Media Titan Sumner Redstone, Billionaire Who Led ViacomCBS, Has Died

Joe Scarnici, Getty

Sumner Redstone, the media giant who built an empire spanning news, television and film, died at the age of 97. His death was announced Wednesday morning.

Redstone, who famously coined the phrase “content is king,” started with his father’s drive-theater business and built it into a sprawling media empire that included acquisitions of CBS Corp., Paramount and Viacom. Viacom bought CBS in 1999 for $36 billion, bringing both properties under the control of Redstone’s theater business, National Amusements Inc. Redstone moved to split both companies up in 2005, and it wasn’t until 2019 that they merged again, in a deal led by his daughter Shari Redstone.

The deal, creating a company that now generates billions in annual revenue, combined CBS, CBS News, Showtime, MTV and its iterations, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Paramount. According to Reuters, at the time of the merger ViacomCBS said its channels would account for 22% of TV viewership in the United States.

“My father led an extraordinary life that not only shaped entertainment as we know it today, but created an incredible family legacy,” Shari Redstone said in a statement reported by CNN’s Brian Stelter. “Through it all, we shared a great love for one another and he was a wonderful father, grandfather and great-grandfather. I am so proud to be his daughter and I will miss him always.”

From Shari Redstone: “My father led an extraordinary life that not only shaped entertainment as we know it today, but created an incredible family legacy…” pic.twitter.com/NW61ilmaMR

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 12, 2020