[BC] the break up of the conglomerates?

[Bruce Doerle]

Donna,

Might Sumner be reacting to the FCC fines on all/only the CBS stations as result of the MTV wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 Superbowl?????

Maybe he is living by his word: "It's time to take a new look and adapt."

Bruce


>>> dlh at donnahalper.com 07/09/05 5:47 PM >>>
I would love to see the return of locally owned broadcasting, but I am not 
sure we can put the toothpaste back into the tube, so to speak.  On the 
other hand, what do you make of Sumner Redstone's comments?

  Redstone: Age of Media Conglomerate Over

By SETH SUTEL, AP Business WriterFri Jul 8, 4:40 PM ET

Sumner Redstone, one of the great empire-builders of the media world, on 
Friday said he had no regrets about his decision to break up Viacom Inc., 
the massive media company that owns MTV, CBS and the Paramount movie studio.

"The age of the conglomerate is over," Redstone said, addressing a small 
group of reporters at an annual retreat for media moguls in Sun Valley, a 
scenic resort tucked into the mountains of Idaho.

"Sometimes divorce is better than marriage," Redstone said. "The world has 
changed" since Viacom announced in 1999 that it was buying CBS Corp. "It's 
time to take a new look and adapt."

Redstone, a regular guest at the annual Sun Valley conference, had been 
keeping a low profile at this year's event. On Friday he agreed to speak to 
reporters in the lobby of the resort as other key players in the media 
world including News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and Time Warner Inc. CEO 
Dick Parsons strolled past.

Last month Viacom's board approved a plan that would split the company into 
two entities, one with a focus on fast-growing cable networks including 
MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon, and the other on cash-rich but slower growing 
businesses like broadcast television and radio.

The two companies will be run by Redstone's two deputies at Viacom, former 
CBS chief Les Moonves and former MTV head Tom Freston. Both executives were 
also attending the Sun Valley meetings.

The annual retreat for media executives, investors and technology gurus 
draws an A-list crowd from the business world, including investor Warren 
Buffett, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and both Michael Eisner, the 
outgoing CEO of Walt Disney Co., as well as incoming Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Addressing the Viacom split, Redstone said that "the time has come to be 
more nimble" for media businesses. Viacom is hoping that the split will 
allow each company to move more quickly in its own realm and also attract 
investors interested only in those sets of businesses.

The stocks of large, diversified media companies including Viacom and Time 
Warner have been out of favor on Wall Street as investors have become 
skeptical of claims that the various kinds of media businesses would create 
more value under one roof than they would operating as separate businesses.

"It hasn't been working," Redstone said of large media conglomerates.

For Redstone, the breakup reverses more than a decade of building up Viacom 
into a major diversified media conglomerate through a series of 
acquisitions, including the Paramount movie studio, the radio and outdoor 
businesses that came with CBS, and the Blockbuster video rental chain, 
which has since been separated from Viacom.

The split also solves the question of who will succeed Redstone, who turns 
82 in May. Moonves has been tapped to run the business centered on CBS, 
while Freston will run the other company, which will keep the Viacom name. 
Redstone will remain controlling shareholder of both companies.

Redstone's daughter Shari is also taking a greater role in the company, and 
was recently named to the new position of non-executive vice chairman of 
the board. She had been a member of the company's board since 1994. 


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