Business Wire
Viacom has promoted Bob Bakish, CEO and president of Viacom's Viacom International Media Networks unit, to the post of interim CEO of the entertainment conglomerate.
Viacom had announced in September that interim CEO Tom Dooley would depart in mid-November. The news was the latest major company development following the ouster of Philippe Dauman in the battle for control of the media giant. National Amusements, through which Sumner Redstone and daughter Shari Redstone control Viacom and CBS, has asked both companies to begin researching a possible recombination.
The question is whether Bakish will get to run Viacom longer-term or until a deal decision is reached with CBS, in which case CBS CEO Leslie Moonves is expected to be in charge.
Viacom CFO Wade Davis, who has been in his post since late 2012, was also reportedly considered for the Viacom interim CEO role. His past career as an investment banker is seen as helping amid the exploration of a possible CBS deal.
Bakish has served as head of Viacom's international networks business since 2011. The unit has been one of the company's key growth areas at a time when Viacom's Paramount Pictures and U.S. networks have struggled. For example, VIMN's revenue and profits have increased, and its U.K. networks reached record revenue and viewer share in the latest fiscal year.
Bakish and his team have expanded the global distribution of core network brands, such as Nickelodeon, made Comedy Central Viacom’s third global brand in addition to MTV and Nick, have started bringing Spike to foreign markets and have launched the Paramount Channel as an advertising-supported movie network in key international markets.
Showing his skills as a deal maker, Bakish created the successful Viacom18 joint venture in India, and his team spearheaded the acquisition of Channel 5 in the U.K.
Under his leadership, VIMN has also looked for new models and deals for the digital age, encouraging, as one of his reports put it, to think outside the box. For example, it launched the Viacom Play Plex suite of branded mobile TV apps to offer video-on-demand access to a range of current and library content, as well as a live local linear streams last year. It later added BET Play, the company's first-ever direct-to-consumer, subscription video-on-demand app for an adult audience. Since the launch, the apps have been downloaded more than 15 million times with more than 30 million long-form episode streams viewed each month, according to Viacom.
Bakish, a frequent traveler due to his job, first joined Viacom in 1997 after working as a partner at consulting firm Booz Allen & Hamilton in its media and entertainment practice. He served as executive vp and COO of MTV Networks Advertising Sales, then became Viacom's executive vp, operations and Viacom Enterprises, and later was named president of MTV Networks International.
Bakish has a reputation for being a fast decision maker who likes to keep moving things forward rather than getting bogged down in bureaucracy. One executive who has worked with him describes him as down to earth and sociable and able to work with people across the operation, but also willing to make difficult decisions and to change strategies if current approaches aren't yielding the planned results.
One executive who used to work with him told THR that Bakish empowers people who report to him to run their businesses, while also supporting them, always being responsive and helping with strategic insight and oversight as needed.
"Bob is an inspirational leader, capable of engaging the team," says one current Viacom executive. "I admire his capacity to see the full picture and take care of the details at the same time."
He has spoken at industry conferences around the world, but hasn't been a regular at investor conferences, making him less known on Wall Street.
In recent speeches and interviews, he has highlighted such topics as growing mobile distribution of content, the need to do TV Everywhere right and the growing social media integration of Viacom shows and events, such as its MTV EMAs, the MTV Europe Music Awards.
