The second phase of Viacom Inc., was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate with interests primarily in film and television. It was split from the original Viacom on December 31, 2005 alongside the second CBS Corporation. The controlling shareholder of both companies was National Amusements, a theater company headed by businessman Sumner Redstone. The split was structured so that the original Viacom changed its name to CBS Corporation and spun out its cable and film interests as a new Viacom.
VH1 is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the BET Media Group subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group based in New York City. The network was originally owned by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment; a division of Warner Communications, and the original owner of then-sister channel MTV at the time. It was launched in the channel space of Turner Broadcasting System's short-lived Cable Music Channel.
Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched as a USA Network programming block on January 25, 1980, BET would eventually become a full-fledged channel on July 1, 1983.
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
Paramount Media Networks is the division of Paramount Global that oversees the operations of its television channels and online brands. The division was originally founded as MTV Networks in 1984, named after the MTV cable network. It would be known under this name until 2011; when it would be thereafter known as Viacom Media Networks until 2019; and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks until 2022.
Pop, commonly referred to as Pop TV, is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global under its networks division through MTV Entertainment Group. It is a general entertainment channel, focusing primarily on programs pertaining to popular culture.
Flix is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Showtime Networks, a subsidiary of Paramount Global operated through its Paramount Media Networks division. Its programming consists solely of theatrically released motion pictures released from the 1970s to the present day, interspersed with some films from the 1950s and 1960s.
Logo TV is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment programming targeting LGBTQ audiences.
TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. It was originally launched as Nick at Nite’s TV Land as a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows. The channel now airs a combination of recent and classic television series, original scripted series and limited theatrically released movies. The network is headquartered at One Astor Plaza in New York City.
BET Her is an American basic cable television network currently owned by the BET Media Group subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group.
CMT is an American pay TV network that launched on March 5, 1983. It is currently owned by Paramount Global through its MTV Entertainment Group division.
Paramount Networks Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia (EMEAA) is a division of Paramount International Networks which is fully owned by Paramount Global. The unit's headquarters are in Madrid, with additional offices in Berlin, Lisbon, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Dubai, Johannesburg, Lagos, Budapest, Warsaw, Singapore, Stockholm, Tokyo, Beijing, Manila, Copenhagen, Prague, Helsinki, and Hong Kong. The company was originally founded under the name MTV Networks Europe in 1987.
MTV Live is a 24-hour American pay television music video channel owned by Paramount Global. The channel, which broadcasts exclusively in 1080i high definition and 5.1 surround sound, broadcasts music videos and music-related programming from Paramount owned networks MTV, MTV Classic, VH1 and CMT, along with other concert and live music programming from outside producers.
Viacom International Inc. is the international division of the Paramount Media Networks subsidiary of Paramount Global that oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of its brands outside of the United States. These brands include Paramount Network, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and BET, as well as CBS-branded channels co-owned with AMC Networks International. PIN also owned a 30% stake in the Rainbow S.p.A. animation studio in Italy from 2011 to 2023 and a stake in Viacom18, an Indian joint venture with domestic partner TV18, from 2007 to 2024.
Black Entertainment Television LLC is an American television company currently owned by American media conglomerate Paramount Global under its CBS Entertainment unit. Founded by Robert L. Johnson in 1983, the holding was bought by the first incarnation of Viacom in 2001. BET owns networks aimed at African Americans, including BET, VH1, and their related sister channels. It also operates BET+, with Robert L. Johnson also founding AMC Networks-owned ALLBLK. BET broadcasts the BET Awards to celebrate Black entertainers and other minorities. In 2024, Skydance Media reached an agreement with Paramount to acquire and merge with the company, and spin off assets "not strategic" to their plans, including BET.
The original phase of Viacom Inc. was an American mass media and entertainment conglomerate based in New York City. It began as CBS Television Film Sales, the broadcast syndication division of the CBS television network in 1952; it was renamed CBS Films in 1958, renamed CBS Enterprises in 1968, renamed Viacom in 1970, and spun off into its own company in 1971. Viacom was a distributor of CBS television series throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and also distributed syndicated television programs. The company came under Sumner Redstone's control in 1987 through his cinema chain company National Amusements.
MTV Classic is an American pay television network owned by Paramount Media Networks. It was originally launched in 1998 as "VH1 Smooth", an adult contemporary and smooth jazz channel. It was relaunched as "VH1 Classic Rock" in 1999, with an emphasis on classic rock. On August 1, 2016, in honor of MTV's 35th anniversary, the channel was rebranded as "MTV Classic", and now exclusively displays music videos from all genres from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
Robert Marc Bakish is an American business executive. He became the president and CEO of Paramount Global on December 4, 2019, formerly holding the same position at Viacom before the merger with CBS Corporation. He resigned on April 29, 2024 when Paramount was considering a major merger after a poor performance in the stock market.
The 2019 merger of CBS Corporation and Viacom was announced on August 13, 2019, and was completed on December 4, 2019. The merger of equals reunited CBS Corporation and Viacom into a single company known as ViacomCBS after their separation from the first incarnation of Viacom on December 31, 2005. Both companies were owned by the theater company National Amusements, which remains the owner of the merged entity.
