The CBS-Viacom Merger: World Of The Media Giants

TIME WARNER

Leadership Gerald Levin Chairman and CEO

Total Revenues $26.8 billion Movies and TV 30% $8 billion Cable Prog. 20% $5.4 billion Publishing 17% $4.5 billion Music 15% $4 billion Broadcasting 1% $260 million Other 17%

Broadcasting The WB Network

Cable Programming HBO, TNT, TBS, CNN, CNNfn, CNNSI, Cinemax

Movie and TV Studios Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, Hanna-Barbera, Castle Rock

Publishing TIME, PEOPLE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, FORTUNE, 28 other magazines, Warner Books, Little Brown

Music Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic, Elektra, Sire, Rhino

Recreation Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, World Championship Wrestling

Other Time Warner Cable (distribution), Road Runner (high-speed online service)

Scouting Report Gerald Levin was faulted for buying cable systems, but that proved a smart bet. Only thing missing is a major network, and co-chair Ted Turner lusts after NBC. But Levin, happy with the WB and cable nets, isn’t eager to overpay.

WALT DISNEY

[Leadership] Michael Eisner Chairman and CEO

[Total Revenues] $22.9 billion Creative (includes movies, TV, music, publishing) 45% $10.3 billion Broadcasting and Cable Prog. 31% $7.1 billion Theme Parks 24% $5.5 billion

[Broadcasting] ABC-TV and ABC Radio, 10 TV and 30 radio stations

[Cable Programming] ESPN, Disney Channel, A&E, E!, Lifetime

[Movie and TV Studios] Miramax, Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone, Hollywood

[Publishing] Hyperion, ESPN Magazine

[Music] Walt Disney Records, Mammoth, Lyric Street

[Recreation] Parks in Florida, California, France, Japan; cruise line; Anaheim Angels and Mighty Ducks

[Other] Disney Stores, Go Network Internet portal

[Scouting Report] So much for synergy. The ABC-Disney combo so far has been a bust. And while Michael Eisner hopes to remedy things by selling off magazines and sports teams, Mickey’s stock and bottom line have yet to regain their smile.

VIACOM/CBS

[Leadership] Sumner Redstone Chairman and CEO

[Total Revenues] $18.9 billion Broadcasting 33% $6.3 billion Movies and TV 25% $4.8 billion Cable Prog. 17% $3.2 billion Publishing 3% $565 billion Theme Parks 2% $421 million Other 20%

[Broadcasting] CBS, Infinity Radio (163 stations), 34 TV stations, UPN (50%)

[Cable Programming] MTV, TNN, Nickelodeon, Showtime

[Movie and TV Studios] Paramount Pictures, Paramount TV, Spelling, Viacom

[Publishing] Simon & Schuster

[Music] Famous Music Publishing

[Recreation] Five Paramount parks

[Other] Blockbuster Video, outdoor advertising, Red Rocket online toy store, Sportsline

[Scouting Report] Seems like a perfect match: the youngsters who watch MTV meet the geezers who prefer 60 Minutes, all packaged as cradle-to-grave, one-stop shopping for advertisers. But cross-media selling is still unproven.

NEWS CORP.

[Leadership] Rupert Murdoch Chairman and CEO

[Total Revenues] $13.6 billion Publishing 35% $4.7 billion Movies and TV 32% $4.4 billion Broadcasting and Cable Prog. 28% $3.8 billion Other 5%

[Broadcasting] Fox, 15 TV stations, BSkyB, Star TV

[Cable Programming] Fox News, Fox Sports, Fox Family Channel

[Movie and TV Studios] 20th Century Fox, Fox Animation, Searchlight

[Publishing] The Times, New York Post, HarperCollins, Weekly Standard

[Music] Mushroom Records

[Recreation] Los Angeles Dodgers, National Rugby League (Australia)

[Other] Ansett Australia airline

[Scouting Report] Rupert Murdoch is the only media mogul who can claim a truly global empire. With satellites hovering practically everywhere, he can beam down all kinds of programs. The Fox network and studio are hot, even if his Dodgers are not.

SEAGRAM

[Leadership] Edgar Bronfman Jr. President and CEO

[Total Revenues] $12.3 billion Music 31% $3.8 billion Movies and TV 24% $2.9 billion Recreation 7% $818 million Other 38%

[Broadcasting] None

[Cable Programming] USA Networks (45%)

[Movie and TV Studios] Universal Pictures, Universal Television, Universal Cartoon Studios

[Publishing] None

[Music] MCA, Geffen, Def Jam, Motown, A&M, Interscope, Island

[Recreation] Universal Studios theme parks in Florida and California

[Other] Spirits and wine, including Chivas Regal and Mumm, Spencer Gifts

[Scouting Report] Edgar Bronfman, Jr. is betting the farm on music. After paying $10 billion for Polygram, he has the world’s largest record company, sizable debt and a bleeding balance sheet. A growing theme-park unit will help carry the load.

SONY

[Leadership] Nobuyuki Idei President and CEO

[Total Revenues] $56.6 billion Games 11% $6.3 billion Music 11% $6 billion Movies and TV 8% $4.5 million Other (includes $36.3 billion from electronics sales) 70%

[Broadcasting] None

[Cable Programming] Game Show Network

[Movie and TV Studios] Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Columbia TriStar Television

[Publishing] None

[Music] Columbia, Epic, 550 Music, Sony Classical, Nashville, C2 Records

[Recreation] Sony Playstation and related software

[Other] Electronics, insurance, Sony Theaters

[Scouting Report] While America’s media giants talk about the digital future, Sony is already making it happen, seducing millions of video gamers worldwide with its PlayStation and the promise of its sequel to come next year.

GE

[Leadership] John F. Welch Chairman and CEO

[Total Revenues] $100.5 billion Broadcasting and Cable Prog. 5% $5.3 billion Other (includes $48.7 billion from financial services) 95%

[Broadcasting] NBC, 13 TV stations

[Cable Programming] CNBC, MSNBC (with Microsoft)

[Movie and TV Studios] None

[Publishing] None

[Music] None

[Recreation] None

[Other] Appliances, aircraft engines, power systems, industrial products, plastics

[Scouting Report] The peacock was ruffled by the Viacom deal. It is now the only TV network without a production arm to create programming. For now, NBC is looking to expand its reach by possibly taking a 32% stake in Pax Communications.