Sumner Redstone, 85, asserts that his daughter will not automatically succeed him as chairman of Viacom. In a CNBC interview Thursday, he said that she will not oversee CBS and Viacom when he steps down. "The boards should decide who succeeds me," he said. The elder Redstone also once again refused to retire any time soon. Less clear are plans to buy out Shari Redstone's 20% interest in CBS and Viacom and her possible resignation from the boards of the companies. Talks are in the works, but both Viacom and Shari's representative say they are not a …

Bloomberg L.P. the financial news and data company founded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is reorganizing to take advantage of its growing assets in television, radio and Internet content. The company is best known for its Bloomberg computer terminals, which generate about 85% of its revenue, but other revenue streams are growing more quickly. Peter T. Grauer, Bloomberg chairman, says that while other media companies are forecasting layoffs, Bloomberg was continuing to grow. As part of the reorg, an external search will be conducted to find a leader for the Bloomberg multimedia division. Matthew Winkler, the …

In what has become an international takeover feud, as soon as Martin Sorrell and his WPP Group announced a hostile bid for market research firm TNS Wednesday, rival suitor GfK Group struck back. GfK withdrew its proposed no-premium merger bid, which had already been accepted by the TNS board, to work on an alternative, all-cash bid to counter WPP. WPP's unsolicited cash-and-stock offer valued TNS at $2.18 billion, and was widely seen as more valuable than the proposed all-stock deal between GfK and TNS. Nonetheless TNS, which already rejected WPP three times, asked shareholders to spurn the latest …

The digital TV transition early next year could provide a once-in-a-lifetime boost for cable operators struggling with subscriber declines. In general, cable companies are seen to be better positioned than their satellite TV and telecom rivals to sign up a portion of the 14 million U.S. homes who only get free television. Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett says these new subscribers could create up to $2 billion in added value for cable operators. Cable has a strong value proposition for the free TV population, given that more than 90% of them have phone service, which cable could …

In a sign of online media giving a giant boost to offline entertainment, "Batman" fans have bought so many tickets for the July 18 opening of the new "Batman" movie that theaters are running the movie all night and into into the following morning. Some movie houses are scheduling 6 a.m. screenings for those who can't get in during the night. Such all-night sellouts have come only with the advent of online ticket sales, say experts. Thanks to the Internet, "in the public mind, opening weekends have been eventized," says Thomas Tull, chairman of Legendary Pictures and …

Media mogul Mark Cuban will air new movies produced by his company Magnolia Pictures on TV before they are shown in theaters. Cuban owns HDNet Movies and is betting that early screenings of Magnolia's art-house movies on HDNet's video-on-demand cable service will build buzz. As a result, more people will hear about the movies and go to the theater to see them. Cuban also owns the Landmark Theatres chain. The contrarian plan reverses the traditional trickle-down distribution pattern of movie theater releases first, then television afterwards. "In sports, every game is on TV and the arena is …

Research companies such as Arbitron face an increasingly uphill climb to get younger consumers to participate in research surveys and panels. To improve compliance among 18-to34-year-old participants in its portable people meter service, Arbitron is offering them a user-controlled, Web-based, telephone wakeup and reminder service. Called the PPM VIP Service, the service gives panelists access to a password-protected Web page, where they sign up for customized alerts on up to five phone numbers. Arbitron thinks the service will be more effective than using money as an incentive. If the new concept plays out, Arbitron plans to add …