Today Viacom announced that current CEO Philippe Dauman will succeed Sumner Redstone as chairman. As the second largest holder of Viacom A-shares, Mario Gabelli has a vested and personal interest in the outcome. He joined the "Halftime Report" today to discuss where he sees the company going.

Although the stock has under-performed for the last several years, Gabelli is optimistic about its future. He thinks Redstone created a "fantastic company," and that new CEO Dauman now has an opportunity to expand Viacom's reach. Some of the criticism surrounding Redstone was that he did not lead Viacom into the digital and mobile world. This is a perfect time, Gabelli argues, for the company to re-position itself.

While Gabelli acknowledges that questions continue to surround the company, he remains in it for the long-haul. When asked about the stock's 20% drop over the past three years, Gabelli replied "1973 is when I got in...three years is not a long time."

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