The company earned $212M in revenue for the quarter ending the 31st December 2011. In 2010 over the same period of time, the company earned $610M.
However, not coincidentally, the difference in revenue is almost an exact match for the amount of money that the publisher was forced to give Harmonix in a legal settlement. A court ordered Viacom to pay $383M late last December.
”I’d like to note that discontinued operations in the December quarter of this year reflects the $383 million charge related to the earn-out dispute with the former shareholders of Harmonix,” Viacom CFO James W. Barge stated in the report.
Barge added that Viacom was seeking an appeal, announcing, ”In this regard, I would note that we have filed a lawsuit seeking to compel consideration of arguments and evidence that we believe were inappropriately excluded from the dispute resolution process.”
Harmonix initially sued Viacom in 2010, accusing them of trying to bilk them of a large percentage of the gross profit for the Rock Band series since its origins in 2007. Harmonix has since been a self-publishing entity.
