COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

Blockbuster Leadership Clarified: Viacom Inc. said Blockbuster Vice Chairman Steven R. Berrard will head the video rental giant after its proposed $8-billion acquisition of Blockbuster is completed, in another signal that Chief Executive H. Wayne Huizenga doesn’t plan to stick around for long. The company said Berrard reached a long-term agreement to serve as president and chief executive of Blockbuster Entertainment Group, a new unit Viacom will form assuming shareholders approve the merger next week. The company added that it had reached employment agreements with 40 senior Blockbuster executives that will be triggered when the acquisition is completed. Many analysts have doubted that Huizenga would work for long under Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone because both are independent, strong-willed executives. In a proxy statement, Viacom said Huizenga plans to serve as a Viacom vice chairman and as chairman of Blockbuster Entertainment Group “for an appropriate transition period.” Separately, Viacom announced that Robert M. Gutkowski resigned as president of Madison Square Garden and will be replaced on an interim basis by New York Knicks President David W. Checketts.