nice article about Viacom/CBS

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

Business Week speaks very very favourably about Viacom in this week's magazine:

Viacom: A Survivor -- and Much More (by Tom Lowry, 3 April 2002)

Its stock is riding high on subsidiary CBS's ratings run-up and 
expectations of an ad-spending turnaround during 2002
Thousands of miles from Wall Street, location scouts are trekking the rain 
forests, beaches, and rugged mountains of Asia, Central America, and South 
America in search of the perfect locale for the next installment of CBS's 
hit reality show, Survivor. On Mar. 27, the network announced that it's 
ordering a fifth edition of the program, which will be broadcast this fall.

Back on the Street, the news of another potential ratings winner is bound 
to excite investors about Viacom (VIA ), CBS's parent and the best 
performer among media giants in recent weeks. Since the dark days of 
September, Viacom stock has been on a tear, up nearly 50% to about $48, vs. 
gains of some 13% for the Bloomberg U.S. Media Index, which comprises 44 
media companies. And many analysts think the show could keep going strong a 
while longer.

BIGGEST POTENTIAL.  The buzz about Viacom is based largely on the belief 
that among media companies, it has the most to gain when advertising 
spending recovers. That's because half of Viacom's $23 billion in annual 
revenue comes from ads through its various outlets, including CBS, UPN, MTV 
Networks, radio outfit Infinity Broadcasting, and the Viacom Outdoor 
billboard company...

To read the rest of the article, which mentions Mel but not Sumner, TV and 
outdoor but not much about radio, 
http://www.businessweek.com/print/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2002/nf2002043_7032.htm?mainwindow