, Columnist
SpongeBob and the Sinking of Viacom’s China Dream
Don’t blame the trade war: Byzantine rules and slowing growth had already thwarted the U.S. media giant’s TV ambitions.
Plenty more fish in the sea for Nickelodeon.
Photographer: Michael Buckner/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
There’s no money in getting Chinese viewers hooked on MTV and Nickelodeon.
That’s certainly the impression you’d get from Viacom Inc.’s apparent decision to sell its majority stakes in its Chinese TV channel brands. The media company has held talks with at least one Chinese entity about selling the businesses, a person familiar with the matter told Nabila Ahmed of Bloomberg News. The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported the potential deal.