Shari Redstone Pleased With Culture Change At Viacom

It's been a long few years, but Viacom Inc., owner of MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures, among other media properties, is beginning to look like its old self, Shari Redstone said on Tuesday, Oct. 3. reports The Street.

"Ratings are up in all of our flagship brands -- MTV, BET, Nickelodeon has a lot [of] new shows," Redstone, 63, said during a luncheon interview held at the Paley Center for Media in New York. "The studio has turned around, the cable networks have turned around -- our culture is back."

Shari Redstone

Redstone's enthusiasm aside, Viacom still has a long way to go. Like many media companies heavy on cable TV networks, Viacom is still searching for ways to offset declines in the fees it receives from pay-TV operators and advertisers, who increasingly shift money to digital and away from TV. A carriage disagreement with Charter Communications Inc. sent Viacom's shares tumbling in May, a drop from which its has yet to recover.

But there are signs of progress. MTV did post its first summer ratings increase in six years for the three months ended Aug. 31. Ratings at Comedy Central and BET are also on the rise.

Viacom is starting a short-form content unit to produce video for digital platforms that may include direct-to-consumer subscription services. It's also planning to launch an entertainment skinny bundle with Discovery Communications Inc. (DISCA - Get Report) , among others, and Paramount Pictures, under new chairman Jim Gianopulos, is finally getting its act together.

As the heir to the media empire that includes Viacom and CBS Corp. (CBS) , Redstone has taken charge of both companies from her ailing father, Sumner Redstone, 94, and the satisfaction is evident. Redstone, who serves on Viacom's board as its vice chairman, spent Monday at  the company's Times Square headquarters for an event to reintroduce "Total Request Live," better known as TRL, the MTV afternoon show that was a network staple from 1998 to 2008.

The return of TRL is one of many new programming changes at MTV.

"Now, the culture is back, people are working together again, the international businesses are on fire," she added. "We're able to work together again."