Viacom Pessimistic on Radio Sales

Viacom Inc. said advertising at its 185 radio stations might not improve through September, continuing a trend that last quarter caused the radio unit to lag behind the company’s other media divisions.

Radio sales at Viacom rose 2% during the first half of 2004, compared with increases of 19% for its MTV Networks cable television unit and 15% at CBS.

Radio contributed 7.5% of Viacom’s revenue for the first half of the year and 18% of operating income, or profit after expenses such as salaries and programming costs, the company said.

Viacom’s class B shares fell 18 cents to $32.93 on the NYSE.