Sumner Redstone: Cutting His Baby In Half?
Superannuated, skeletal Viacom executive presence Sumner Redstone is mulling dividing his corporate behemoth into two separate companies, to allow faster growing portions, like its cable TV holdings, to grow unencumbered by struggling businesses like radio. While Redstone does his public song-and-dance routine for the benefit of Wall Street, we know exactly what he's up to—he's finally trying to select a successor. He's grown weary of the once-amusing executive cockfight he incited by making CBS's Les Moonves and MTV's Tom Freston share power as co-presidents of the company. While his new plan ostensibly hands over a CEO title to both of them, Redstone's testing his Number Twos with a Solomon-like threat to cut his baby in half. Our prediction: The world domination-obsessed Moonves demands that he get the part with the cute, gassy smiles and giggles and Freston be left with the one with the stinky diaper; a tearful, nice-guy Freston then begs that Redstone not cleave his infant. Redstone will then hand over Viacom to Freston, and three days later, Moonves will kill him.
