Redstone firm calls off CBS, Viacom merger proposal

Media mogul Sumner Redstone's National Amusements is abandoning a proposal that CBS and Viacom reunite after a 10 year split.

National Amusements, which owns most of the voting shares of the two companies, urged the companies to combine in September.

Now, the company says that following management changes at Viacom and strength at CBS, which operates CBS, Showtime and other entities, under Les Moonves it makes more sense for the companies to continue as separate entities. Viacom, which owns cable channels MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1, named Robert Bakish as acting president in late October.

National Amusements is a movie theater operator run by Redstone, who orchestrated the split of CBS and Viacom in 2006, and his daughter Shari Redstone.