MTV and Comedy Central have a new boss. The Los Angeles Times reported that Viacom chief executive Philippe Dauman was elected chairman Thursday, succeeding his mentor Sumner Redstone.
Dauman will serve as executive chairman and chief executive, consolidating his corporate influence. However, Shari Redstone, daughter of the mogul, cast the lone dissenting vote in Dauman’s promotion. In a statement issued Wednesday, she expressed her preference for the position going to someone not “intertwined in Redstone family matters,” a direct reference to Dauman.
The conflict comes at a turbulent time for Viacom as it struggles to maintain its value amid a migration of television viewers to digital entertainment sources and is in the midst of negotiating a key contract with a major distributor.
