Advertising Concerns Weigh on Media Shares -- Telecoms Roundup

Shares of telecommunications companies fell as concerns about advertising weighed on media shares.

Shares of Viacom tumbled after it reported a 4% drop in quarterly domestic advertising revenue.

An executive at Time Warner's Turner cable networks warned that economic uncertainty and other factors were weighing on advertising sales there.

One brokerage said the Time Warner report was otherwise promising, and that investors were encouraged by signs the merger with AT&T would soon close. "Underlying trends at all three divisions, Turner, HBO, and Warner Bros., are generally intact--with the exception of Turner's advertising results and outlook--and management reiterated guidance for high-single-digit adjusted operating income growth in 2017," analysts at Nomura Securities wrote in a note to clients.

-By Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2017 17:21 ET (21:21 GMT)