Sumner Redstone to Take Non-Voting Viacom Role

Sumner Redstone, the 93-year-old chairman emeritus of Viacom, will not stand for re-election to the media company’s board of directors.

Redstone, whose family holding company, National Amusements, owns a controlling voting stake in Viacom, will continue to participate in meetings of the board in a non-voting role, according to the company’s proxy statement.

Redstone’s daughter Shari Redstone remains on the board and serves as non-executive vice chairman.

Over the summer, the Redstones battled with CEO Philippe Dauman and other board members over Sumner Redstone’s ability to make business decisions, including removing Dauman from the boards of both National Amusements and Viacom.

After a series of lawsuits, Dauman agreed to leave the company. The Redstones considered merging Viacom with CBS, in which he also own a controlling stake. They decided against combining the media giants and named as CEO Bob Bakish, who had run Viacom’s international business.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.