-- [B] Viacom's Karmazin sees synergies with CBS above expectations --
--Viacom Karmazin: CBS to use Nickelodeon programs Sat morning
--Viacom's Karmazin: CBS gets Super Bowl in 2001
--Viacom's Karmazin: Co. to combine Paramount, CBS TV stations
By Georg Szalai, BridgeNews
New York--May 15--Viacom Inc., the No. 2 media and entertainment company in
the world, could realize even greater-than-expected synergies from its
just-completed acquisition of CBS Corp., President and Chief Operating Officer
Mel Karmazin said at the Banc of America Securities "Growth Telecommunications,
Media & Entertainment Conference" on Monday in New York.
* * *
Karmazin did not provide further details on potential synergy gains.
He said that Viacom's Paramount and CBS' television stations will be combined
into one operation and that further news on the integration of the two companies
will be coming up in the next few weeks.
Viacom will cross promote its programs across all its media properties,
Karmazin said. For example, CBS will air Superbowl 2001 with the halftime show
being created by MTV, the company's music television channel, he said.
Talking about programming changes, Karmazin said that CBS will revamp its
Saturday morning lineup. Starting in the fall, the network will run Nickelodeon
children's programming in the Saturday morning slot, he said.
New York-based Viacom is the second-largest entertainment firm behind Time
Warner Inc., which is scheduled to be acquired by America Online Inc. later this
year. Viacom's holdings include the Paramount Pictures movie studio, the
television networks CBS and UPN, cable TV unit MTV Networks -- with properties
such as MTV, VH-1 and Nickelodeon --, as well as a 50% stake in Comedy Central,
TV stations, movie theaters and book publisher Simon & Schuster. The company
also owns 82% of Blockbuster, the largest video rental chain. End
Symbols:
US;VIA US;VIAB
Source [B] - BridgeNews Global Markets |
