Company type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Mass media |
Predecessors | |
Founded | December 31, 2005 |
Defunct | December 4, 2019 |
Fate | Merged with the second incarnation of Viacom |
Successor | ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Global) |
Headquarters |
|
Area served | Worldwide, with main operations in the United States and Australia |
Key people |
|
Products | Movie production, TV production, broadcasting, cable television, record label, publishing, Internet |
Revenue | US$ 14.514 billion (2018) |
US$ 2.768 billion (2018) | |
US$ 1.960 billion (2018) | |
Total assets | US$ 21.86 billion (2018) |
Total equity | US$ 2.80 billion (2018) |
Owner | National Amusements (80% voting power) |
Number of employees | ~12,700 (2017) |
Divisions | CBS Entertainment CBS Cable Networks CBS Publishing CBS Local Media CBS Experiences [1] |
Subsidiaries | CBS CBS Films CBS Interactive CBS Records CBS Sports Network CBS Television Distribution CBS Television Studios Showtime Networks Simon & Schuster TV Guide (digital assets) The CW (50%) Pop TV |
Website | www.cbscorporation.com (archived Dec 4, 2019) |
Footnotes /references [note 1] [2] |
The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and television production. It was formed on December 31, 2005, as the legal successor of the original Viacom, following the spin-off of the second incarnation of Viacom; both CBS Corporation and the second Viacom were controlled by National Amusements, a theater company owned by billionaire Sumner Redstone. [3]
CBS Corporation comprised the over-the-air television (CBS and The CW) broadcasting, television production and distribution, publishing, pay-cable, and recording assets that were previously owned by the first Viacom. It was the world's eighth largest entertainment company in terms of revenue and headquartered at the CBS Building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. [4]
CBS Corporation announced on August 13, 2019, that it would merge with Viacom for the second time to form ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Global). [5] The merger was completed on December 4. [6] [7]
1886 | Westinghouse Electric Corporation is founded as Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company |
---|---|
1912 | Famous Players Film Company is founded |
1913 | Lasky Feature Play Company is founded |
1914 | Paramount Pictures is founded |
1916 | Famous Players and Lasky merge as Famous Players–Lasky and acquire Paramount |
1927 | Famous Players–Lasky renamed to Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation; CBS is founded with investment from Columbia Records |
1929 | Paramount acquires 49% of CBS |
1930 | Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation renamed to Paramount Publix Corporation |
1932 | Paramount sells back its shares of CBS |
1934 | Gulf+Western is founded as the Michigan Bumper Corporation |
1935 | Paramount Publix Corporation renamed to Paramount Pictures |
1936 | National Amusements is founded as Northeast Theater Corporation |
1938 | CBS acquires Columbia Records |
1950 | Desilu is founded and CBS distributes its television programs |
1952 | CBS creates the CBS Television Film Sales division |
1958 | CBS Television Film Sales renamed to CBS Films |
1966 | Gulf+Western acquires Paramount |
1967 | Gulf+Western acquires Desilu and renames it Paramount Television (now CBS Studios) |
1968 | CBS Films renamed to CBS Enterprises |
1970 | CBS Enterprises renamed to Viacom |
1971 | Viacom is spun off from CBS |
1987 | National Amusements acquires Viacom |
1988 | CBS sells Columbia Records to Sony |
1989 | Gulf+Western renamed to Paramount Communications |
1994 | Viacom acquires Paramount Communications |
1995 | Westinghouse acquires CBS |
1997 | Westinghouse renamed to CBS Corporation |
2000 | Viacom acquires UPN and CBS Corporation |
2005 | Viacom splits into second CBS Corporation and Viacom |
2006 | CBS Corporation shuts down UPN and replaces it with The CW |
2017 | CBS Corporation sells CBS Radio to Entercom (now Audacy) |
2019 | CBS Corporation and Viacom re-merge as ViacomCBS |
2022 | ViacomCBS renamed to Paramount Global |
2024 | Skydance Media and Paramount Global agree to merge |
The first incarnation of Viacom was created in 1952 as the television syndication division of CBS and was spun off in 1971. However, in 1999, Viacom acquired its former parent, by this time also named CBS Corporation, formerly Westinghouse Electric. The prior CBS Corporation also owned CMT and The Nashville Network (TNN), which remained Viacom properties after the 2005 split, but the prior CBS did not own UPN, Showtime, Paramount Television, Paramount Parks, or Simon & Schuster.
