CBS, Viacom Officially Reunite With Merger After Years of Squabbling

ViacomCBS Inc. is projecting $500 million in “synergy savings” once the uniting companies cut their overlapping corporate operations—so get ready for layoffs.

By Laura Bradley

August 13, 2019

It’s finally official: CBS and Viacom will reunite in a merger, which is expected to close by the end of the year. The companies were united before—from 2000 to 2006—and now, after a dogged effort from Shari Redstone, they will be one entity once more. According to Variety, the deal followed more than two days of negotiations. Once the union is complete, “synergy savings” are expected to total $500 million—after the two entities ax their overlapping operations. So in other words, prepare for some layoffs in the not-so-distant future.

Per Variety, Redstone will serve as chairman of ViacomCBS, while Viacom CEO Bob Bakish will lead the company, with the Eye’s president and acting CEO, Joe Ianniello, remaining in charge of CBS’s entities. The only change, it seems, will be that CBS’s publishing arm, Simon & Schuster, will no longer fall under Ianniello’s purview. Variety reports that Ianniello’s role was one of the thornier subjects of the recent negotiations; although he’ll ultimately report to Bakish, he was able to maintain “a level of autonomy.”

The deal follows years of squabbling; Redstone has been pushing for a merger for years, an effort CBS’s former chairman, Les Moonves, fought tooth and nail before his ouster last year.

Once the companies merge, their combined portfolios will leave them better positioned to compete with some of the other Frankenstein’s-monster-like corporate giants that have emerged in recent years, including the recently united Disney and Fox, Comcast, and AT&T. The company owns networks including the CBS broadcast networks, CBS All Access, Showtime, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, VH1, 28 local TV stations, Paramount Pictures, Simon & Schuster, and a 50% interest in the CW. In total, Variety reports that those properties represent 140,000 episodes of TV and 3,600 films. And as if that’s not enough, the trade notes that the rumor on Wall Street is that the company could absorb even more outlets—including, possibly, Discovery Inc. and/or Lionsgate. As Variety notes, the Eye has already been looking into acquiring Lionsgate’s premium cable outfit Starz.

In a statement, Shari Redstone told Variety, “I am really excited to see these two great companies come together so that they can realize the incredible power of their combined assets. My father once said ‘content is king,’ and never has that been more true than today. Through CBS and Viacom’s shared passion for premium content and innovation, we will establish a world-class, multiplatform media organization that is well-positioned for growth in a rapidly transforming industry. Led by a talented leadership team that is excited by the future, ViacomCBS’s success will be underpinned by a commitment to strong values and a culture that empowers our exceptional people at all levels of the organization.”