Ailing media mogul Sumner Redstone resigns as chair of CBS

CBS Corp. has named Leslie Moonves its new chairman after Sumner Redstone has resigned from the post, according to multiple reports.

The board has already approved President and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves as his successor.

Redstone still technically holds 80 percent of the controlling shares for National Amusements Inc., which in turn holds 80 percent of the shares for media companies Viacom, of which Philippe Dauman is CEO, and CBS Corp.

The move comes as Mr. Redstone deals with a court case challenging his mental competence. But he will stay on as chairman emeritus at CBS.

Shari Redstone said that even though her father’s trust calls for her to succeed him as non-executive chairman, she chose to nominate Moonves.

Shari Redstone, once estranged from her father, is now in line to take on a major role. In an tough year for media stocks, when younger viewers were going online for entertainment, Viacom fell 45% in 2015, while CBS was down 15%.

Manuela Herzer, 50, claims Redstone has declined precipitously in recent months and had no idea what was going on when she was kicked out of his Beverly Hills estate in October and frozen out of his health care decisions.

Redstone’s lawyer, Gabrielle A. Vidal, has been fighting Herzer’s effort to regain control of Redstone’s health care, saying he is receiving more-than- adequate care.

CBS said the process to appoint Moonves was led by Redstone’s daughter Shari, the vice chair of the CBS board of directors, after her father resigned.

Viacom didn’t immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Shari Redstone said in a statement: “I have been fortunate to work with Les, and he has clearly established himself as a creative and effective leader who understands both the challenges and the opportunities that are shaping today’s media landscape”.