Recently, Jonathan Berr took a look at CBS (NYSE: CBS) and its latest quarterly results. One of the things I found most interesting about the earnings release was the fact that CBS's dividend reputation is very much intact -- management raised the quarterly payout by 8% to $0.27 per share. It can certainly afford to do this as free cash flow was up 25% in the last quarter, and the amount was more than adequate for the dividend. CBS has been pretty good about increasing the payments, but I happened to come across a headline at CNBC that talked about Jim Cramer's concerns about CBS -- he basically would rather the media company focus on growth instead of income.

His point is a good one, and well-taken -- after all, growth is pretty darn exciting. But I think CBS management has been great at sharing the spoils with its stockholders, and I always think it's a neat thing when a media stock yields a decent amount. CBS currently yields 4.5% based on Monday's closing price -- that's a lot bigger than the yields offered by Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and Disney (NYSE: DIS). Yes, it's a cliché, but shareholders are getting paid to wait, and that's awesome if you intend to hold the stock for a long time. As a Disney shareholder, I can tell you that CBS's yield makes me envious!

I think CBS will turn out to be more than just an income play though. I'm confident the company will grow the price of its stock over time. Granted, major networks aren't what they used to be in this world of cable television, but the landscape continues to change with new digital distribution models popping up all the time, and networks like CBS are looking to participate wherever it makes sense to do so. Considering CBS's ability to generate cash and its willingness to share, I have a feeling capital appreciation will eventually follow the dividend boosts.

Disclosure: I own shares in Disney; positions can change at any time.

I really want to turn bullish on Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), but there's no way I can do that right now. The company's stock is below $3 a share, and it's there for a reason. But, let's first look at a couple positives from the software publisher's latest earnings release. Net revenues shot up 170% to $29.9 million in Q1; that beat expectations, according to Briefing.com. And the net loss per share also beat expectations by a penny -- it came in at $0.29 per diluted share on an adjusted analysis.

But, that net loss is worse than the previous year's net loss of $0.20 per diluted share, also adjusted. Like I say, someday I want to report that Midway has turned the corner and is a buy. I simply can't do that, even though I recently bought the publisher's catalog title Rampage: Total Destruction for the Nintendo Gamecube and am having a great time with it -- guess it goes to show that you can't always judge a company's stock by the fact that you enjoy its products. One thing that Midway needs to do is perhaps seek some synergy from Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA)'s MTV and Nickelodeon channels. Sumner Redstone is, after all, the controlling shareholder of Midway. Granted, THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) deals with the Nickelodeon characters at the moment, but in the future, Redstone needs to figure out a way to use his media assets to promote Midway and perhaps funnel some licensing deals to the publisher. MTV is certainly doing well with its own video-game ambitions via Rock Band, which is sold by Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS).

One thing I must point out is that, since my last article about Midway, the stock is up. This was mentioned to me by a reader. So, in objective trading terms, if you went against my opinion, you would have made money, no question. However, I have to stick to my guns and say that I personally wouldn't play the volatility in Midway's shares. Yes, you could luck out with it, maybe Redstone will come along one day and buy out the remaining shares at a big premium (doubtful, at least the big-premium part). I wouldn't want to speculate on such an outcome; I am still content with my Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) shares as a way to play video-game investing.

Disclosure: I own shares in Activision; positions can change at any time.

Shares of CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) are trading up this morning after the corporate home of CSI, Two and a Half Men and Katie Couric, reported better-than-expected first quarter results.

Net income was $244.3 million, or 36 cents per share, up 14% from $213.5 million, or 28 cents, the New York-based company said in its earnings release. Revenue was little changed at $3.65 billion. The results beat Wall Street estimates of profit of 33 cents on sales of $3.55 billion.

Strength in the company's Television and Outdoor businesses overcame weaknesses in the Radio and Publishing divisions. The results were bolstered by an 85% gain in television licensing fees which were helped by higher domestic and international syndication sales. Rate increases and subscriber growth at Showtime Networks and CBS College Sports Network boosted affiliate revenues by 6%. The company also boosted its dividend by 8% to 27 cents per share.

Stanford Group analyst Fred Moran had an optimistic take on the results.

"It shows CBS is holding its own despite the recessionary advertising environment in the U.S," he told Bloomberg News. "The yearly dividend is now a 5 percent yield, and it's one of the cheapest stocks in the media group.''

CNBC contrasts News Corp (NYSE: NWS)'s Rupert Murdoch's success grooming his son to take over from him with Sumner Redstone's failure to do the same.

