Exhibit 99.2
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          VIACOM AND SPELLING ENTER INTO A DEFINITIVE MERGER AGREEMENT


New York,  NY, May 17,  1999 - Viacom  Inc.  (NYSE:  VIA,  VIA.B)  and  Spelling
Entertainment  Group Inc. (NYSE,  PE: SP) announced today that they have entered
into a definitive  merger  agreement for the purchase by Viacom of the shares of
Spelling  common stock that it does not already own for $9.75 per share in cash.
Viacom currently owns approximately 80% of Spelling's common stock.

The terms of the merger agreement represented an improvement from Viacom's prior
offer of $9.00 per share in cash. The Spelling  Board of Directors  approved the
merger agreement after approval by a special committee of independent directors,
which  was  advised  by  separate  legal and  financial  advisors.  The  special
committee  has  received  the opinion of its  financial  advisors  that the cash
consideration  to be  received  in the  transaction  is  fair  to  the  Spelling
shareholders other than Viacom from a financial point of view.

The merger  agreement  provides for the commencement of a tender offer by Viacom
by Friday, May 21, 1999. Under the terms of the merger agreement,  each Spelling
share that is not  purchased  in the offer will be acquired by merger as soon as
practical thereafter in a second step merger, also for $9.75 per share.

Viacom intends to operate Spelling and Big Ticket  Television under the umbrella
of the Viacom Entertainment Group,  consolidating  certain sales and back office
functions with those of its Paramount Television Group.  Spelling  Entertainment
Group  Inc.  is a  leading  producer  and  distributor  of  television  and film
entertainment  and  comprises  Spelling   Television,   Big  Ticket  Television,
Worldvision Enterprises and Hamilton Projects. The Company is one of the largest
producers  of  television  programming  and,  through  its  combined  libraries,
controls approximately 10,000 hours of programming for worldwide distribution.

Viacom Inc.  is one of the  world's  largest  entertainment  companies  and is a
leading force in nearly every segment of the  international  media  marketplace.
The operations of Viacom include Blockbuster,  MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures,
Paramount Television,  Paramount Parks, Showtime Networks,  Simon & Schuster, 19
television  stations,  and  movie  screens  in 12  countries.  Viacom  also owns
half-interests  in Comedy Central,  UPN and UCI.  National  Amusements,  Inc., a
closely held corporation which operates approximately 1,300 screens in the U.S.,
the U.K. and South America,  is the parent company of Viacom.  More  information
about   Viacom   is   available   at  the   Company's   Web  site   located   at
http://www.viacom.com.
                                       ###
Contacts:
Viacom/Susan Duffy
(212) 258-6347

Spelling/Nancy Bushkin
(323) 965-5766