Deals

CBS CEO Moonves Revisits Viacom Union in Wake of Media Megadeals

Special committees formed to evaluate possible combination
Previous talks collapsed in 2016 as Moonves resisted

Bloomberg’s Jason Kelly reports on a possible merger between CBS and Viacom.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Christopher Palmeri

February 1, 2018 at 9:52 PM UTC

Updated on

February 1, 2018 at 11:48 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

CBS Corp. Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves is taking a fresh look at combining with Viacom Inc. amid fresh prodding from his most powerful stockholder and a tougher climate for smaller media companies.

CBS and and Viacom said Thursday they have formed special board committees to evaluate a possible merger at the urging of Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, which controls both companies. CBS owns the most-watched TV network, while Viacom is the owner of cable networks including Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.