Viacom

Mel Karmazin, the one-time radio ad salesman who rose to the top of CBS but struggled for power with Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, resigned yesterday as president and chief operating officer after a frequently tense four years. To replace Karmazin and to calm Wall Street jitters, Viacom named MTV Networks chief executive Tom Freston and CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves as co-presidents and co-chief operating officers. Redstone, 81, said it is "extremely likely that one of them will be my successor" as CEO, possibly in three years.

Martin S. Davis, the chairman of Paramount Communications, averted a potential rift with his board yesterday when he persuaded it to stall before negotiating a merger with QVC Network Inc. His aim was to give Viacom Inc., his hand-picked merger partner, a chance to come back with a sweeter offer, an executive close to the board explained.As a result of his argument, the board opened the door yesterday to merger talks with QVC, but not until QVC proves it has the financing in place for its potential purchase.

One of the most powerful figures in the cable-television business thinks his biggest rival has more power than is healthy; yesterday, he appealed to the courts and Washington to stop him.In a ploy aimed at salvaging his company's $7.65 billion bid for Paramount Communications Inc., Sumner M. Redstone, chairman of Viacom Inc., filed an antitrust lawsuit against QVC Network Inc. and two companies controlled by John C. Malone, a cable magnate.The QVC group made a counteroffer for Paramount on Monday that is worth $9.5 billion at current prices.

IT WAS, LITERALLY, a Blockbuster deal. Viacom Inc.'s proposed acquisition of CBS Corp. for $34.9 billion will create a company controlling key names in nearly every entertainment field: CBS, Showtime, MTV, the Nashville Network, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Simon & Schuster, VH1 -- and Blockbuster. Does it make sense as a deal? What does it mean for the industries?Bruce LeichtmanDirector, media and entertainment strategies, the Yankee GroupThe key word would be "synergy." These two companies really complement each other very well.

Media giant Viacom Inc. and EchoStar Communications Corp., which operates the satellite DISH Network, have settled their dispute and returned CBS and MTV to viewers in major U.S. cities. But the rancor of the negotiations became obvious after EchoStar Chief Executive Officer Charles Ergen said that early in the talks, Viacom threatened to withhold the Super Bowl. "We got off on the wrong foot," Ergen said in a conference call with analysts and media. "There were some strong-arm tactics that were used."

NEW YORK -- Viacom Inc. said yesterday that it would acquire CBS Inc. for $37.3 billion, a deal that is the biggest media merger yet and would create the world's second-largest media company after Time Warner Inc.For Viacom and its 76-year-old chairman, Sumner Redstone, who will run the combined companies if the merger is completed, the deal adds a major broadcast television network, 15 CBS-owned television stations and the nation's biggest group of radio...

NEW YORK -- YouTube, the video-sharing site owned by Google Inc., agreed yesterday to remove more than 100,000 clips produced by Viacom Inc. that were posted without permission. Viacom asked to have the videos removed because YouTube was unwilling to reach a "fair market agreement" to compensate for using the content, Viacom said. Google said it would comply with the request. The clash highlights the challenge YouTube faces from media companies that say the site is gaining popularity from content at their expense.

In the latest case of brinkmanship between the providers and deliverers of television, EchoStar Communications Corp. blocked Viacom Inc. channels, including the CBS-TV affiliate in Baltimore, from its subscribers in a dispute over programming costs yesterday. EchoStar yanked MTV, BET and Nickelodeon from subscribers nationwide. It also blocked CBS affiliates on its satellite network yesterday in 16 cities, prompting thousands of angry calls from subscribers to both media giants. The skirmish - which affects as many as 9 million customers, including 1.6 million who watch CBS programming in the affected cities - could jeopardize their ability to watch this month's NCAA men's college basketball tournament.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., the Hunt Valley-based broadcast company, is selling one of its top-performing television stations, in Sacramento, Calif., to Viacom Inc. for $285 million as part of a plan to leave markets where it can't own two stations. The company said yesterday that it will sell its CBS affiliate KOVR-TV, Channel 13. Sinclair added the station, in the country's 19th-largest television market, to its portfolio when it merged with River City Broadcasting in 1996. Since 2001, Sinclair has sold $443.