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• Viacom is one of the largest media conglomerates in the United States. The company owns MTV Networks and Comedy Central, and has also merged with Paramount. In December 2008, a dispute developed with Time Warner Cable over planned carriage fees. The dispute meant Time Warner Cable customers could have lost access to several channels if a deal is not reached by the end of December 31, 2008. At midnight of the 31st, Viacom granted an extension and then made an agreement allowing Time Warner cable to keep the channels in dispute. The conditions of the contract are not yet known at this time.Los Angeles Times: Viacom, Time Warner Cable Settle Contract Dispute (January 1, 2009)

• Fast Facts

  1. Stock symbol: VIA, VIA.B (NYSE)
  2. Annual revenue (2007): $13.4 billion
  3. Founder and chairman: Sumner Redstone
  4. Year established: 2006
  5. Industry: Television, Motion pictures
  6. Phone: 212-258-6000
  7. HQ: New York City
  8. President: Philippe Dauman
  9. CFO: Thomas E. Dooley
  10. Staff: 9,500
  11. Owns Paramount Pictures
  12. Owns multiple cable channels, including Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon

• Key Dates

  1. 1971: The former Viacom first goes public
  2. 1986: Fully acquires MTV Networks
  3. 1994: Merges with Paramount Pictures
  4. 1999: Starts trading on NYSE
  5. 2000: Merges with CBS
  6. 2003: Fully acquires Comedy Central
  7. December 31, 2005: Splits from CBS to form new Viacom, Inc.
  8. December 4, 2008: Lays off 850 people in midst of 2008 RecessionGawker: The Dreaded Viacom Layoffs: 850 People (December 4, 2008)

• Viacom Pre-Holiday 2008 Layoffs

  Viacom laid off 850 employees on December 4, 2008, including 300 from their MTV division alone. In addition, the company announced a freeze on salary increases in the coming year.Gawker: The Dreaded Viacom Layoffs: 850 People (December 4, 2008)

• Viacom Lawsuit Against Google

  On March 13, 2007, Viacom filed a lawsuit against Google claiming that YouTube is violating copyrighted content, by allowing users to post videos owned by the Viacom company on the site. On July 1, 2008, a federal judge ruled that Google had to hand over to Viacom all YouTube view logs as part of the $1 billion lawsuit against the service. The log will provide the login details of users, the IP address from each computer accessing the site, and which videos have been viewed.BBC News: Google Must Divulge YouTube Log (July 3, 2008)

• Viacom and Time Warner Dispute

  Time Warner Cable customers might lose access to several channels in their cable programming, including Comedy Central and MTV, by midnight January 1, 2009, if a deal is not reached between Viacom and Time Warner. The dispute is due to Viacom's plans to raise carriage fees for Time Warner by between 22 to 36 % for each channel. The two companies struck a deal after an extension was granted by Viacom. Details of the new contract have not yet been released.Los Angeles Times: Viacom, Time Warner Cable Settle Contract Dispute (January 1, 2009)

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Viacom v. Google | CBS | Sumner Redstone | Comedy Central | Time Warner Cable | New Movies

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