Q & A

By Daniel Kadlec

TIME: Did you ever kiss and make up with onetime enemies Barry Diller and Wayne Huizenga?

A: I consider Barry a friend. But I've never, ever made up with Wayne. I have no sense of anger. But I'd have a tough time putting my arms around him.

Q: Is making enemies a necessary part of business--and life in general?

A: If you live a full life and if you are aggressive in your business life. I do what's in the company's best interest and in that course have made one or two enemies.

Q: When will we finally get easy-to-use video on demand?

A: I've been hearing five years--from the time I've been here. It's still three to five.

Q: Do violent movies influence young people in antisocial ways?

A: There's very little evidence. But there isn't any question that we should be restrained. When you look at Paramount [Viacom's movie studio], Saving Private Ryan was certainly violent. But what kind of violence should we suppress? It's not so easy.

Q: You write of suing only when you've been dealt with unfairly. Why is it so many people won't give you a fair shake?

A: Come on. That's a very unfair question. People want to protect their vested interest. And sometimes when the other side is protecting its interest, it's done in a way that's unfair to you, which I ran into with both Time Warner and TCI and as a young movie exhibitor. Today they're my friends.

Q: If the banks had got their way, you would have sold MTV. What would it look like today?

A: It depends on who ended up with it. What I saw was that MTV was not merely a music channel; it was a generational channel. When we acquired Viacom, the world was saying MTV was a fad. And that was a challenge. Viacom deserves credit for making MTV into a worldwide brand.

Q: Did MTV get Clinton elected?

A: Of course not. But there isn't any question that it played a role. Bill Clinton was the first one to say, Yes, I'll come on MTV. Everyone else was reluctant. Clinton was smart enough to see that this would put him in touch with a very important part of our population: young people. And I guess it had some effect.

Q: What's the secret to negotiating well?

A: Knowing what the other side wants and how important it is to them.