ViacomCBS Could See $350M Hit In Q1 Over Nixed NCAA Tournament

ViacomCBS could see a $350M "hit this quarter on the cancellation" of the NCAA Tournament, according to Jill Goldsmith of DEADLINE.com. Imperial Capital analyst David Miller has "cut earnings forecasts for the company and his price target for the stock," which is down 16% as of yesterday. ViacomCBS will "probably not have to pay rights fees back to the NCAA," which Miller thinks were "set to total" $240M in Q2. He added that rights fees for ViacomCBS this year -- versus last year or next year -- were "set to be softer" because all the Final Four games and NCAA Championship game "go to Turner in all even years." Miller said that as a sign of how quickly things devolved, NCAA Tournament advertising was "selling briskly" up until last Wednesday, with CPMs (cost per impression) "up an average of 9.2% year-on-year, depending on the round and game" (DEADLINE.com, 3/18).