I once wrote Redstone seeking a position as a merger adviser. That letter was ignored. But given all the misery that he causes those who work for him -- including his own family members -- I can see the brighter side of that rejection. Meanwhile Murdoch, for whom I have consulted, has done a masterful job of giving his children a chance to work in the business and letting the most talented of the lot rise up in the organization. And he's done this without losing his top talent.

By contrast, Redstone fired the talented Viacom (NYSE: VIA) CEO Tom Freston because he failed to secure a deal to acquire MySpace. And he's utterly failed to develop talented managers -- either from his own family or anywhere else for that matter.

He's certainly free to do whatever he wants, but he either thinks he's going to live forever or he simply doesn't want to give up power until the last bit of life ebbs from his skeletal executive presence.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has consulted to News Corp.'s chairman and has no financial interest in the securities mentioned in this post.

They say money can't buy you time, but tell that to Sumner Redstone, the 84-year-old chairman of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA). He spoke of his addiction to a health-drink in a recent issue of Fortune. He loves it so much, he's pushing it to all his mogul friends.

His beverage of choice these days? It's called MonaVie, a dark-purple drink with a cult-like following. Allegedly chock full of antioxidants, one of its main ingredients is the Brazillian acai berry (pronounced A-sigh-ee), well known among health nuts for its anti-aging properties. It'll set you back $40 a bottle (no problem if you run in Sumner's circles), and it's sold only via private party, like Tupperware. Or Avon.

Redstone told the magazine that he was first hipped to the drink by Viacom executive Bill Roedy on a trip to Germany in January. Then he learned that his butler's sister-in-law was a fan as well. Well, what more endorsement does one require?

He bought a bottle and tried it for himself. Now he's gulping down four ounces a day. "Since I've been on
MonaVie," I haven't taken a sleeping pill," he told the magazine.

So enamored is he of the purple elixir that he slipped a bottle to Bill Clinton and Wolfgang Puck at a recent party, according to the magazine. "Just about every friend I have is on it," he said. Fans include Michael Milken and Boston Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon.

No reports yet on how Clinton likes the stuff. But it's probably only a matter of time before celebrity chef Puck introduces a meat dish with a MonaVie reduction sauce.

Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) today reported second quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street's low expectations.

Net income was $434 million, or 63 cents per share, compared with $437 million, or 61 cents, the New York-based company said in a press release. Revenue rose 13% to $3.19 billion. Excluding gains and charges, profit was 54 cents. Analysts had expected earnings of 50 cents on revenue of $3.07 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

Advertising revenue rose 6% to $1.15 billion while affiliate fees jumped 15% to $577 million. Though profit was hurt by higher costs, revenue from its cable channels rose 10 percent to $1.92 billion, helped by a gain on the sale of MTV Networks' investment in Russia and an impairment charge from Amp'd Mobile.

Strong box office receipts from its Dreamworks SKG films "Shrek the Third" and "Over the Hedge" helped push up revenue in the Filmed Entertainment business by 20% to $1.31 billion. David Jones, an analyst with Miller Tabak & Co., told Bloomberg News that the unit outperformed his expectations by about $100 million.

Shares of Viacom are down more than 7% this year as investors continue to worry about who will succeed chairman Sumner Redstone who reportedly is feuding now with his daughter Shari.

"Revenue was better than expected because filmed entertainment outperformed by about $100 million or so,'' David Joyce, an analyst with Miller Tabak & Co. in New York, said in an interview. He has a "buy'' rating on the shares and doesn't own them.

CBS (NYSE:CBS) today announced results for the second quarter that were dreadful.

Net income plunged 48% to $404 million, or 55 cents per share, versus $781.7 million, or $1.02 per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 3% to $3.4 billion.

Operating income before depreciation and amortization ("OIBDA") of $859.4 million and operating income of $749.9 million for the second quarter of 2007 remained flat with $858.9 million and $750.3 million, respectively, for the same prior-year period.

On an adjusted basis, excluding tax benefits from iincome tax settlements in both years and the pre- tax gain and related tax effect of station divestitures, net earnings from continuing operations increased 9% to $393.1 million, or 54 cents. Analysts had expected a profit of 51 cents per share on revenue of $3.42 billion..

Nothing to write home about.

Where is Mel Karamzin when you need him?

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Sumner Redstone, Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) Chairman, has reportedly forced his daughter Shari off its board. And Dealbook reports that with Shari gone, the chance of keeping Viacom in the family has evaporated.

