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CBS and Viacom seeking to merge... again


The Frog

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Redstone will DESTROY CBS and the hard work its made trying to claw its way out of the ratings and financial hell that nearly destroyed it in the early 1990s.

 

THIS is what was CBS, at their lowest point:

 

When you have to start relying on sitcoms featuring Fran Drescher and Cybill Shepherd to hopefully pull you out of the ratings basement.

 

Ditching Moonves and Co. who largely rebuilt CBS and turned it into the powerhouse it is now is counterproductive.

 

Not to mention, look how desperate the Viacom networks have been getting for viewers lately. Most of their channels are irrelevant at this point, including but not limited to TV Land who went from being a MeTV/AntennaTV-like channel to now pandering to millennials, young women, and those who have poor taste in comedy.

 

The only channels in the Viacom portfolio I can still see as slightly relevant are Nickelodeon and Comedy Central because they are niche channels, but even those channels are less relevant because kids are not watching TV anymore when they can watch YouTube. Again, YouTube and Netflix are killing the relevancy of channels like Comedy Central. There was nothing wrong with Spike, and if anyone believes Paramount Network will survive I assure you that it won't. The marketplace is too saturated with general entertainment channels. Why would I watch an unknown Paramount Network when I can watch all my favorite shows on FX and FXX? WE TV is bringing back Bridezillas, that should tell you how the general entertainment format is working for them.

 

And then you have former music channels that are completely irrelevant and are trying to be general entertainment channels.

 

A CBS under Redstone would mean a return to shit. In an already oversaturated media landscape and in an increasing cable-cutting, streaming world; the old term "less is more" applies here. Viacom has made zero investment in streaming platforms, and sees the error in their ways by keeping all their eggs in their terrestrial basket. Now they want CBS to bail them out?

 

Haha yeah, good luck. You're on, CBS.

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Redstone will DESTROY CBS and the hard work its made trying to claw its way out of the ratings and financial hell that nearly destroyed it in the early 1990s.

 

THIS is what was CBS, at their lowest point:

 

When you have to start relying on sitcoms featuring Fran Drescher and Cybill Shepherd to hopefully pull you out of the ratings basement.

 

Ditching Moonves and Co. who largely rebuilt CBS and turned it into the powerhouse it is now is counterproductive.

 

Not to mention, look how desperate the Viacom networks have been getting for viewers lately. Most of their channels are irrelevant at this point, including but not limited to TV Land who went from being a MeTV/AntennaTV-like channel to now pandering to millennials, young women, and those who have poor taste in comedy.

 

The only channels in the Viacom portfolio I can still see as slightly relevant are Nickelodeon and Comedy Central because they are niche channels, but even those channels are less relevant because kids are not watching TV anymore when they can watch YouTube. Again, YouTube and Netflix are killing the relevancy of channels like Comedy Central. There was nothing wrong with Spike, and if anyone believes Paramount Network will survive I assure you that it won't. The marketplace is too saturated with general entertainment channels. Why would I watch an unknown Paramount Network when I can watch all my favorite shows on FX and FXX? WE TV is bringing back Bridezillas, that should tell you how the general entertainment format is working for them.

 

And then you have former music channels that are completely irrelevant and are trying to be general entertainment channels.

 

A CBS under Redstone would mean a return to shit. In an already oversaturated media landscape and in an increasing cable-cutting, streaming world; the old term "less is more" applies here. Viacom has made zero investment in streaming platforms, and sees the error in their ways by keeping all their eggs in their terrestrial basket. Now they want CBS to bail them out?

 

Haha yeah, good luck. You're on, CBS.

Years later, UniMas will have better ratings than CBS. :p

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I'm under the impression that at this point Nickelodeon is largely a '90s nostalgia brand. I have seen more merchandise pertaining to Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy (though who knows whether that's gonna dry up), Rocko's Modern Life, Hey Arnold! and CatDog than anything they've got on the air now that's not SpongeBob or TMNT.

