Philippe Dauman, chief executive with Viacom Inc. (VIA), said Wednesday that its MTV network has lagged in audience ratings recently because it largely lost touch with young male audiences as it pursued programming that appealed to young women.

"When you work anything to death, you tend to go overboard," said Dauman at an investor conference hosted by Sanford C. Bernstein.

Dauman was referring to MTV's efforts on shows like "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County," a reality show documenting the lives of teenagers in Southern California that attracted a largely female audience.

He said MTV is now focused on programming geared towards young males, and he pointed to the company's success with male audiences through networks like Comedy Central and Spike.

Dauman also noted that its BET and VH1 networks already managed to rejuvenate ratings performances after a slump in the third quarter of last year by rejiggering their programming teams.

"We expect to see results [at MTV]," said Dauman.

-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5216; nat.worden@dowjones.com