Did Sumner's ego sue Google?

By Tom Tapp

Google is a forward-thinking corporate leader in media and technology, but who knew CEO Eric Schmidt was a prophet? At Bear Stearns' annual media conference last week, Schmidt told the crowd, "I have learned that as a part of being a player in the media industry, the way one negotiates is everything is leaked and you are sued to death."

It probably didn't shock Schmidt, then, that Viacom announced a suit this week against his company for over $1 billion. The suit's root is Viacom's assertion the Google-owned YouTube commits "massive international copyright infringement" by allowing users to post Viacom content on the site.

A billion dollars and change may not mean much to Google, which has $11 billion in cash reserves, according to recent regulatory filings. But, to Schmidt's point, the suit may further illuminate the culture clash between new media and old.

Over the past year, some have said 83-year-old Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone has been feeling his age and asserting himself to compensate. He's fired Paramount's Tom Freston, spilled the beans to The Wall Street Journal that Paramount would not renew Tom Cruise's deal and now he's suing YouTube, a company he characterized as "very good" in October.

Of course, Redstone has always had issues with YouTube's copyright stance, but at the time Viacom was rumored to be kicking the tires on the video sharing site. So why sue what you once thought was a viable business?

The answer may be ego.

Redstone has called the loss of MySpace "a humiliating experience." His feelings about YouTube can't be much different.

In fact, three days after filing suit, Viacom-owned CBS struck a deal with YouTube for college basketball clips. It's obvious Redstone likes the site. What he may not like is that it belongs to someone else.

As Redstone told Charlie Rose after firing Freston, whom he blamed for missing the MySpace deal, "Winning is everything."

Lawyers and leaks are just a means to that end.