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The King of Content

Page 40

by Keach Hagey


  23. In the hallway: Peter Elkind and Marty Jones, “Philippe Dauman’s Protector Has Turned against Him and Now, It Seems the CEO’s Days Are Numbered,” Fortune, June 3, 2016.

  24. Around lunchtime the day: Dylan Howard and Melissa Cronin, “Dirty Old Man! Billionaire Sumner Redstone Caught on Tape Arranging Raunchy Orgies,” Radar Online, May 9, 2016.

  Chapter 22: Pandemonium

  1. But his most prized: Emma Jacobs, “20 Questions: Philippe Dauman, Viacom,” Financial Times, July 1, 2010.

  2. On the document: In the matter of the Sumner M. Redstone National Amusements Trust, Los Angeles Superior Court, Petition for Order Confirming Validity of Removal and Appointment of Trustees, May 23, 2016, Exhibit A, Removal and Appointment of Trustee “Sumner M. Redstone National Amusements Trust.”

  3. In January, he and Abrams: Emily Steel, “Redstone’s Lawyers Argue That His Mental Health Is Irrelevant in Dispute,” New York Times, June 3, 2016.

  4. In the weeks after the trial: Jessica Toonkel, “Sumner Redstone Has Power to Remove Viacom CEO from His Trust,” Reuters, May 17, 2016.

  5. Minutes after the emails: Peter Elkind, “Exclusive: Sumner Redstone Ousts Viacom CEO from Trust That Will Control Viacom and CBS,” Fortune, May 20, 2016.

  6. Shari steadfastly maintained: Keach Hagey, “Viacom CEO Calls Attempt to Remove Him from Redstone Trust ‘Illegal,’” Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2016.

  7. When their replacements: Amol Sharma, “Redstone Taps New Stewards for His Viacom, CBS Holdings,” Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2016.

  8. “We believe that Philippe”: Claire Atkinson, “‘Philippe’ing Out,” New York Post, May 24, 2016.

  9. They laid plans to sue: Joe Flint, “Viacom CEO Gets June Hearing in Lawsuit over Redstone Trust,” Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2016.

  10. “We know that such”: David Lieberman, “Viacom Directors Vow to Fight Ouster Effort and Sell Paramount Stake,” Deadline, May 30, 2016.

  11. In response to Salerno’s attacks: Joe Flint, “Shari Redstone Says Viacom Shareholders Want New Management,” Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2016.

  12. Reports began to surface: Claire Atkinson, “Shari Is on a Safari,” New York Post, June 5, 2016.

  13. When Sumner’s lawyers filed: Meg James, “Examination: Redstone Competent,” Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2016.

  14. As if to hammer home the point: Ben Fritz, “‘Ninja Turtles’ Sequel Is Latest Disappointment at Box Office,” Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2016.

  15. At the same time that Sumner’s lawyers: Steel, “Redstone’s Lawyers Argue That His Mental Health Is Irrelevant in Dispute.”

  16. Nevertheless, on Monday: Tom Kludt, “Viacom CEO Calls for ‘Immediate Medical Examination’ of Sumner Redstone,” CNN Wire Service, June 6, 2016.

  17. Sumner’s granddaughter Keryn: Emily Steel, “Sumner Redstone’s Granddaughter Sides with Viacom Directors,” New York Times, June 1, 2016.

  18. A more incendiary tweet: Robert N. Klieger letter to Keryn Redstone, May 10, 2016, Demand to Cease and Desist.

  19. On the eve of the first: Michael J. de la Merced and Emily Steel, “National Amusements Alters Viacom Bylaws to Stymie Sale of Paramount,” New York Times, June 6, 2016.

  20. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean: Joe Flint, Ben Fritz, and Joann Lublin, “Paramount Sale Hits Wall,” Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2016.

  21. On the hot and steamy summer morning: Nathalie Tadena, “Judge to Decide in Days on Expedited Process in Redstone Suit,” Wall Street Journal, June 8, 2016.

  22. While their lawyer, Leslie Fagen: Emily Steel, “Sumner Redstone Legal Battle Moves to a Massachusetts Court,” New York Times, June 8, 2016; Tadena, “Judge to Decide in Days on Expedited Process in Redstone Suit.”

  23. When Judge Phelan: Tadena, “Judge to Decide in Days on Expedited Process in Redstone Suit.”

  Chapter 23: “Cleaning House”

  1. Meanwhile, as the armies: Keach Hagey, “Redstone Family’s Next Generation Takes on Bigger Roles, Influence in National Amusements,” Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2016.

  2. Around eleven a.m. on Friday, June 10: Kim Masters, “Sumner Redstone Visits Paramount Lot amid Viacom Drama,” Hollywood Reporter, June 14, 2016.