 

I do wonder if Comcast or somebody won't just snap it up at the first opportunity though.

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  • 7 months later...
On ‎5‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 7:19 PM, channel2 said:

I'm under the impression that at this point Nickelodeon is largely a '90s nostalgia brand. I have seen more merchandise pertaining to Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy (though who knows whether that's gonna dry up), Rocko's Modern Life, Hey Arnold! and CatDog than anything they've got on the air now that's not SpongeBob or TMNT.

 

I do wonder if Comcast or somebody won't just snap it up at the first opportunity though.

I bet for Sony Corporation's Sony Entertainment to buy not just Nickelodeon, but all Viacom if they doesn't want to merge with CBS.

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On 5/21/2018 at 9:19 PM, channel2 said:

I'm under the impression that at this point Nickelodeon is largely a '90s nostalgia brand. I have seen more merchandise pertaining to Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy (though who knows whether that's gonna dry up), Rocko's Modern Life, Hey Arnold! and CatDog than anything they've got on the air now that's not SpongeBob or TMNT.

Paw Patrol would like a word with you, but yes otherwise you're right on the money.

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5 hours ago, channel2 said:

They don't own Paw Patrol, Spin Master does. Not sure why Nick gets to have their logo on all the merch.

Nick is a major part of the marketing for Paw Patrol...you bet they get to slap all the logo's on  anything and everything in the  PP franchise.

They learned from the marketing experts...

Disney.

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Looking back, I wish I didn't give Moonves such high praise. I think now without Moonves that CBS is already going on a rollercoaster ride and heading into some dark days.

CBS News ratings are at their lowest point right now morning and night without Charlie Rose and without Scott Pelley (and we know which one is in the same boat as Moonves and which one isn't.) Also, CBS has had a lot of primetime ratings flops this season with a dominant NBC, a resurgence in ABC (The Good Doctor FTW), and a sports-heavy FOX. With The Big Bang Theory, the number 1 comedy ending it's run, they are in a bad spot in the comedy department. Late night, Stephen Colbert is having trouble competing against Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.

Maybe the Viacom merger at this point could be a saving grace.

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10 hours ago, KentBrockman said:

Looking back, I wish I didn't give Moonves such high praise. I think now without Moonves that CBS is already going on a rollercoaster ride and heading into some dark days.

CBS News ratings are at their lowest point right now morning and night without Charlie Rose and without Scott Pelley (and we know which one is in the same boat as Moonves and which one isn't.) Also, CBS has had a lot of primetime ratings flops this season with a dominant NBC, a resurgence in ABC (The Good Doctor FTW), and a sports-heavy FOX. With The Big Bang Theory, the number 1 comedy ending it's run, they are in a bad spot in the comedy department. Late night, Stephen Colbert is having trouble competing against Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.

Maybe the Viacom merger at this point could be a saving grace.

In Viacom's defense, CBS did maintain being #1 under the first go-around. Hell, they were starting to shed UPN's "black WB" image before the split. For all we know, Viacom might be able to turn itself around since it's under Bob Bakish instead of Phillipe Dauman.

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13 hours ago, KentBrockman said:

Looking back, I wish I didn't give Moonves such high praise. I think now without Moonves that CBS is already going on a rollercoaster ride and heading into some dark days.

CBS News ratings are at their lowest point right now morning and night without Charlie Rose and without Scott Pelley (and we know which one is in the same boat as Moonves and which one isn't.) Also, CBS has had a lot of primetime ratings flops this season with a dominant NBC, a resurgence in ABC (The Good Doctor FTW), and a sports-heavy FOX. With The Big Bang Theory, the number 1 comedy ending it's run, they are in a bad spot in the comedy department. Late night, Stephen Colbert is having trouble competing against Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.

Maybe the Viacom merger at this point could be a saving grace.

