Viacom's Atom Bomb

Lately, Rupert Murdock's News Corp. has demonstrated that Old Media doesn't necessarily have to lose its mojo. But it means taking some big bets. Of course, this was certainly the case when Murdock shelled out $580 million for MySpace last year. In hindsight it was a stellar deal, as seen with the recent $900 million deal with Google. But a year ago, it looked like a clear failure.

Well, now Viacom is playing catch-up. This is never easy; and it is usually expensive. But as eyeballs move online Viacom really has no choice. The good news is that Viacom has a rich library of content that probably will resonate with Internet users – especially its MTV properties. In fact, the MTV properties could be the key that gives Viacom serious traction.

The latest digital deal is Viacom's purchase of Atom Entertainment for $200 million. The company focuses on games and videos. Properties include AtomFilms.com, Shockwave, AddictingGames, and AddictingClips. With the deal Viacom gets 20 million unique users and 100 million monthly game plays.

Actually, Viacom has methodically strung together a myriad of deals over the past year. One was the $102 million purchase for Xfire. In fact this may – in retrospect – look like a cheap purchase price. It definitely gives Viacom a good understanding of successful communities.

Other deals include Gametrailers, Neopets, and Youth Media & Marketing Networks.

In other words, Viacom is aggressively buying distribution. And it is also trying to build it with innovative product offerings such as Overdrive (which is a video service).

I think we'll hear about more Viacom deals over the next couple months. And, as we've seen in the dot-com space, an online property can go into hyperspeed suddenly (such as YouTube and MySpace). With its M&A and internal projects, Viacom is certainly giving itself a chance to have its own big digital hit.