Mom's Minute

Rock Band Video Game

Due to a charge against the Rock Band video game, Viacom, one of the largest companies in the entertainment venue took a 65% drop in its first quarter earnings. 

Specifically, Viacom took a charge of $379 million as a result of an arbitration award won by the original shareholders of Rock Band, Harmonix Music Systems which created the game.

Rock Band allows the video game player to mimic the performance of rock stars by playing with controllers modeled after musical insruments.  Video game players can also try to match the singer's pitch by following scrolling musical notes.

The game was popular when it was first released in 2007; however, its popularity has faded.

Scene from Rock Band 3

Viacom bought Rock Band from Harmonix Music Systems in 2006, then sold it back to the founders in 2010.

Harmonix  Music Systems then sued Viacom for the extra earnings the video game experienced during its heyday.  In December, Harmonix Music Systems won an arbitration award which is being contested by Viacom. The money has been set aside by Viacom, and is reflected in their drop in earnings.  

Here is cover art for Rock Band 3.

But not to worry about Viacom's total overall earnings.  With its other media financial holdings, The President and CEO of Viacom, Phillippe Dauman, states the company is showing a healthy bottom line.