Viacom CEO Bob Bakish continued to herald the emergence of sports-free programming packages, predicting at an industry conference Wednesday that a programming offering devoid of feats of athletic prowess will make its way to consumers by the end of the year.
At theGoldman Sachs Communacopia conferenceSept.13, Bakish stopped short of confirming a report yesterday in theWall Street Journalthat Viacom, along with Discovery Communications, Scripps Networks and A+E Networks were working on just such a package, priced at under $20 per month. But he did admit it was a pretty good idea.
“We are highly confident that a product will exist at this [$20] price point in the U.S. in this calendar year,” Bakish said at Communacopia. “We think that is a positive catalyst for pay TV and certainly for Viacom given our positioning as an entertainment company.”
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