  3. He and Shari performed a similar: Joe Flint, “Sumner Redstone Makes Rare Appearances at CBS, Paramount,” Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2016; Joe Flint, “Sumner Redstone Says He No Longer Trusts Viacom Board or CEO,” Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2016.

  4. But during a June 15 interview: Brian Price, “Former Viacom CEO Tom Freston Speaks Out on Company’s ‘Serious Errors,’” CNBC, June 15, 2016.

  5. Against this backdrop: Joe Flint, Amol Sharma, and Joann S. Lublin, “Sumner Redstone’s National Amusements Moves to Oust Five Viacom Directors,” Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2016.

  6. That same day, according to a later report: Joe Flint, “Viacom Détente Yields Promotion for New Interim CEO,” Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2016.

  7. But when news of the talks: Liana B. Baker and Jessica Toonkel, “China’s Wanda Shows Interest in Viacom’s Paramount,” Reuters, July 13, 2016; Rick Carew, Amol Sharma, and Ben Fritz, “Viacom in Talks to Sell Paramount Pictures Stake to Chinese Group,” Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2016; Emily Steel, “Viacom’s Owner Says Sale of Paramount Would Harm Shareholder Value,” New York Times, July 16, 2016.

  8. Earlier in July: Joe Flint, “Can CBS and Viacom Merge? It Depends on the Redstone-Moonves Dance,” Wall Street Journal, September 29, 2016.

  9. What happened in Massachusetts: Peg Brickley and Joe Flint, “Viacom Board Suit Against Sumner Redstone’s Holding Company to Proceed,” Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2016.

  10. They were revived by: Emily Steel, “Viacom’s Profit Slumps 29 Percent, Providing a Lens into a Business in Turmoil,” New York Times, August 4, 2016.

  11. After the earnings call, National: Joe Flint and Amol Sharma, “Viacom’s Results Further Stoke Feud,” Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2016.

  12. It varied little: Flint, “Viacom Détente Yields Promotion for New Interim CEO.”

  13. After all the Sturm und Drang: Claire Atkinson, “Bon Voyage, Philippe,” New York Post, September 14, 2016.

  14. The weekend of the peace accord: Brooks Barnes, “‘Ben-Hur’ Is Latest Flop for Paramount,” New York Times, August 21, 2016.

  15. Over a week of grim: Keach Hagey and Joshua Jamerson, “Viacom’s Interim CEO Tom Dooley to Depart,” Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2016.

  16. Over the years, he and Shari had: Flint, “Can CBS and Viacom Merge? It Depends on the Redstone-Moonves Dance.”

  17. When rumors began to swirl: “CBS’s Moonves Plans to Buy a Company ahead of Potential Viacom Deal,” New York Post, February 5, 2015.

  18. And so, on September 29, 2016: “National Amusements, Inc., Proposes Combination of CBS and Viacom,” National Amusements press release, September 29, 2016.

  19. Nonetheless, the boards of both companies: Keach Hagey, Joann S. Lublin, and Joe Flint, “Viacom and CBS Boards Name Special Committees to Review Merger,” Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2016.

  20. On October 25, 2016, Sumner sued: Redstone v. Herzer.

  21. He became acting CEO on Halloween: Keach Hagey, “Viacom Taps Bob Bakish as Acting CEO,” Wall Street Journal, October 31, 2016.

  22. The Hollywood Reporter named her: Kim Masters, “Shari Redstone Named THR’s Women in Entertainment Executive of the Year,” Hollywood Reporter, December 6, 2016.

  23. Media columnist Michael Wolff dubbed her: Michael Wolff, “Shari Redstone Has a Plan for Viacom (Really),” Hollywood Reporter, January 20, 2017.

  Epilogue: The First Female Media Mogul

  1. Nearly as bad: Shalini Ramachandran, “Sony to Drop Viacom Channels from Streaming TV Service,” Wall Street Journal, November 8, 2016.

  2. Bakish’s solution: Keach Hagey, “Viacom to Narrow Focus to Six Key Cable-TV Channels,” Wall Street Journal, February 8, 2017.


  3. Nearly all: Todd Spangler, “Cord-Cutting Explodes,” Variety, September 13, 2017.

  4. “Scale matters”: Jessica Toonkel, “Viacom, CBS Owner Shari Redstone Says Media Companies Need Scale,” Reuters, October 3, 2017.

  5. By January: Keach Hagey and Joe Flint, “Shari Redstone Wants New CBS Directors, Renews Push for Merger with Viacom,” Wall Street Journal, January 17, 2018.

