Viacom to Explore Strategic Alternatives for Music Publishing Business

Viacom to Explore Strategic Alternatives for Music Publishing Business

NEW YORK, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:and)(NYSE:VIA.B) today announced that it has decided to explore strategic alternatives to maximize the value of Famous Music, its music publishing business. The Company has retained UBS Investment Bank to act as financial advisor to assist in this process.

Famous Music was founded in 1928 by Paramount Pictures' predecessor, the Famous-Lasky Corporation, to publish music from its "talking pictures". Today it is one of the top 10 music publishers in the United States, supplying music to a diversified range of global media. Its vast catalog of more than 125,000 copyrights spans seven decades and includes music from such Oscar-winning motion pictures as The Godfather, Forrest Gump and Titanic, as well as classic television shows including The Brady Bunch, Cheers, Mission: Impossible and the Star Trek franchise. Since 1992, Famous Music has moved aggressively into the mainstream of contemporary music with such platinum-plus acts as Shakira, Akon, Eminem and Busta Rhymes. Writers and producers on the Famous roster include Irv Gotti, 7 Aurelius, Linda Perry, Tia Sillers, Charlie Midnight, and Marvin Hamlisch. Famous Music also provides licensing and administration services for many prominent music catalog owners such as The Clyde Otis Music Catalogs, MTV, Nickelodeon and BET. Famous Music is led by a senior management team that includes Irwin Robinson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Ira Jaffe, President and Chief Operating Officer; and Margaret Johnson, Executive Vice President Finance and Administration, each with decades of experience in the music publishing business.

About Viacom

Viacom is a leading global entertainment content company, with prominent and respected brands in focused demographics. Engaging its audiences through television, motion pictures and digital platforms, Viacom reaches its audiences wherever they consume content. Viacom's leading brands include the multiplatform properties of MTV Networks, including MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV, TV Land, Logo and more than 130 networks around the world, as well as digital assets such as Neopets, Xfire and Atom Entertainment; BET Networks; Paramount Pictures; Paramount Home Entertainment; DreamWorks; and Famous Music. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: james.bombassei@viacom.com

Source: Viacom Inc.

CONTACT: Media, Carl Folta, +1-212-258-6352, carl.folta@viacom.com;
Investors, James Bombassei, +1-212-258-6377, james.bombassei@viacom.com

Web site: http://www.viacom.com/

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