Philippe Dauman Named Executive Chairman of Viacom

02.04.2016

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman on Thursday overcame opposition from Shari Redstone to become executive chairman of Viacom's board of directors, succeeding Sumner Redstone, Ms. Redstone's father.

"Philippe has been instrumental with Sumner in every aspect of Viacom's success for nearly 30 years and most recently as CEO has taken on the tough task of navigating our future in a time of unprecedented innovation and disruption," said William Schwartz, who serves on the Viacom board, in a statement. "He has laid out a strategic long-term vision for the company that we fully endorse."

Ms. Redstone, 61, has been vocal in her opposition to Dauman's appointment, on Wednesday releasing a statement saying: "My father's trust states his intention that I succeed him as (non-executive) chair at CBS and Viacom, and also names me as a trustee after his death.However, it is my firm belief that whoever may succeed my father as chair at each company should be someone who is not a trustee of my father's trust or otherwise intertwined in Redstone family matters, but rather a leader with an independent voice."

Still, Ms. Redstone also didn't want that position herself, since she declined it on both the CBS and Viacom sides, leaving Leslie Moonves to rise to chairman of CBS Corp., and Dauman to take full reins of Viacom. Ms. Redstone was the only board member to vote against Dauman, reports the LA Times.

Who would lead both Viacom and CBS has been an open question for some time, with chairman Redstone 92 and ailing. To what degree Redstone remains mentally fit continues to be unclear.

It's been a tough time for Viacom, which owns such cable networks as Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, TV Land and BET. As viewers migrate to streaming services and skinny bundles, Viacom's share price has dropped 40 percent over the past two years, albeit it rallied a bit on the news Thursday.

"Regardless of who's running the company, we don't think anything can be done anymore to fend off the inevitable decline of Viacom's key businesses," Bernstein & Co. analyst Todd Juenger wrote in a research report Thursday. "And we don't think M&A will bail them out as we see no buyer for most of Viacom's assets," he said.Â

Brief Take: The next drama for Viacom will be whether or not it's sold. Meanwhile, CBS looks solid as Black Rock.Â

Read more: The Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter