Viacom-CBS Merge Great News for & # 39; Star Trek & # 39; fans, Bad for Consoliation
It finally happened on Tuesday. After years of false starts, CBS and Viacom finally announced their intentions to get back together.
The all-share deal, which values Viacom at $ 12 billion, puts Bob Bakish as chief executive of the recently named ViacomCBS, with Joe Ianniello staying on board as CEO of all CBS-branded assets. The agreement puts CBS broadcast networks, Viacom's stable of cable channels such as MTV and Nickelodeon, and Paramount film and TV studio under one roof.
Below, TheWrap lists the winners and losers from Tuesday's much-awaited announcement. [19659002] 
Winner: Shari Redstone
Bob Bakish may have received the keys to the kingdom, but make no mistake: Shari Redstone comes out as the biggest winner of Tuesday's announcement. She completed her three-year assignment to reunite CBS and Viacom, which had been separated since 2006. She is the chair of the board and was able to install her hand-picked guy as CEO. The question for her now is what does she want to do for an encore?
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Loser: Les Moonves
Moonves is already person-non-grata after his ugly exit from CBS after being accused by dozens of women for sexual abuse. Before that, however, he waged a legal war against Redstone to try to stop this merger from ever happening, so his legacy is even more spotty now.
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Winner: Bob Bakish
It has been quite an increase for Bakish, who started on the international side of Viacom's business and has been a favorite of Redstone. He is credited with turning Viacom into the disastrous feature of Phillipe Dauman, and is poised to have bigger turns in the ever-changing industry. But with that comes more pressure, because he delivers better for Redstone. As Biggie once said: Heavy lies the crown.
Winner / Loser: Joe Ianniello
Ianniello finally gets the temporary tag removed from his CEO, but it comes with a catch: He is indicted for a CBS which is under Bakish. He helped steer CBS through a tough time following Moonves' charisma and is still a key figure, signing a new contract that takes him through 2021. While both executives are doing fine following Tuesday's announcement – Ianniello will manage CBS assets, but they now exclude Showtime and Pop TV – it must be a bit stale for Ianniello not to be the top manager.
Loser: Consumers Wary of Consolidation [19659002] After Disney bought Fox and AT&T bought Time Warner, consumers were already worried that so few companies had the responsibility for so many entertainment operations. With CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures now moving under the roof, they may have to reach Pepto right now.
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Winner: Star Trek fans
But there may be a specific consumer group to celebrate Tuesday's merger: Star Trek fans. While CBS All Access has expanded its "Star Trek" production, IP fans have been stuck between two worlds: CBS TV Studios owned the TV rights, while Paramount owned the movie rights. ViacomCBS can now turn Star Trek into something that can one day compete with what Marvel has achieved at Disney.
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Winner: CBS All Access
ViacomCBS executives were quite elusive about what exactly they want to do with the many different streaming assets, but whatever the outcome is CBS All Access is adding a lot of new content, especially Nickelodeon's popular children's programs. The streaming service has been a priority for CBS Corp. as it tries to compete in the streaming game. It turns out to be the centerpiece of what's going on, and CBS Interactive CEO Jim Lanzone will depend on a lot.
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Loser: Viacom's other streaming options such as Pluto TV and BET +
On the other hand, it is unclear about the fate of Viacom's streaming options, which includes the free streaming app Pluto TV and the upcoming BET +. ViacomCBS execs suggested that Viacom programming would be available on CBS All Access, which could make PlutoTV redundant. It depends on how important it is to have a free consumer option for the company. BET +, which will not launch until this fall, can easily slip into All Access, which would surely love to have Tyler Perry in his stable.
Photo by Ted Soqui
Winner: David Nevins – Nevins is another leader sitting right now. Nevins already appears to play a bigger role in CBS Corp., with Bakish and (currently) Ianniello as the best business-focused executives at ViacomCBS. Although he has yet to answer both Bakish and Ianniello – with Showtime moving under Viacom's responsibilities.
Loser: Other Top Viacom TV Leadership – Viacom restructured last year, which reduced brand groups from five to four, and could now face even more consolidation. Kent Alterman, who oversaw the Paramount Network in that regard, is well-liked at Viacom, and Brian Robbins is new to Nickelodeon. But with Chris McCarthy (MTV) and Scott Mills (BET), this may be the case of too many cooks in the kitchen. At least they are all under one team more of executive management.
Loser: CBS / Viacom Employeeën – Resignations are a sad by-product of these large corporate mergers. It may not be as bloody as when Disney took the hatch to the Fox movie divisions, but many people will unfortunately be used. ViacomCBS is projecting $ 500 million dollars in synergy savings, some of which will come through the elimination of overlapping business operations.
