BRIEFS

Cable World,  Sept 29, 2003  

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LOCAL AD SALES DIM VIACOM FORECAST

Viacom reduced its full-year forecast for revenue and profit growth, and local sales was the culprit. The media giant said it was seeing solid national sales growth, but that the pace of local advertising was not as robust as expected. Viacom now expects full-year revenue and operating income to grow in the mid-to-high single digits, compared to its previous forecast of high-single-digit revenue growth and double-digit growth in operating income. The company said it continues to expect a "record" year and strong growth in 2004.

NBC AND VIVENDI REACH FOR INKWELL

NBC and Vivendi have made strides in sealing a deal for Vivendi's entertainment assets. Vivendi said last week it was confident it would sign a definitive deal in the next few weeks to sell 80% of its entertainment unit to NBC. A preliminary deal was announced earlier this month. Due to regulatory reviews, the companies expect the deal to close sometime in the second quarter of 2004.

LEHMAN ANALYST INITIATES COVERAGE

Lehman Bros. analyst Vijay Jayant initiated coverage of the cable sector Friday, with reports on Comcast, Cox and Cablevision. Jayant's overall rating is a neutral for the combined cable and satellite sector. Of the three cable companies, he rates Comcast "overweight," noting that it has the best risk/reward profile. Cox has the lowest downside risk, he wrote in a report, and is currently the most defensive play in the sector. Cablevision may be the most aggressive play of the three, he notes - while there is potentially the most upside in its stock price, it also bears the greatest risk.

ADELPHIA TO RUN TELE-MEDIA SYSTEMS

Adelphia Communications will take over day-to-day operations of several cable systems currently managed by Tele-Media Corp. of Delaware when Tele-Media's operational contracts expire, according to an Adelphia announcement last week. Adelphia, which already owns a majority stake in these Tele-Media systems, found that it could improve operational efficiencies by assuming complete control over the systems serving 144,000 customers throughout five states: Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Adelphia expects to complete full operational integration by the end of next year.

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