Will Tom Freston Ever Get a Thank-You from Sumner Redstone?

Instead of taking a $545 million loss, Viacom (NYSE: VIA) can sit back and relax this afternoon, knowing that it didn't have to go through the trouble of selling MySpace for a paltry sum of $35 million.

But don't expect media mogul Sumner Redstone to apologize for firing Tom Freston, the former Viacom chief exec that was axed after failing to take control of MySpace. At that time, MySpace's value was expected to multiply. Redstone was a firm believer of that expectation. When Freston decided to end the bidding war with News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA), Redstone took action.

In Redstone's mind, Viacom had lost a golden egg. News Corp., meanwhile, believed that it had just acquired the next big thing. MySpace was viewed by many as a communication tool of the future, and who better than News Corp. to take it to the next level?

Unfortunately, these assumptions failed to consider the possible pitfalls of a MySpace acquisition. First of all, there was always the chance that social networking would prove to be a fad. Second, there was the possibility that a bigger and better site would appear and steal the market that MySpace created.

News Corp. never seemed to consider that last pitfall. It seems that Redstone did not either. But Freston, who did not think that MySpace was worth $580 million (or more had the bidding continued), wisely chose not to purchase the company. He backed out of the deal, infuriating his boss while simultaneously saving Viacom several hundred million dollars.

Last April, before MySpace's value had dropped to $35 million, Freston shared his thoughts on social networking with CNBC.

“MySpace, it's hard for me to say,” he said. “I'm still waiting for a thank-you note. They had a lot of problems in terms of investing in what they were, and I think maybe they lost their way. But I think social media is bigger than ever; it's a whole new form for discovery and distribution. There's nothing like personal references and validation and people talking to each other in terms of getting someone interested in something else. So rather than using Google to search, people are finding more stuff on their Twitter feeds or on Facebook that maybe they weren't interested in, but now they are because it's validated, because of the personal friendships.”

Freston has yet to receive a thank-you note, but he really should. Since his departure, Viacom went on to invest in another money-maker-of-the-moment: Harmonix. Viacom purchased the game development studio, best known for creating the Rock Band series, to cash in on the growing popularity of music video games.

If the media giant had been interested in Harmonix for its innovations or creativity, the acquisition would have been a worthwhile investment. But Viacom only wanted Harmonix to steal some of the Guitar Hero pie. By the time the last piece of that pie had been eaten, Viacom was eager to get out – so eager, in fact, that it sold the company for $50.00. With $50 million in tax benefits and $100 million in offloaded liabilities, Viacom essentially made $150 million on the sale – $25 less than it reportedly paid to take control of Harmonix.

If Freston had stayed on as Viacom's leader, he might have been able to stop the company from making this foolish investment. That would have been two times he saved the company money. And two thank-yous he is never going to get.

In this reality, however, there is still one thank-you he deserves.