SmartLess Podcast: Tom Freston

Hosts: Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett
Guest: Tom Freston
Release Date: November 10, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode welcomes legendary media executive Tom Freston—former CEO of Viacom, co-creator of MTV, and current chair of the ONE Campaign to fight poverty. The hosts dive into Freston's wildly unconventional career, exploring how a wanderlust-fueled journey through India and Afghanistan evolved into culture-shifting innovations in music, comedy, and global media. This is a conversation rich with tales of risk, reinvention, and the power of curiosity—wrapped in the show’s trademark wit and camaraderie.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tom Freston’s Early Wanderlust and Start in Business

• The Hippie Trail & Leaving Mainstream Life

  • Freston was disillusioned with corporate life in advertising, selling toilet paper and “war toys” (GI Joe).
  • At age 25, inspired by the urge for freedom and dissatisfaction with the mainstream, he began traveling extensively:

    “Everything looked appealing. And it looked really exciting because I wasn’t having any fun ... So if not now, when?” – Tom Freston [16:13]

• Clothing Company in India/Afghanistan

  • Founded a clothing design/export business in the 1970s, living like a local:

    “I had a house in Delhi ... I was living like a pasha. ... It became a big business.” – Tom Freston [11:35]

  • Unexpectedly forced out of business after US trade embargo; he smuggled goods from Canada into the US, drawing on his knowledge of smugglers and their methods.

2. Transition to Television: The Birth of MTV

• Landing the MTV Job

  • Returned to the US, pursued his music passion, got hired at Warner-Amex (later MTV) without prior TV experience:

    “They said, ‘We’re looking for people with no experience in television.’... So I got a job on this initial team that started MTV.” – Tom Freston [22:09]

• MTV’s Origins and Cultural Impact

  • Music videos were little known in the US—MTV adapted European models.

  • Iconic launch: Used NASA footage (“public domain”) and a $1,000 logo.

  • “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video aired.

    “We realized all this NASA footage was public domain so we could rip off NASA and Man’s greatest moment and kind of make it our own.” – Tom Freston [32:10]

  • The “I Want My MTV” campaign, with artists and fans demanding cable operators add MTV, broke through cable industry pushback.

    “...if we could get people ... to call their cable companies and demand MTV ... we could force these people to put us on. And that really worked.” – Tom Freston [29:38]

3. Revolutionizing Entertainment: Comedy Central & Beyond

• Creating Comedy Central

  • Reacted swiftly to HBO announcing a comedy channel by creating their own, despite having no plan in place.

    “Let’s announce we’re doing one, too, because then we’ll be in every article ... and we don’t even have a product yet.” – Jason Bateman [38:05]

  • Merged with HBO’s Comedy Channel to become Comedy Central.
  • Hired future comedic icons: Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Bill Maher, Chappelle, Kimmel, Carell.

    “It was a good launching place for young talent.” – Tom Freston [41:08]

• The End of Classic MTV & the Changing Media Landscape

  • MTV eventually became reality shows; the heyday of music videos is over.

    “It needed to die a death because ... there’s no business there.” – Tom Freston [36:16]

  • Freston highlights user-driven platforms—YouTube, Vice Media—as the new frontier.

4. Corporate Leadership, MySpace, and Missed YouTube Moment

• CEO of Viacom — Working for Sumner Redstone

  • Acknowledges high executive turnover:

    “He fired every CEO, including me, including you.” – Tom Freston [43:05]

  • Missed buying MySpace—Redstone blamed him for not acting ahead of News Corp, though acquisition would have been a disaster.

• Recognizing the Promise of YouTube

  • Pushed Viacom to consider buying YouTube—board balked (copyright fears). Google bought it for $1.6B; it’s now worth $600B+:

    “Imagine how different the world would have looked had Viacom purchased ... It’s the deal of the century.” – Jason Bateman [47:12]

5. Return to Afghanistan & Philanthropic Work

• Building Media in Afghanistan

  • Founded a TV network in Afghanistan, focused on connecting people and empowering women.
  • When Taliban returned, pivoted to educational programming for girls—backed by major foundations.

• The ONE Campaign & “Giving Back”

  • Works closely with Bono on fighting poverty, health, and supporting women in Africa:

    “It gives me a chance to really explore Africa ... I find that very satisfying work.” – Tom Freston [56:08]

6. Philosophy on Life, Careers, and Curiosity

• Advice for Today’s Young People

  • Encourages travel, risk-taking, and delaying immediate career starts:

    “The world’s like the best educator out there, traveling around.” – Tom Freston [17:50]

• On the Value of Curiosity and Reinvention

  • His career fueled by pursuing what genuinely interested him, not following the standard path.

• On AI and the Next Pivot

  • Observes new media transformations through AI with cautious optimism, noting the opportunity—and unknowns.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On pursuing a non-traditional path:

  “I decided early on I didn’t really want to have a mainstream kind of life.” – Tom Freston [14:32]

• Describing MTV’s Impact:

  “MTV really was revolutionary. It was a whole new visual language for people ... a groundbreaker.” – Tom Freston [34:00]

• Career Advice:

  “If you’re young, so if not now, when?” – Tom Freston [16:13]

• On Launching Comedy Central:

  “Let’s put our hat in the ring … so we had a big battle … and it became Comedy Central.” – Tom Freston [37:31]

• The Changing Media Landscape:

  “You look at these companies that are sort of stripped down and are forced to consolidate...It seems like a lot of the fun’s been taken out of it.” – Tom Freston [48:04]

• Wildest Travel Story:

  “We were winding our way through the sand dunes ... and he says, ‘I’m going to kill this motherfucker,’ because he is taking us ... to an Al Qaeda [camp]... Jimmy said, ‘Let the guy free, we just leave him in the desert.’” – Tom Freston, on near-kidnapping in Mali [65:12]

• On Satisfying Work:

  “I find that very satisfying work ... gives me a chance to really explore Africa ... I enjoy this kind of work and I like being an observer of what’s going on in the media and entertainment business.” – Tom Freston [56:08]

Important Segment Timestamps

• Intro to Tom Freston & travel backstory – [06:38–14:30]
• Afghanistan/India clothing venture & smuggling goods – [10:37–13:56]
• Landing at MTV & launching the channel – [20:25–23:15]
• MTV’s cultural tipping points: Michael Jackson, Live Aid – [33:05–33:25]
• Comedy Central’s origins & hiring Jon Stewart – [36:53–41:08]
• Working for Sumner Redstone & missing out on YouTube – [42:32–47:15]
• Return to Afghanistan/building TV/media for social good – [57:05–59:50]
• Surviving potential Al Qaeda kidnapping with Jimmy Buffett – [64:08–65:44]
• Advice on careers, curiosity, and adapting to AI – [51:42–54:55]

Final Takeaways:

• Tom Freston’s story is a testament to reinvention, risk-taking, and the importance of following genuine interests over conventional wisdom.
• He helped shape global pop culture, launched platforms for creative talent, and now devotes his energies to meaningful change.
• Through stories of smuggling, corporate intrigue, and near-miss travel disasters, Freston embodies a cross-section of wild curiosity and thoughtful giving.

For more, check out Tom’s new memoir:
Unplugged: Adventures From MTV to Timbuktu (Published Nov 18, 2025)

“Get out in the world.” – Tom Freston & the SmartLess crew