Viacom named Bob Bakish its permanent chief executive officer after Viacom on Monday took its offer to merge with CBS Corp. off the table.
Bakish, who previously was president and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks, came on as interim CEO in November, replacing Tom Dooley, who was named interim CEO after serving as COO.
“In Bob’s short time as acting president and CEO, he has impressed the board of directors with the decisive steps he has taken,” said Tom May, chairman of Viacom’s board of directors, in a statement. “He has moved quickly to deliver upon the mandate given to him – to maximize Viacom’s potential as a strong, growing and independent company. We have great confidence in Bob’s strategic vision and his ability to move forward aggressively to position Viacom for the future.”
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On Monday, Shari Redstone, who, along with her father, Sumner, controls both Viacom and CBS under the aegis of National Amusements, sent a letter to the boards of both companies withdrawing a proposal that the two companies merge.
“We know Viacom has tremendous assets that are currently undervalued, and we are confident that with this new strong management team, the value of these assets can be unleashed,” Ms. Redstone wrote. “At the same time, CBS continues to perform exceptionally well under Les Moonves, and we have every reason to believe that momentum will continue on a stand-alone basis.”
Viacom bought CBS in 2000 but then split the two companies back out in 2006. At the time, the split was seen as freeing Viacom — which predominantly owns cable networks such as MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central and movie producer Paramount Studios — from the older, slower-growth businesses of CBS, which included TV and radio stations. But under the guidance of CBS CEO Leslie Moovnes, CBS has thrived and prospered, while in the past two years, Viacom has struggled.
Cord-cutting and the growing millennial habit of relying on streaming has hit Viacom hard, with its cable-network ratings down by double-digit percentages and its stock price also down accordingly.
Since then, Ms. Redstone went to war with Viacom’s then CEO, Philippe Dauman, long considered Mr. Redstone’s right-hand man. Over the summer, Ms. Redstone won the fight to rid Viacom of Dauman, who stepped down and was replaced by Dooley and then Bakish.
RELATED: Bob Bakish Named Interim CEO, President at Viacom
Had Viacom and CBS again become one, Moonves was considered a strong contender to become CEO, but that scenario appears no longer be viable.
READ MORE: Bloomberg
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