THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Friday, February 21, 2020 |B5
BUSINESS NEWS
odeon, MTV and VH1. The com-
pany’s video-streaming services
include CBS All Access, Show-
time and BET+.
On an earnings conference
call, ViacomCBS Chief Executive
Bob Bakish said the company
will offer three main streaming
services to maximize revenue
from online video. Pluto TV, the
company’s ad-supported ser-
vice, will be the cheapest option
for consumers. The most expen-
sive option will be anchored by
Showtime, ViacomCBS’s pre-
mium cable and streaming ser-
vice. In the middle will be the
expanded version of CBS All Ac-
cess, which will include more
than 30,000 episodes of TV and
about 1,000 movies.
“We believe this strategy of
free, broad pay and premium
pay is where the market will
go,” Mr. Bakish said.
Mr. Bakish predicted during
the call that the company would
have 16 million paid U.S. video-
streaming subscribers and Pluto
TV would have about 30 million
monthly active users by the end
of the year.
Also on the call, Mr. Bakish
said that the company plans to
use its combined financial re-
sources to strike a rights deal
with the National Football
League, an agreement that
would secure one of the last re-
maining staples of linear TV
viewership for years to come.
The company’s CBS Sports
and sports-betting operator Wil-
liam Hill US this month agreed
to a multiyear deal that would
enable the gambling company to
seek new customers among the
media giant’s audience.
ViacomCBS has named
George Cheeks, a top executive
at Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniver-
sal, to succeed Joe Ianniello as
head of CBS-branded assets.
Mr. Cheeks will assume his role
March 23. Mr. Ianniello, who
was interim CEO of CBS before
it merged with Viacom in
December, will be departing the
company.ViacomCBSInc. reported a
loss in the final quarter of last
year as Viacom completed its
merger with sister company
CBS and prepared to compete
with the likes ofNetflixInc. in
the increasingly crowded arena
of online streaming video.
In its first earnings report
since the merger closed, Via-
comCBS posted a fourth-quar-
ter net loss of $258 million, or
42 cents a share, compared
with a profit of $887 million, or
$1.44 a share, in the year-ago
period. Adjusted earnings were
97 cents a share.
Analysts polled by FactSet
had expected earnings of $1.32
a share, or $1.41 a share on an
adjusted basis.
Revenue fell 3% to $6.87 bil-
lion from the prior year as con-
tent-licensing revenue fell 11% to
$1.28 billion. Analysts were look-
ing for revenue of $7.34 billion.
Shares of the company
slumped 18% on Thursday.
The company also said it is
targeting $750 million in cost
cuts for the year, revising its
guidance upward from $500
million.
The company’s advertising
revenue fell 2% to $3.03 billion,
and its publishing and theatrical
revenues also slid. Its affiliate
revenue rose 1% to $2.13 billion,
fueled by growth in reverse
compensation, retransmission
and subscription-streaming rev-
enue that offset falls in pay TV.
ViacomCBS said it had $1.6
billion in U.S. streaming video
revenue last year and finished
the year with 11 million U.S.
streaming subscribers, marking
the first time that the company
has broken out its online video
results in detail.
ViacomCBS plans to court
additional subscribers with an
expanded version of CBS All Ac-
cess, which will include content
from across the company’s ca-
ble networks, including Nickel-
BYDAVESEBASTIAN
ANDBENJAMINMULLIN
ViacomCBS Posts
Loss as It Prepares
Streaming Push
lenges in its base business,
which excludes international
operations and six parks the
company has operated since
2018, as a reason for the loss.
Park admissions were down
5% in the latest quarter. The
company also said attendance,
guest spending per capita and
revenue from the base busi-
ness were flat in 2019 from
the previous year.
Six Flags operates 26 theme
and water parks, with 23 of
them located in the U.S., two
in Mexico and one in Canada.
The results also included
$10 million in charges related
to the company’s agreements
and litigations in China. The
company said Thursday that it
had terminated its develop-
ment agreements in China af-
ter its partner there defaulted
on payment obligations to the
company.
The results also included a
$1.9 million stock-based com-
pensation expense, compared
with a $77.5 million benefit a
year earlier.Six Flags said it is expect-
ing adjusted earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation,
and amortization of $435 mil-
lion to $465 million in 2020,
below the $533 million ex-
pected by analysts, because of
lower contribution from its in-
ternational agreements and
higher wages, among other
reasons.The company also said it
needs to make more invest-
ments to the base business to
improve the consumer experi-
ence.
“We are working diligently
to formulate a new strategic
plan with the goal of restoring
sustainable growth in atten-dance, revenue and profitabil-
ity, and also to add directors
with critical skills and experi-
ences to our board,” President
and Chief Executive Mike
Spanos said. Mr. Spanos took
the helm of the company on
Nov. 18, replacing Jim Reid-
Anderson, who also served as
chairman.
Marshall Barber will step
down as chief financial officer
on Feb. 24 but is expected to
remain at the company until
his retirement on Aug. 31.
Leonard Russ, the company’s
senior vice president of strate-
gic planning and analysis, will
serve as interim finance chief.
Six Flags also is facing
pressure from an activist in-
vestor. In January, it agreed to
add Arik Ruchim, a partner at
H Partners Management LLC,
to its board, after H Partners
had raised concerns over the
company’s operations and
stock performance. H Partners
holds a 6.51% stake in the
company, according to Fact-
Set.Six Flags Entertainment
Corp. on Thursday swung to
an unexpected loss for the lat-
est quarter and gave a 2020
outlook well below expecta-
tions as the company strug-
gles to lure attendees to its
amusement parks and ended
its China expansion plans.
Shares of Six Flags fell
about 16%, as the company
also cut its dividend by 70% to
25 cents a share and an-
nounced its finance chief’s re-
tirement.
For the fourth quarter
ended Dec. 31, Six Flags swung
to a loss of $11.2 million, or 13
cents a share, compared with
year-earlier net income of
$79.4 million, or 93 cents a
share. Analysts polled by Fact-
Set were expecting earnings of
14 cents a share.
Total revenue was $261 mil-
lion, down 3% from a year ear-
lier. Analysts were expecting
sales of $260.1 million.
The company cited chal-BYAMBERBURTONSix Flags Lowers Its Outlook
For 2020, Slashes Dividend
The amusement-park operator cited challenges in its base business as a reason for its loss in the fourth quarter.SIX FLAGS/ASSOCIATED PRESS5%
Decline in park admissions in
the company’s latest quarter© 2019 Dow Jones & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. 6DJ7750The Wall Street Journal news organization was not included in the creation of this content.The Wall Street JournalCEO
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