New York (AFP)

US media mogul Sumner Redstone, who turned the family-owned movie theater chain into an empire including CBS and Viacom, died Tuesday night at the age of 97, National Amusements, the family-owned holding company said Wednesday.

He remained chairman of the boards of directors of CBS and Viacom until 2016, when, with declining health, he handed over his hand against the backdrop of a power struggle between his family, the majority shareholder, and the executives of these companies.

These two groups have been grouped together since the end of 2019 in a company managing the television channels CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon or Showtime, Paramount and Miramax studios, as well as the Simon & Schuster publishing house.

The new company is in this regard with Disney, Time Warner or 21st Century Fox among the American heavyweights of television and cinema.

Born Sumner Murray Rothstein on May 27, 1923 in Boston (the family name, of Jewish origin, was changed to Redstone in 1940), he was a graduate of Harvard University and had served in the intelligence services of the United States Army during World War II.

In 1954, he joined a company created by his father, which he renamed National Amusements and set out to transform it into one of the largest operators in the United States, notably helping to popularize multiplexes.

After miraculously surviving a fire in 1979, he fought memorable battles in the 1980s and 1990s to gain control of Paramount movie studios, then television groups Viacom (owner of MTV) and CBS.

Viacom finally swallowed CBS in 2000 before the companies split again in 2006.

Married and divorced twice, Sumner Redstone had two children: Brent, with whom he cut ties in 2007, and Shari.

Alongside her father, the latter had led the sling against the leaders of Viacom and CBS between 2016 and 2018 and pushed for a merger of the two companies. She is the non-executive chair of the board of directors of ViacomCBS.

“Sumner Redstone was a brilliant visionary, operator and negotiator, who single-handedly transformed a family-owned film company into a global media portfolio. He was a force of nature and a fierce competitor, who leaves behind such a deep legacy. in business than in philanthropy, ”commented ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish on Wednesday.

© 2020 AFP