Sumner Redstone, 84, is nothing if not a survivor. Back before he owned Viacom and CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), in 1979, he found himself in room 341 of Boston's Copley Plaza Hotel when the place caught fire. So Redstone climbed out on the ledge and held on with one arm while severe burns covered nearly half his body. The gnarled claw of that hand is a testament to his survival instincts.

But Redstone has also managed to alienate his family. He divorced his long-time wife Phyllis a few years ago -- she alleged he was fooling around with the much younger ex-wife of former hairdresser and now producer, John Peters. And his son Brent sued him arguing that Sumner and Shari forced Brent off the board of their privately-held movie theater chain, National Amusements. But the chance for keeping Viacom in the family looked good when he appointed his daughter Shari to the Viacom board.

I don't know why they had a falling out -- possibly disagreements over National Amusements about whether to spin-it off (Sumner) or invest further in it (Shari) -- but with Shari rumored to be on her way out, there are many media companies that would love to own Viacom. News Corp (NYSE: NWS), General Electric Co.'s (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) and Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), owner of this blog, all come to mind as possible suitors.

With Viacom up 3% on the news, let the bidding begin!

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns General Electric stock, has consulted to News Corp.'s chairman, and has no financial interest in the other securities mentioned in this post.

Shari Redstone, has clashed with her cantankerous father Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) Chairman Sumner Redstone over the future of the family's National Amusements theater chain and plans to leave the media company's board, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Sumner Redstone wants to cash out of the theater business and focus on casinos while Shari Redstone is "confident" in the future of the business, the paper said. But for VIacom, there is more at stake than just family pride. The 84-year-old Redstone has no designated successor which raises questions about the future of Viacom because to put it bluntly the tycoon isn't going to live forever.

Shari and Sumner Redstone are far from the only family fued at large media companies. In fact, Redstone has also had a falling out with his son Brent who later filed suit and got bought out of the family business, something which his sister also wants, according to the Journal.

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) CEO Rupert Murdoch has had a rocky relationship with his children. Of course, the Bancroft family that controls Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ) has been squabbling about Murdoch's efforts to buy the publisher of the Journal. Then there's the Dolans of Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) whose family fights are always entertaining.

There are exceptions. The Washington Post Co.'s (NYSE: WPO) Grahams seem to be a content lot and with Warren Buffett helping run their family business who can blame them. The Sulzberger clan of the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) also seem to keep their dirty laundry private. Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Chief Executive Brian Roberts and his father Ralph, who built the cable empire, seem to get along just fine as well.

But unless Dr. Phil can bring father and daughter together, the Viacom fight won't be solved any time soon. That's reason enough to avoid the stock.

Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA) will be in no mood to celebrate at this year's upfronts but will have to put on a smile and fake it.

The upfronts are gatherings in which networks talk up their upcoming season to advertisers. The parties are great. There's lots of free food, free food and free stuff. Beneath the frivolity, there's serious business negotiations going on about advertising prices. This is where things get tricky for Viacom.

As yesterday's fourth-quarter results illustrate, Viacom isn't in a strong bargaining position. Wall Street was pretty underwhelmed too. The company had profit of $480.8 million, or 69 cents per share. Excluding one-time charges, profit was 65 cents. Revenue rose 32 cents for $3.59 billion. The results beat analysts' forecasts but concerns about growth tempered people's enthusiasm and the stock fell.

Blogging Stocks readers were divided. Forty-one percent expected Viacom to post disappointing results. It turns out that everyone was right.

The reason for investors' unease is simple: people just don't want their MTV. The performance of the cable business disappointed Wall Street and things aren't going to get better soon. Interestingly, Reuters points out that Viacom doesn't use the "C word" any more. They are now "media networks." Get it.

Perhaps the experts who were expecting a healthy cable upfront may have been too optimistic, though cable keeps snagging audience away from the broadcast networks. The bigger problem is that the Internet is stealing audience from cable. These are the young, hip viewers who advertisers covet. MTV has recently laid off workers and reorganized its sales force to better focus on the Internet.

For now, the company is very much in the TV business and that's a problem.

Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA) Chairman Sumner Redstone was recently bragging about his company's Paramount film studios to the press like a proud parent. It also underscores why he doesn't need Tom Cruise.

The company's "Dreamgirls" film has snagged eight Academy Awards nominations, "Babel" is nominated for "Best Picture" and "Norbit" now has the top spot at the box office. Plus, the studio has promising features such as "Transformers" and a new Indiana Jones film in the pipeline.

