AfterDawn: News

Google CEO goes on offensive against Viacom

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, speaking with reporters at a hotel bar at the 25th annual Allen & Co. moguls meeting, said litigation was the foundation of the company that owns the MTV Networks, Paramount movies studio and video game developer Harmonix.

"Viacom is a company built from lawsuits, look at their history," Schmidt said on early Friday.



Schmidt's comments refer to an antitrust suit Viacom filed against Time Warner Inc. in 1989 regarding their HBO cable channel, which was eventually settled out of court for $75 million and an agreement to buy a cable system from Viacomm above market value. In addition, as part of the settlement Time Warner began making the Viacom owned Showtime channel available on more Time Warner cable systems.

Viacom has demanded that YouTube takes down thousands of segments from its popular programs including The Daily Show with John Stewart, The Colbert Report and South Park.

Schmidt said the closing off of social networks was a "transient" phase and that these companies will eventually see the value of open borders.

Source: Reuters

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 13 Jul 2007 5:59

• Previous article

• New website indexes online video

• Next article

• PS3 price cuts only temporary

• 8 comments

• BIGnewb

  Viacom are bunch of punks like the MPAA and RIAA

  13.7.2007 06:07 #1

• c1c

  they just want to make sure that us peons are watching commercials every 7 minutes and now I a gillette 3 mach razor and geico, but i did really save a lot of money on my car insurance.

  13.7.2007 07:48 #2

• anubis66

  accually, its every 5 minutes, with atleast 2 minutes of ads. not to mention a commercial before and after the title opener for shows, each a mimimum 2 or 3 minutes. shows are only like 15 minutes long now..

  13.7.2007 09:28 #3

• mododaz

  Originally posted by anubis66: accually, its every 5 minutes, with atleast 2 minutes of ads. not to mention a commercial before and after the title opener for shows, each a mimimum 2 or 3 minutes. shows are only like 15 minutes long now..in the u.k i timed it
  6 mins ad
  6mins show
  suck huw
  i hate viacom

  13.7.2007 16:22 #4

• oofRome

  and yet the 3 shows in question mention youtube all the time.
  
  rediculous.

  13.7.2007 23:19 #5

• borhan9

  Quote:Schmidt said the closing off of social networks was a "transient" phase and that these companies will eventually see the value of open borders.I hope what he said is right.

  17.7.2007 16:35 #6

• O_C_FReaK

  Quote:Schmidt said the closing off of social networks was a "transient" phase and that these companies will eventually see the value of open borders.Agree.Though Google has its own important issues to solve,like its data retention policies over Net users info,they are right here in my opinion.

  21.7.2007 19:58 #7

• Unfocused

  So, basically, they are saying that their prime focus is lawsuits? Customers and their needs come second to that?

  16.8.2007 07:14 #8