Sumner's insight.(WIDE ANGLE)(Viacom )(Brief Article)

Video Business, January, 2006 by Lowry, Brian

* Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone thinks that his split Viacom should compete against each other and cites the nexus of videogames and showbiz as "the end game" for an evolving entertainment industry. Redstone made the remarks Jan. 10 at the Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Redstone blamed the decline in movie attendance on a shift in consumer patterns as opposed to the quality of recent movies. Having begun his showbiz career in exhibition, he also said he could never foresee a point when theatrical and DVD or pay releases of movies would occur simultaneously. He predicted that game companies will eventually become acquisition targets.