, other classic series currently airing on TV Land include King of Queens, and the newer additions Two and a Half Men and The Goldbergs.

Apart from Comedy Central and TV Land, Viacom is benefiting from a turnaround in its Paramount division that has a strong slate of new movies. Paramount’s film slate for the remainder of fiscal 2019 includes Dora and the Lost City of Gold.

For fiscal 2020, Paramount’s film slate has 16 films, including Gemini Man, Terminator: Dark Fate and the sequel to Top Gun, among others.

The Paramount television business also has a strong portfolio of new series (17 ordered or in production) and an additional 19 series set up at networks.

New series ordered include Shantaram for Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) upcoming streaming service Apple TV+ (to be launched on Nov 1), Made for Love and Station Eleven for HBO Max; When the Street Lights Go On for Quibi and Sexy Beast for Paramount Network.

Paramount Television is also producing The Angel of Darkness, the sequel of limited series The Alienist for TNT and the second season of Boomerang for BET.

Additionally, MTV’s revival is also expected to enhance the company’s growth opportunities. The brand’s strong adoption among the 18-34 demography bodes well for Viacom’s top-line growth.

Moreover, Viacom’s expanding mobile and Internet presence is a key catalyst. The content distribution agreement with T-Mobile’s upcoming mobile video service is also likely to drive growth. Moreover, Viacom has added MTV, Nick and TV Land to AT&T (NYSE:T) Watch.

Furthermore, the acquisition of Pluto TV is expected to boost Viacom’s streaming footprint. Per Variety report, Pluto TV’s monthly active users (MAUs) increased 50% to around 18 million in July 2019.

The free, ad-supported Internet streaming service recently added seven new channels, diversifying into African American and LGBTQ programming from VH1 and BET. Users can now watch shows like Love & Hip Hop, RuPaul’s Drag Race and Basketball Wives on these channels.

Viacom-CBS Merger to Expand Global Reach

Viacom’s merger with CBS (NYSE:CBS) is expected to expand the combined companies’ global reach to more than 4.3 billion cumulative TV subscribers in more than 180 countries.

The unified ViacomCBS will boast a portfolio of well-known entertainment brands like CBS, Showtime, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

Also, its library of 140,000 television episodes and 3,600 films including popular franchises such as Star Trek and Mission: Impossible is expected to cater to users of all ages and demographics.

Currently, Viacom has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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