PITCHING BLOCKBUSTER OF A DEAL; VIACOM CHAIR URGES STUDIOS TO CUT VIDEO PRICES.Byline: Dave McNary McNary may refer to:
Movie studios have been asked by entertainment giant Viacom Inc. to discount by as much as 15 percent the prices they charge for supplying home videos to its struggling Blockbuster block·bust·er n. 1. Something, such as a film or book, that sustains widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales. 2. A high-explosive bomb used for demolition purposes. 3. chain. Industry insiders confirmed that Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone Sumner Murray Redstone (born Sumner Murray Rothstein on May 27 1923 in Boston, Massachusetts) is majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the National Amusements theater chain. Through National Amusements, he is majority owner of Midway Games, Viacom and CBS Corporation. has recently sought several concessions from studios, believed to include Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) ., Sony and 20th Century Fox, such as a 50 percent discount on merchandise for new stores and being allowed to return up to 20 percent of rental inventories. The moves, first disclosed by Video Store magazine, are unusual partly because Viacom operates Paramount, one of the industry's six largest studios. Redstone reportedly argued that keeping Blockbuster healthy is in the interest of the movie industry. Viacom has been struggling to revive To renew. For example, revival is the act of renewing the legal force of a contract or debt, either by acknowledging it or by giving a new promise, when the contract or debt is no longer a sufficient foundation for a lawsuit because it is barred by the running of the Statute Blockbuster, which had 5,300 outlets at the start of the year, by cutting back expansion plans. Earlier this month, it named John Antioco, former chief of Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., is a Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain based in Irvine, California, United States. The restaurant has locations primarily in the United States and Canada, but also operates outlets in several other markets. , as the top executive. Lynn Duncan, vice president with the Wherehouse chain which also rents and sells videocassettes, said Viacom's requests are not expected to make much of an impact. She noted that Redstone made a similar effort in 1995 for studios to cut prices on less-popular titles. That drew little interest. ``This might be a way for Viacom to get much less than what they're asking,'' Duncan said, adding she expects any concessions to be made to all retailers. Home video is a growth engine for studios. Adams Media Research estimated studio revenues in the sector rose 18 percent in 1996 to $8.23 billion. |
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