Viacom Debacle

[nitstalker]

Now I remember the time when I could not watch my spongebob or see the hotties on MTV... This was because Charlie and Viacom were having their little pissing contest. And if memory serves me correctly part of it was carriage of some of the CBS stations? I have thought about this and after reading the news this morning I wonder what impact this may have regarding the split of Viacom... Does E* have to negotiate new contracts with one (or both) of the new companies?

Quote:
Viacom has moved up the date on which it plans to split in two. It said Tuesday that the split will be completed by the end of the year instead of in the first quarter of 2006. The company had previously announced that one company, which will continue to be called Viacom Inc., will be composed of the Paramount movie studios; Paramount Home Video; and the company's cable networks, including MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, and Comedy Central. It will be headed by Tom Freston. The other company, headed by Les Moonves, will be called CBS Corp. and include CBS and UPN; Paramount Television; Infinity Radio; Paramount Theme Parks, and Viacom Outdoor.

 

[charper1]

It all depends on what was negotiated in the last contract. If the split was foreseen it might have already been included; if it wasn't then maybe not.

 

[jmeluni]

Most often, the agreement carries over to the new division. Afterall, it is still Viacom, just a new division. Both companies will still have the same chairman, Sumner Redstone. It's not like they sold this division to Comcast.

 

[nitstalker]

actually no... they are completely splitting Viacom into two separately traded companies... There will be no more Viacom... It will be Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. (Although Summer Redstone AKA National Amusements will still have controlling stock of both companies)

Summer Redstone will lose the CEO title and will be Chairman of the board for both companies as he is controlling stockholder. Tom Freston (currently co-president and co-coo) will be president and CEO of Viacom... Leslie Moonvees will be President and CEO of CBS Corporation...

here is the SEC Filing: (interesting reading)

http://www.viacom.com/pdf/forms4.PDF

 

[nitstalker]

Interesting (From SEC Filing)

The Loss of Affiliation Agreements Could Cause New Viacom’s Revenues to Decline in Any Given Period or in Specific Markets
New Viacom is dependent upon the maintenance of affiliation agreements with cable and DTH satellite operators for the distribution of its cable networks and there can be no assurance that these affiliation agreements will be renewed in the future on terms acceptable to New Viacom. The loss of a significant number of these arrangements or the loss of carriage on the most widely penetrated programming tiers could reduce the distribution of New Viacom’s cable networks, which may adversely affect New Viacom’s advertising and affiliate fee revenues. In addition, further consolidation among
cable and DTH satellite operators and increased vertical integration of such distributors into the cable or broadcast network business could adversely affect New Viacom’s ability to negotiate the launch of new networks or the ability to maintain existing distribution or obtain additional distribution for existing networks. In a more concentrated market, there can be no assurance that New Viacom will be able to obtain or maintain carriage of its programming services by distributors on commercially
reasonable terms, or at all.

 

[nitstalker]

Ok I will post a couple more E* related stuff:

New Viacom’s Cable Networks Are Included with CBS Corp.’s Programming Under Certain of Viacom’s Affiliation Agreements and New Affiliation Agreements May Be More Difficult to Negotiate Following the Separation

Viacom is party to affiliation agreements with cable and DTH satellite operators pursuant to which both New Viacom’s cable networks and CBS Corp.’s television programming are carried by these distributors. After these agreements expire, New Viacom’s cable networks will no longer be included with CBS Corp.’s programming. There can therefore be no assurance that New Viacom will be able to negotiate new affiliation agreements with these distributors on terms as favorable as was previously
possible.

Another:

The Loss of Affiliation Agreements or Retransmission Agreements Could Materially Adversely Affect CBS Corp.’s Results of Operations
CBS Network and UPN provide their affiliates with up to 98 and 10 hours, respectively, of Monday through Friday programming per week. In return, CBS Network’s affiliated stations and UPN’s affiliated stations broadcast network-inserted commercials during that programming. Loss of network affiliation agreements of CBS Network and UPN could adversely affect CBS Corp.’s results of operations by reducing the reach of CBS Corp.’s programming and therefore its attractiveness to advertisers and renewal on less favorable terms may also adversely affect CBS Corp.’s results of operations.
The non-renewal or termination of retransmission agreements with distributors such as Comcast Corporation, Time Warner Cable, a division of Time Warner Inc., DIRECTV Holdings LLC, or EchoStar Communications Corporation, which we refer to in this Prospectus-Information Statement as ‘EchoStar,’’ or continued distribution on less favorable terms, could also adversely affect CBS Corp.’s ability to distribute its network programming to a nationwide audience and affect CBS Corp.’s ability to
sell advertising, which could have a material adverse effect on CBS Corp.’s results of operations. Showtime Networks is dependent upon the maintenance of affiliation agreements with cable and DTH satellite operators, and there can be no assurance that these affiliation agreements will be renewed in the future on terms acceptable to Showtime Networks. The loss of one or more of these arrangements would reduce the distribution of Showtime Networks’ premium subscription television program services and reduce revenues from subscriber fees. Further, the loss of favorable packaging,
positioning, pricing or other marketing opportunities with any distributor could reduce revenues from subscriber fees.
In addition, consolidation among cable and DTH satellite operators and increased vertical integration of such distributors into the cable or broadcast network business has provided more leverage to these providers and could adversely affect CBS Corp.’s ability to maintain or obtain distribution for its network programming or distribution and/or marketing for its premium subscription program services on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.


SO... It looks like there will be no problems now... (unless Charlie gets a bug up his A$$ and thinks he can make a buck... But looks like could be in for a mess when the contract does expire...

 

[jmeluni]

Viacom has moved up the date on which it plans to split in two. It said Tuesday that the split will be completed by the end of the year instead of in the first quarter of 2006. The company had previously announced that one company, which will continue to be called Viacom Inc., will be composed of the Paramount movie studios; Paramount Home Video; and the company's cable networks, including MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, and Comedy Central. It will be headed by Tom Freston. The other company, headed by Les Moonves, will be called CBS Corp. and include CBS and UPN; Paramount Television; Infinity Radio; Paramount Theme Parks, and Viacom Outdoor.

I still tend to think that agreements for the Viacom networks (i.e. Nick, MTV, Noggin, etc.) will still be valid for the new Viacom Inc. and that if anything is affected by this change it would only be the CBS/UPN O&O stations that would be under CBS Corp. control.

 

[BobMurdoch]

Normally, a contract requires any subsequent owners to honor a valid contract unless bankruptcy proceedings are involved.

There should be no change until the expiration of the original contract, unless they had exit clauses built in due to change of ownership.