Redstone makes the point to the Hollywood Reporter that Hollywood continues to overpay "the talent." "Because it is not the talent that makes the movie, it is the script," he said. "'The play's the thing,' as someone once said. And if you have a great script, the talent rushes to appear in it and at not too heavy a price."

He's right of course and so was Shakespeare.

High-priced actors will appear in a low-budget film if they like the script. They will also appear in bad, big-budget films for a big pay check. Fans will only put up with their favorite stars appearing in bad movies for so long before that actor's brand is tarnished. That's why Redstone was smart to end Paramount's deal with Cruise.

Paramount's rebound will help Viacom's bottom line, particularly when these movies come out in DVDs.

Since he's interested in good scripts, I wonder if I should mail Redstone my coming-of-age comedy about an aspiring hip-hop star from the mean streets of Scarsdale. Does anybody have his email address?

A report from Reuters indicates that Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA) Sumner Redstone is not bidding on Facebook, the highly popular social networking site.

True, Redstone admitted that it was a huge mistake to let MySpace go to News Corporation (NYSE:NWS). But, then again, this should not cloud good thinking on future deals.

Simply put, Redstone thinks the price tag on Facebook is at nose-bleed levels.

The rumor is that the price tag is about $1 billion – and that Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) is expressing interest in the deal, as well as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).

Actually, a recent piece from Wharton has a look at the valuation metrics for Facebook; with the realization that, at least for academics, it's pretty tough to come up with any sensible price tag for Facebook.

First, the company is in the early stages of a new market. Is it really a fad?

Sumner Redstone, the executive chairman of Viacom, is feeling generous lately. According to an announcement today, he is going to take a cut in pay.

Actually, his pay will fall by 50% to $4.5 million. Also, his compensation will be tied to the performance Viacom's stock. If the stock performs well compared to the S&P, then he will benefit.

This may be a smart move. At the start of the year, Viacom's stock price was in the low 40s. Now, the stock trades at $37.33.

Also, Viacom is revamping the rest of the pay structure for its senior officers -- so as to better incentivize them.

However, in the case of Redstone, it is really laughable. Will this pay package make any difference, given he already has $3 billion in holdings of Viacom stock?

The amazing thing is that he has the guts to actually take any compensation from Viacom. Why not do what other billionaire executives do -- like those at Google and Yahoo! -- and just take $1 for the year?

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.

With this week's news that Tom Freston, CEO of media giant Viacom, was going to no longer be with the company (read: pushed out/fired), one has to wonder why this happened. With such a media competitive circus going on with Viacom and strong competitors like Time Warner and Sony, was Viacom stock so saggy that Sumner Redstone felt compelled to push out an industry veteran like Freston, or was there more to it?

Redstone said less than a month ago that he was pleased with Freston's performance. Not a month later, Freston is basically fired. Hmm, something does not add up here. Let's look at Viacom's share appreciation for the last six months: March 8th saw VIA.B. shares at $38.05, July 17th say a drop to $33.10 and Viacom shares closed yesterday at $34.10.

But last Decemeber VIA.B shares stood at $44.90. The stock has fallen in the area of 24% over the last 10 months. Ah-ha, the picture is becoming clearer, but Freston has presided over stock declines before, right? Remember, Viacom split itself into two companies and stock tickers last January, which muddies the picture.

So what was in Redstone's pipe when he said this a month ago: "I, for one, am very encouraged by the progress we have made financially and operationally, particularly in moving our powerful brands to promising new platforms. The way Tom and I look at it, at least for the time being, we like the company exactly as it is." Something must have been brewing under the covers here. This move is a surprise to everyone, that is for sure. Or, is it? Would Viacom losing MySpace to News Corp. have anything to do with Freston getting canned? Inquiring minds want to know, now.

Jeffrey Bewkes, president of Time Warner, told his Sports Illustrated magazine division to go take a flying leap when they wanted to partner with AOL's sports channel to build a giant sports web site. Synergies, he told the Wall Street Journal, are bullshit.

As someone who made part of her career not just believing in synergies but putting solid numerical values to them and offering them up, like holy sacraments of PowerPoint, to the strategists at gigantic corporations: this is a hard pill to swallow. And though I see it not working more often than not, I also see so many areas -- yes, within Time Warner, where I work today -- where it does work. Heck, everyday I make my bucks on the back of the synergy.

But instead of calling them "synergies," now, Time Warner is calling them "adjacencies." Sumner Redstone split up Viacom and CBS because the "clout" he was supposed to get from his company's huge size "got us nowhere." Is the day of the synergy over and done with?