  6. Although Viacom was: Marci Ryvicker, “CBS-VIAB? No Thank You,” Wells Fargo Equity Research, January 28, 2018.

  7. Privately, Shari and: Hagey and Flint, “Shari Redstone Wants New CBS Directors.”

  8. In response to the Journal: Cynthia Littleton, “Revival of CBS-Viacom Merger Talk Sows Tension within Redstone Empire, Again,” Variety, January 17, 2018.

  9. Within days: Jessica Toonkel, “Exclusive: Viacom, CBS CEOs Discuss Potential Merger—sources,” Reuters, January 25, 2018.

  10. Graham’s father: Marilyn Berger, “Katharine Graham of Washington Post Dies at 84,” New York Times, July 18, 2001.

  11. Shari often says: Richard Ducket, “Theatrical Blood: For Shari Redstone, Movies Are a Family Affair,” Worcester Telegram & Gazette, August 10, 1995.

  12. Women own less: “Report on Ownership of Commercial Broadcast Stations,” Federal Communications Commission, June 27, 2014.

  13. From this fundamental: “The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2017,” Women’s Media Center, March 21, 2017.

  14. She even scored: Julia Marsh, “Sumner Redstone’s Ex Won’t Be Getting His NYC Penthouse,” New York Post, October 25, 2015.

  15. It’s hard to imagine: Matthew Garrahan, “Google and Facebook Dominance Forecast to Rise,” Financial Times, December 3, 2017.

  Index

  The pagination of this digital edition does not match the print edition from which the index was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your ebook reader’s search tools.

  Aaaahh!!! Real Monsters (TV show), 176

  Aaron, Carol, 90

  ABC, 60, 141–42

  Abrams, George, 30, 126, 168–69, 177, 214–15, 218, 240, 248–49, 254, 261, 276–84, 287

