Viacom eyes further kids properties

Viacom is eyeing the acquisition of a number of kids properties following its purchase of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for US$60 million. This comes as the US media firm saw its quarterly profit rise by 15% from US$401 million to US$463 million.

Chief executive Phillippe Dauman told investors that it is interested in purchasing a number of intellectual properties for its Nickelodeon brand. “We will continue to invest. We do have our eye on a number of again, low priced intellectual property opportunities like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We were happy to conclude that deal. If there are other opportunities of that ilk, we will certainly look at it and we are happy to invest in a business like Nickelodeon,” he said.

Dauman added that it was also set to increase the amount the company spends on animation for Nickelodeon as well as MTV, Comedy Central and Nick at Nite. This follows the success of Michael Eisner-produced family animation series Glenn Martin DDS, which has been commissioned for a second season. “We also intend to increase our investment in original animation to create animated programming not just for Nickelodeon but also family and adult oriented animation for MTV, Comedy Central, and Nick at Nite,” he added.