In March 2005, Viacom contemplated splitting the company into two publicly traded companies, amid issues of the stock price stagnating and clashing corporate cultures between the cable and broadcast divisions, which came to a head with the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy a year previous with the MTV-produced show causing controversy for game broadcaster CBS.
On June 14, 2005, the Viacom board of directors approved the split of the company into two firms. [8] The CBS Corporation name would be revived for one of the companies, to be headed by longtime television executive (and Viacom co-president) Les Moonves, and would include the namesake television network CBS, UPN, Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, Viacom Outdoor, Showtime Networks, and Paramount Television.
The split was structured such that the second Viacom was spun off from the first Viacom, which was renamed CBS Corporation. In a sense, this was a repeat of the 1971 spin-off. However, in this case, CBS retained virtually all of the prior firm's broadcast television assets, including its various syndication companies.
With the split, the two companies began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbols "CBS.A" and "CBS" (the latter symbol was previously used by CBS, Inc. as an independent company prior to its 1995 acquisition by Westinghouse) on January 3, 2006. Investors anticipated Viacom benefiting from the split, but instead, it dropped approximately 20 percent, while CBS Corporation rose 9 percent, that same year, Paramount Parks became a wholly-owned theme park unit of CBS Corporation. [9]
In January 2006, CBS and DIC Entertainment signed a multi-year deal in which DIC bought the Saturday morning airtime as "CBS's Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party". In June 2006, DiC added a production partner AOL's KOL. Thus, this block would be called "KOL's Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party on CBS". [10]
On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. created a new broadcast network, The CW. The network officially debuted on September 18, 2006. The network formally debuted on September 20 with the 2-hour premiere of America's Next Top Model . The network is the result of a merger of The WB (a Warner Bros. holding) and UPN (a CBS Corporation holding). CBS Corporation and Time Warner each owned 50% of the network. Tribune Broadcasting (which previously owned a 25% stake on The WB) and CBS Television Stations contributed its stations as new network affiliates.
On May 23, 2006, CBS Corporation sold Paramount Parks to the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. With this acquisition, Cedar Fair became the third-largest theme park operator. [11] On June 30, 2006, Cedar Fair completed its acquisition of Paramount Parks from CBS Corporation in a cash transaction valued at US$1.24 billion. The transaction included a 10-year license that allowed Cedar Fair to use the Paramount name in the parks through the 2017 season. [12]
On February 7, 2007, CBS sold seven smaller-market stations in Providence, Rhode Island, Austin, Texas, Salt Lake City and West Palm Beach, Florida to Cerberus Capital Management for US$185 million. [13] It sold another station, WFRV-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and its satellite station, WJMN-TV in Escanaba, Michigan, to Liberty Media on February 13, 2007. [14] News reports estimate the deal at about US$234 million. CBS is swapping the stations and US$170 million in cash for 7.59 million shares of CBS common stock held by Liberty Media.
On February 26, 2007, CBS began investing in Electric Sheep, which is a virtual world content developer. CBS hired Electric Sheep to develop some projects, including the creation of "The L-Word in Second Life". CBS also shot a commercial within the virtual world Second Life to promote its show Two and a Half Men . Another project that Electric Sheep was working on for CBS was a Star Trek -themed area in Second Life. By investing in Electric Sheep, CBS hoped to expand its activity "beyond the living room". [15] On March 20, CBS/CSTV had acquired MaxPreps, an online high school sports network. [16] On April 12, CBS Corporation created the CBS Interactive Audience Network. [17] On May 30, 2007, CBS Interactive bought Last.fm for £140 million. [18]
On May 15, 2008, CBS Interactive agreed to buy CNET Networks for $1.8 billion, with the deal due to close in the third quarter of 2008. [19] On July 2 CBS acquired CNET and put it under CBS Interactive. [20]
On February 14, 2013, CBS acquired a minority stake in AXS TV in exchange for programming and marketing. [21] On March 26, CBS and Lionsgate entered a 50/50 joint venture to operate the TV Guide Network (TVGN) and TVGuide.com. [22] [23] On May 31, CBS bought the remaining half of TV Guide Digital from Lionsgate. [24] The latter still retained its share of TVGN (later rebranded as Pop) until it was acquired by CBS on March 12, 2019. [25] On July 16, CBS agreed to sell CBS Outdoor International to Platinum Equity for about $225 million. [26] The CBS Outdoor division began trading as a separate company on the NYSE under "CBSO" on March 28, 2014. CBS Outdoor would be fully divested from CBS by July into an independent real estate investment trust, renamed as Outfront Media.