  Abrams, Hyman, 21, 39

  Adams, Samuel, 56

  Advance Publications, 145

  Advancit Capital, 231, 297, 300

  advertising, 7, 183, 202, 233–34, 249–50, 292, 305

  Aerosmith, 133

  Afghanistan, 115

  African Americans, 212

  Agus, Dr. David, 222, 239

  AIDS, 124–25

  Alcoholics Anonymous, 228

  Alibaba, 270

  Allen, Herb, 137, 142–43

  Allen & Company, 137, 143, 288

  Alpert, Mickey, 24

  Amazon, 234, 270, 301

  AMC Entertainment, 91, 172, 174, 270

  American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 85

  American Express, 113

  Andelin, Malia, 221

  Andelman, David, 177, 214–15, 218, 240–42, 248–49, 254, 264, 282

  Andrews, Julie, 71

  Andy Griffith Show, The (TV show), 113

  Angwin, Julia, 193, 196

  Aniston, Jennifer, 197

  Antioco, John, 163

  anti-Semitism, 25–26, 53

  antitrust, 50, 59–60, 65–66, 134

  AOL, 231

  AOL–Time Warner, 175, 192–93

  Apple Store, 230

  Argentina, 173

  AT&T, 137, 301

  Atari, 113

  Avengers, The (film), 224

  Avis Budget Group, 287

  AwesomenessTV, 300

  Baker, Belle, 27

  Bakish, Bob, 162, 190, 194, 295–302

  Ballmer, Steve, 265

  Bank of New England, 68

  Barrett, Carl, 21

  Barron, Lisbeth R., 139

  Bay Shore Drive-In, 49, 62

  BBC, 93

  Bear Stearns, 190

  Beavis and Butthead (TV show), 8, 153, 155

  Bee, Samantha, 226

  Bell Atlantic, 145

  Bell Jar, The (Plath), 76

  Ben-Hur (film), 110, 290

  Benjamin, Keith, 159

  Bennett, Tony, 175, 228, 237

  Berg, David (Moses David), 82–84, 125

  Bergson, Herbert, 59–60, 64

  Bergson, Paul, 59

  Berman, Lewenberg, Redstone & Korff, 107

  Berman, Tilly, 105, 107, 156

  Berman & Lewenberg, 107

  Bernstein, Leonard, 56, 122

  Bertlesmann, 134

  BET, 5, 7, 175, 249, 299–300

  Beverly Hills 90210 (TV show), 146

  Beverly Hills Cop (film), 136

  Bewkes, Jeff, 233

  Beyoncé, 298

  Bible, The (film), 290

  Big Bang Theory, The (TV show), 14, 291

  Billboard, 49, 52, 116

  Biondi, Carol, 130

  Biondi, Frank, 8, 129–32, 137, 139–40, 144, 148, 151–52, 154, 158–61, 175

  Bishop, Leah, 240–41, 251, 253–54, 258–60, 263–65, 271

  Black Panthers, 82

  Blackstone Group, 217, 230

  Blake, Curtis, 26

  Bleacher Report, 8

  blind bidding, 51, 66, 92–94, 102

  Blockbuster Entertainment, 145–46, 150–51, 158–63, 176, 181

  Bluhdorn, Charles, 89, 136, 142

  Boardwalk Empire (TV show), 26

  Bono, 175, 205

  bookmaking and numbers rackets, 17–20, 26, 30–31, 33–41, 44, 44

  Book of Mormon, The (musical), 225

  bootlegging, 20–23, 26, 39

  Booz Allen Hamilton, 162

  Borkland, Herbert, Jr., 59–60

  Borkland, Herbert, Sr. “Borky,” 59

  Boston American, 18

  Boston Braves, 17

  Boston Children’s Hospital, 105

  Boston College, 31, 39

  Boston District Attorney’s Office, 107

  Boston drive-ins, 11–12, 46–47, 49–50

  Boston Globe, 18, 25, 27, 35, 38, 44, 47, 58, 62, 85, 90, 96, 101, 103–104, 117, 124, 132, 149, 215

  Boston Herald, 45

  Boston Latin School, 27, 42, 53, 55–57, 141

  Boston magazine, 58, 101, 110, 126

  Boston Red Sox, 17

  Boston University, 58

  Law School, 102–3, 105–6

  School of Social Work, 155

  Bouchard, Andre, 289

  Bourkoff, Aryeh, 289–90

  BoxOffice, 12, 92, 156

  Brady, Tom, 297

  Brandeis University, 44–45, 81–82, 83

  Braveheart (film), 14, 150

  Bravo, 227

  Bridge, The, 171–72, 218

  Broadcasting & Cable, 206

  Bronfman, Samuel, 21

  Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 11

  Brooklyn Law School, 106, 248

  B. Rothstein & Co, 15

  Buggles, 115–16

  Bug-Replay, 248

  Bulger, Whitey, 26

  Burnett, Betsy, 218

  Burnett, Mark, 290

  Bush, George W., 179

  Bushnell, Robert, 32–33, 36–41, 44

  Business Insider Ignition, 299

  BusinessWeek, 162

  Butterworth, Nicholas, 192

  BuzzFeed, 287

  Cable One, 250

  cable television, 7, 103, 111–14, 131–32, 134, 142, 144, 151, 161, 165, 172, 202, 204–5, 224, 231–34, 249–50, 261, 269, 299, 301

  Cablevision Systems Corporation, 131

  Camden Drive-In, 12

  Capital Cities/ABC, 165

  Capone, Al, 19–21

  Captain America, 224

  Carmike Cinemas, 172, 174

  Carter, Jimmy, 98

  Cartoon Network, 233

  Castleman, Howard, 189

  CBS All Access, 292

  CBS Corporation, 164–65, 209, 216–17, 220–21, 229, 267, 278, 295, 300

  Moonves and, 185–86, 202, 234–35, 268–69, 291–92, 3
02

  Shari and, 212–14, 216, 218, 286

  Sumner’s control of, 5–7, 241, 243, 254, 261, 266–68, 286

  Viacom and, 5, 14, 113–14, 163–69, 175–76, 183, 190, 285, 288, 292–96, 301–3, 306

  Viacom split from, 190–91, 204

  CBS Films, 293

  CBS News division, 303

  CBS Records, 134

  Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 245

  Chamchoum, Bryan, 236, 237–38

  Chamchoum, Christina, 236, 257

  Chamchoum, Eric, 235–36

  Chanin, Henry, 13

  Chanin, Irwin, 10–11, 13

  Chanin Organization, 10

  Channel 5 (Britain), 269

  Charif, Russ, 19, 26, 87

  Chase, Chaz, 9

  Cheers (TV show), 136

  Chernin, Peter, 205

  Chicago Tribune, 82, 182

  Children of God (later The Family), 82–85

  Children’s Charter, 155

  Chinatown (film), 1, 89

  “Choose or Loose” campaign, 133

  Cincinnati theaters, 63, 173

  CineBridge Ventures, 171–72

  Cinema de Lux, 5, 12, 172, 230

  Citicorp, 190, 199

  Citizen Pilgrim (Pilgrim), 256

  Cleveland Circle Theater, 69–70

  Clinton, Bill, 133

  CNBC, 180, 286

  CNN, 233, 301

  Coca-Cola Company, 103, 129

  Cocoanut Grove nightclub, 24–25, 31–33, 36, 38, 101

  Cohan, William D., 253, 255

 

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