It surprises me that CBS's sitcom roster has wilted as much as it did in recent years. That and their overabundance of procedural dramas (dating back to CSI and their two spin-offs) watered down that genre. And then you've got the reboots/continuations of H5O, Magnum: PI and Murphy Brown.

Colbert in his defense is a de facto reboot of the Colbert Report but without him playing a caricature of a conservative pundit. By design it's not going to get the same audience as Fallon or Kimmel.

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41 minutes ago, Myron Falwell said:

Colbert in his defense is a de facto reboot of the Colbert Report but without him playing a caricature of a conservative pundit. By design it's not going to get the same audience as Fallon or Kimmel.

Hell, James Corden is more in line with Kimmel and Fallon than Colbert is.

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Season to date, Colbert is leading in total viewers and a close second to Fallon in 18-49. While pre-2016 conventional wisdom said Colbert wasn't going to work, when everything in this country got political, Colbert found its voice as a late night show.

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CBS's slice of humble pie was coming, honestly. The network had its dominance with total viewers down to a science and that progressed into an over-reliance on the same tired formulas. With Les and his bravado gone they can't pull the wool over people's eyes anymore. That and NBC has managed to develop shows that actually resonate with people and don't just occupy them.

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59 minutes ago, Ramona said:

Season to date, Colbert is leading in total viewers and a close second to Fallon in 18-49. While pre-2016 conventional wisdom said Colbert wasn't going to work, when everything in this country got political, Colbert found its voice as a late night show.

The overreliance on news is probably why they moved Chris Licht to run his show. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 6 months later...

Bumping. It appears that we could be getting even closer to a "possible" merger.....

 

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier tonight (8/2) that the two sides reached a tentative agreement on who would have a managerial role in a combined company, should a merger ever come into fruition.

 

From B&C tonight:

Quote

The tentative agreement on management would have Bakish as CEO and CBS’s interim CEO Joe Ianniello taking on a new role running the company’s CBS-branded assets.

 

CBS’s CFO, Christina Spade would become the combined companies’ CFO.

 

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39 minutes ago, CircleSeven said:

Bumping. It appears that we could be getting even closer to a "possible" merger.....

 

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier tonight (8/2) that the two sides reached a tentative agreement on who would have a managerial role in a combined company, should a merger ever come into fruition.

 

From B&C tonight:

 

How soon could we be looking at a merger announcement? What details does it need to be ironed out before it can even be announced? 

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1 hour ago, oknewsguy said:

How soon could we be looking at a merger announcement? What details does it need to be ironed out before it can even be announced? 

 

As of now, the timing is still uncertain because a merger deal has yet to be finalized. And talks could always fall apart.

 

But given that they've tentatively made an agreement on a management structure, this is the closest they've gotten thus far.

 

Here's more from Deadline & THR.

 

I will say this though, should CBS & VIacom merge again, I pray that CBS be the surviving name and not Viacom. Let that name be put to rest.

 

 

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1 minute ago, CircleSeven said:

.I will say this though, should CBS & VIacom merge again, I pray that CBS be the surviving name and not Viacom. Let that name be put to rest.

 

 

CBS Paramount would be a better fit imo in the event they couldn't keep the CBS Corp name. Otherwise the CBS Corp name should carry over to the combined company.

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On 12/29/2018 at 8:57 PM, Samantha said:

Season to date, Colbert is leading in total viewers and a close second to Fallon in 18-49. While pre-2016 conventional wisdom said Colbert wasn't going to work, when everything in this country got political, Colbert found its voice as a late night show.

Yeah, but when your rating is .3, does anybody care?

 

https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/weekly-ratings/late-night-ratings-july-22-26-2019-tonight-show-slips/

 

11 hours ago, oknewsguy said:

CBS Paramount would be a better fit imo in the event they couldn't keep the CBS Corp name. Otherwise the CBS Corp name should carry over to the combined company.

They could always just go back to calling themselves Westinghouse, if they wanted to be neutral. :)

 

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