On November 17, 2017, CBS Corporation sold CBS Radio to Entercom, making that company the second-largest owner of radio stations in the United States. [27] [28] In the same year, CBS purchased Australian broadcaster Network 10. The network was previously in voluntary administration. [29]
As of November 2018, CBS Corporation ranked 197th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. [30] CBS Corp. sold Television City to Los Angeles real estate investment company Hackman Capital Partners for $750 million in a deal finalized in mid-December 2018. The deal gives the buyer the right to use the Television City name. Programs produced at Television City will continue to be based there as will CBS' international unit headquarters. [31]
On September 29, 2016, National Amusements sent a letter to the company and Viacom, encouraging the two companies to merge back into one company. [32] On December 12, the deal was called off. [33]
On January 12, 2018, CNBC reported that Viacom had re-entered talks to merge back into CBS Corporation, after AT&T's purchase of Time Warner was planned and Disney's plan to acquire bulk of 21st Century Fox assets and the heavy competition from companies such as Netflix and Amazon. [34] Shortly afterward, it was reported that the combined company could be a suitor for acquiring the film studio Lionsgate (which handled US distribution and global sales for CBS Films). [35] [36] A re-merger could benefit CBS's streaming service CBS All Access, as it could potentially have access to content from core Viacom brands such as Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon, as well as the Paramount Pictures library. Viacom's international presence could also benefit distribution. [37]
On March 30, 2018, CBS made an all-stock offer slightly below Viacom's market value and insisting that its existing leadership, including long-time chairman and CEO Les Moonves, oversee the re-combined company. Viacom rejected the offer as being too low, requesting an increase by $2.8 billion, and requesting that Bob Bakish be maintained as president and COO under Moonves. It was reported these conflicts had resulted from Shari Redstone seeking more control over CBS and its leadership. [38] [39]
Eventually, on May 14, 2018, CBS Corporation sued National Amusements and accused Shari Redstone of abusing her voting power and forcing a merger that was not supported by it or Viacom. [40] [41] CBS also accused Redstone of discouraging Verizon Communications from acquiring it, which could have been beneficial to its shareholders. [42]
On May 23, 2018, Les Moonves stated that he considered the Viacom channels to be an "albatross," and while he favored more content for CBS All Access (now Paramount+), he believed that there were better deals for CBS than the Viacom deal, such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Lionsgate or Sony Pictures. Moonves also considered Bakish a threat as he never wanted an ally of Shari Redstone as a board member of the combined company. [43] Following Moonves' resignation due to sexual harassment allegations, National Amusements agreed in September 2018 to defer any proposal of a CBS-Viacom merger for at least two years after the date of the settlement with former CEO Moonves, donating $20 million to groups supporting the #MeToo movement as result of his resign. [44] [45] [46]
On May 30, 2019, CNBC reported that CBS Corporation and Viacom would explore merger discussions in mid-June 2019. The company's board of directors was revamped with people who are open to a merger and the talks were made possible with the resignation of Moonves, who opposed all attempts for a Viacom merger. The talks had started following rumors of CBS acquiring Starz from Lionsgate. [47] Reports said that CBS and Viacom reportedly set August 8 as an informal deadline for reaching an agreement to recombine the two media companies. [48] [49] As part of the re-merger deal, CBS acquired Viacom for up to $15.4 billion. [50]
On August 13, 2019, CBS and Viacom agreed to merge into a new entity known as ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global), with Viacom CEO Bob Bakish as president and CEO of the new company and CBS CEO Ianniello as chairman and CEO of CBS and oversee CBS-branded assets. Shari Redstone will also serve as chairwoman of ViacomCBS. [5] [51] On October 29, 2019, National Amusements approved the re-merger deal, to be completed by early December 2019, with the recombined company trading on Nasdaq under the symbol "VIAC" and "VIACA" after CBS delist its shares on the NYSE. [52] On December 4, the deal was completed, with the merger structured such that CBS Corporation absorbed Viacom and changed its name to ViacomCBS. [7] [53]
The board of directors of CBS Corporation included: [54]
Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production and distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount Global. It is the sixth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest film studio in the United States, and the sole member of the "Big Five" film studios located within the city limits of Los Angeles.
