Freston Exits Viacom

NEW YORK, September 5: Viacom veteran Tom Freston has
resigned as president and CEO of the company, it was announced today, with
board member Philippe P. Dauman—said to be a close confidant of executive
chairman and founder Sumner Redstone—named to fill the position.

Further, Thomas E. Dooley has been tapped to fill the newly
created position of senior executive VP and chief administrative officer. Both
Dauman and Dooley are members of the Viacom board, and both served as deputy
chairman from 1996 to 2000. Since 2000, they have been co-chairmen and co-CEOs
of DND Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in media and
telecommunication investments.

Dauman will report to Redstone and to the board of directors
of Viacom. Dooley will report to Dauman, who has been a director of Viacom
since 1987, and served from 1994 to 2000 as a member of Viacom's Executive
Committee and as executive VP.

There was no reason given for Freston’s resignation in
Viacom’s statement today. He has worked under Redstone for 18 years, starting
off at MTV 26 years ago, prior to its sale to Viacom. His resignation comes
less than a year since Redstone split Viacom into two separate
entities—one to be helmed by Freston, the other by Leslie Moonves. Both
executives had been tipped to succeed Redstone at the former, larger Viacom
entity, which previously included the CBS and UPN networks, Showtime and other
businesses. Those now fall under Moonves’ mandate at the CBS Corporation.