Redstone Refutes Notions of Being Less Hands-On

Mogul Speaks On Viacom-CBS Split, Murdoch's Web Shopping
Spree and More at the Museum of Television and Radio

Sumner Redstone

Beverly Hills, CA – Viacom chair Sumner Redstone touched on a broad array of items during a compelling conversation with Daily Variety Editor-In-Chief Peter Bart at the Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills this week.

Redstone characterized the Viacom-CBS break up as a means to unlock value, Variety said, and expects organizations that have such divisible media assets to follow suit. He went on record encouraging sibling rivalry between Tom Freston-chaired Viacom and Leslie Moonves' CBS Corp, saying the two "have the absolute right to compete—and they will."

Not surprisingly for a man who survived a 1979 Boston hotel fire by reportedly dangling by his fingertips from a third-story window ledge, the 82-year-old magnate affirmed his intent to remain a day-to-day, hands-on leader with newly divided Viacom and CBS Corp. entities—despite recent suggestions to the contrary by Freston in a Wall Street Journal article.

Among other observations during the discussion, Redstone opined that Rupert Murdoch paid too much money for recent online acquisitions, such as MySpace.com, to increase News Corp.'s web presence. He admitted, however, that his own conglom is "underinvested and underrepresented on the web" and vowed to change that.

Redstone continues to look toward CNN as a great potential partner to his CBS news operation, despite previous unsuccessful bids for the cabler, Broadcasting & Cable reported. "Call Dick (Parsons), tell him I want to buy CNN," Redstone instructed the Museum's audience of the Time Warner chief, "because CNN and CBS would be fantastic."

As enthusiastically as Redstone spoke of CNN, he reserved some kudos for Fox News Channel. Redstone said while FNC "may be biased," they are "dynamic and charismatic" and have bested CNN as a result. "They are doing great because of showmanship," he said.

Redstone went on to express confidence in the entertainment industry's ability to adapt as the business changes, despite the technology-driven challenges the it faces. Looking down the road, he foresees further "convergence of the game business and the studio business" and game companies becoming prime acquisition targets.