The second phase of Viacom Inc., was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate with interests primarily in film and television. It was established on December 31, 2005, as one of two companies which succeeded the original Viacom, 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.
Sumner Murray Redstone was an American billionaire businessman and media magnate. He was the founder and chairman of the second incarnation of Viacom, chairman of CBS Corporation, and the majority owner and chairman of the National Amusements theater chain.
National Amusements, Inc. is an American privately owned movie theater operator and mass media holding company incorporated in Maryland and based in Norwood, Massachusetts.
Paramount Media Networks is an American mass media 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.
Leslie Roy Moonves is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and abuse. He has been married to TV personality Julie Chen since 2004.
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.
Thomas E. Freston is an American media proprietor, businessman, and financier.
CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount (Network) Television, as a renaming of the original incarnation of the Paramount Television studio.
Paramount Television Studios, formerly the second iteration of Paramount Television, was the television arm of American film studio Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global, founded on March 4, 2013, by its predecessor, Viacom, following an emerging vigorous business with the technological expansion of television via streaming services. Paramount also recognized that television could give them little to fall back on when films fail, except for studio stage rentals.
Shari Ellin Redstone is an American heiress, businesswoman, and media executive. She is the non-executive chairwoman of Paramount Global and chairwoman, president and CEO of National Amusements, and a former vice chair of CBS Corporation and Viacom. Through National Amusements, Redstone and her family hold majority voting power over Paramount Global and its subsidiaries – CBS, Comedy Central, BET, Showtime Networks, Nickelodeon, MTV and the film studio Paramount Pictures.
CBS Media Ventures, Inc. is the television broadcast syndication arm of CBS Studios, a division of the CBS Entertainment Group, in turn a division of Paramount Global, founded on January 17, 2006 by CBS Corporation from a merger of CBS Paramount Domestic Television and KingWorld.
MGM+, is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the MGMPlus Entertainment subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which is itself a subsidiary of Amazon MGM Studios. The network's programming consists of recent and older theatrically released motion pictures, original television series, documentaries, and music and comedy specials.
Black Entertainment Television LLC is a subsidiary of American media conglomerate Paramount Global under its CBS Entertainment unit. BET oversees television channels and premium services aimed at African Americans, including its namesake cable channel.
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 went under Sumner Redstone's control in 1987 through his cinema chain company National Amusements.
Paramount Global is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan. The company was formed on December 4, 2019, as ViacomCBS through the merger of the second incarnations of CBS Corporation and Viacom. The company took its current name on February 16, 2022.
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.
On December 31, 2005, American mass media company Viacom split into two companies: the second CBS Corporation, its successor which held the namesake flagship channel CBS, CBS News, CBS Sports, Showtime Networks, UPN, Smithsonian Channel, Channel 10, PopTV, Simon and Schuster, Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, Viacom Outdoor, and Paramount Television, and an entirely new Viacom which held Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Noggin, Nicktoons, TEENick, Music Television, Black Entertainment Television, Video Hits One, Country Music Television, and later DreamWorks, respectively. It was first announced in March 2005. The companies were controlled under National Amusements' control because of a stagnating stock price.
On July 7, 2024, American media companies Skydance Media and Paramount Global announced a definitive agreement to merge in a deal valued at $8 billion, forming a new entity known as "New Paramount". The agreement values the newly formed entity at approximately $28 billion. The transaction is expected to close in spring 2025.
CBS said the company and Mr Moonves would donate $20m (£15.4m) to groups supporting the #MeToo movement.
Moonves and CBS will donate $20m to one or more organisations that support the #MeToo movement and equality for women in the workplace. This donation was deducted from any severance benefits that may be due to Moonves following the investigation.
CBS' plan to acquire Viacom for up to $15.4 billion could be announced Aug. 8, giving its controlling shareholder the ability to leverage IP like 'Star Trek' across film and TV to better compete with Disney, Netflix and the rest.
On December 4, 2019, Viacom Inc. ("Viacom") merged with and into CBS Corporation ("CBS"), with CBS continuing as the surviving company (the "Merger"), pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of August 13, 2019, as amended on October 16, 2019 (the "Merger Agreement"). At the effective time of the Merger, we changed our name to "ViacomCBS Inc."