MTV and Harmonix parent company Viacom recorded a decline in revenues and profit during the second quarter, factors partly attributable to falling Rock Band franchise sales.

Company-wide revenues for the quarter ended June 30 fell 14 per cent to $3.30 billion (£2b), while profit dropped 26 per cent to $586 million (£356.8m).

The firm's Media Networks division, which houses MTV Games, saw revenues fall by eight per cent to $1.97 billion (£1.2b), “principally due to a 41 per cent decline in ancillary revenues driven by lower sales of the music videogame Rock Band.” Profits were down 12 per cent to $671 million (£408.6), a factor again influenced by underwhelming Rock Band sales “due to the soft retail environment.”



Viacom executive chairman Sumner Redstone commented: “As the leading pure-play content company, Viacom has the right portfolio of assets and the right vision to manage through this challenging climate while we continue to position ourselves for future growth."

Having debuted in November 2007, the Rock Band franchise had shipped ten million units worldwide as of February 2009.

Harmonix is currently developing The Beatles: Rock Band for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. The title is due to be published by MTV Games on September 9, 2009.