 Final print logo, used from 2005 to 2006 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production |
| Predecessors | |
| Founded | December 15, 1966 |
| Defunct | April 24, 2006 |
| Fate | Abolished, Renamed as CBS Paramount Television |
| Successors | |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Parent |
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| Divisions |
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| Subsidiaries |
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The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006.
 | |
| 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 |
Desilu Productions was an American production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, best known for shows such as I Love Lucy , Star Trek , and The Untouchables . Until 1962, Desilu was the second-largest independent television production company in the United States behind MCA Inc.'s Revue Productions until MCA bought Universal Pictures, and Desilu became and remained the number-one independent production company until it was sold in 1967. [1] Ball and Arnaz jointly owned the majority stake in Desilu from its inception until 1962, when Ball bought out Arnaz and ran the company by herself for several years. Ball had succeeded in making Desilu profitable again by 1967, when she sold her shares of Desilu to Gulf+Western for $17 million ($155 million in 2023 dollars). [2] Gulf+Western then transformed Desilu into the television production arm of Paramount Pictures, rebranding the company as Paramount Television.
The Paramount Television Network was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s. The company built television stations KTLA in Los Angeles and WBBM-TV in Chicago; it also invested US$400,000 in the DuMont Television Network, which operated stations WABD (now WNYW) in New York City, WTTG in Washington, D.C., and WDTV (now KDKA-TV) in Pittsburgh. Escalating disputes between Paramount and DuMont concerning breaches of contract, company control, and network competition erupted regularly between 1940 and 1956, and culminated in the dismantling of the DuMont Network. Television historian Timothy White called the clash between the two companies "one of the most unfortunate and dramatic episodes in the early history of the television industry." [3]
The Paramount Television Network aired several programs, including the Emmy Award-winning children's series Time for Beany . Filmed in Hollywood, the programs were distributed to an ad-hoc network of stations across the United States. The network signed network affiliation agreements with more than 50 television stations in 1950; despite this, most of Paramount's series were not widely viewed outside the West Coast. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which filed suit against Paramount for anti-trust violations, prevented the studio from acquiring additional television stations. Paramount executives eventually gave up on the idea of a television network, and continued to produce series for other networks.
Paramount Pictures had made a couple of attempts in the mid-1950s to produce series themselves under the Telemount (Television + Paramount) banner. The first, Cowboy G-Men , was a joint effort with Mutual Broadcasting for syndication. The second, Sally starring Joan Caulfield, was a short-lived series on NBC during the 1957–58 season. The spun-off theater chain purchased control of the ABC, and due to legal requirements sold WBKB-TV (now WBBM-TV) to CBS.
Another attempt by Paramount was known as Paramount Pictures Television. One of the series was Destination Space , a pilot to a proposed series that never got off the ground, produced in association with the CBS Television Network in 1959.
In 1966, Paramount was on the verge of bankruptcy, when the studio was bought out by Gulf+Western. By that point, Paramount had largely distanced itself from television, having stopped production of its early shows, closed down its networks, and sold off the stations it owned. It also sold most of the early half of its sound-era theatrical library (mostly pre-1950 works) to such companies as EMKA, Ltd.—a wholly owned subsidiary of MCA (pre-1950 theatrical live-action sound features; now owned by Universal Television), [4] U.M. & M. TV Corporation (most short subjects released through October 1950; now owned by Paramount Pictures through Melange Pictures), Associated Artists Productions – also called a.a.p. [sic] for short ( Popeye the Sailor cartoons; now owned by Warner Bros. through Turner Entertainment Co.), Harvey Films (most short subjects released between October 1950 and March 1962; now also owned by Universal Pictures through DreamWorks Animation and DreamWorks Classics), and National Comics Publications ( Superman cartoons; later DC Comics, now also owned by Warner Bros. through DC Entertainment).
On December 15, 1966, CBS president John T. Reynolds left his role and became president of Paramount Pictures' new Paramount Television division. [5] In 1967, Paramount Television Enterprises began distributing Portfolio I, a package of 60 Paramount films for syndication.
Charles Bluhdorn's Gulf+Western bought Desilu in 1967, which was merged into Paramount, who had been Desilu's next door neighbor since the closure of RKO Pictures. The sale resulted in Paramount Television assuming production of Desilu programs in December of that year. The three Desilu lots – the original RKO Studios and two Culver City locations – were included in the sale, but the Justice Department forced Bluhdorn to sell the Culver Studios to avoid a monopoly. [6] The old RKO globe is still in place at the corner of Gower and Melrose in the Paramount lot. [7]
The first PTV production to premiere after the re-incorporation was Here's Lucy . Paramount only produced the first season however, selling their stake in the show to Ball after the season finale. Throughout that, Paramount started good relations with ABC, allowing it to produce several shows in the 1960s and the 1970s, with The Brady Bunch and The Odd Couple becoming the biggest hits for the studio. [8]
In 1971, Douglas S. Cramer, who served as vice president in charge of production at the studio had left, to start out his production company affiliated with Columbia Pictures and Screen Gems. [9] In 1972, Thomas Miller, who was vice president of program development and Edward Milkis, who served in charge of post-production would leave the studio to start their own production company Miller/Milkis Productions with a development deal at the studio. [10] Happy Days would go on to be a hit for both the studio and Miller/Milkis, with subsequent spin-offs that were served to launch a franchise. In 1977, Gary Nardino then become president of the studio. [11]
Gulf+Western had plans to launch a television network in the late 1970s, the Paramount Television Service, with a new Star Trek series as the cornerstone of the network. But these plans were scrapped, and Star Trek: Phase II was reworked into Star Trek: The Motion Picture .
In 1979, Terry Keegan, Paramount employee, joined with Arthur Fellows to launch a Paramount-affiliated production company The Fellows/Keegan Company, who was worked until 1983, when it went alternative deals with the company. [12] In 1983, Gary Nardino had left the company to start out a company affiliated with Paramount, Gary Nardino Productions, of which they stayed for six years until 1989. [13]
In 1984, former MGM producer Leonard Goldberg joined Paramount to serve as production agreement with the studio via Mandy Films. [14] In 1986, Eddie Murphy, who had success with starring films for Paramount's own movie studio, launched Eddie Murphy Television Enterprises with a deal at Paramount Television for their own projects. [15] In 1988, Murphy signed a contract with CBS to develop their own TV projects. [16]
In 1989, Gulf+Western was re-incorporated as Paramount Communications, named after the company's prime asset, Paramount Pictures (the name of which was also used for the company as a whole). That firm was sold to Viacom in 1994. In 1990, Paramount had signed Arsenio Hall to a multi-year exclusive production contract for film and television projects, and let his talk show to be renewed through 1994. [17]
In 1992, Paramount had struck a deal with various talent writers and producers. The talent were Don Johnson, Kathy Speer and Terry Grossman, Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan, Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, Tim O'Donnell, Janet Leahy, John Mankiewicz, Christopher Crowe and Jacob Epstein and Ken Solarz. [18] Also that year, Donald P. Bellisario had left Universal Television after 12 years to sign with Paramount Television. [19]
The Viacom merger gave Paramount a larger television library as well, since Viacom had television production and distribution units as well prior to the Paramount acquisition. The distribution company, Viacom Enterprises (which syndicated the classic CBS library among other shows), was merged into Paramount Domestic Television while the production company, Viacom Productions (known at the time for its co-productions with Fred Silverman and Dean Hargrove), continued as a division of Paramount Television until 2004.
The first major hit from Viacom Productions to debut after becoming a division of Paramount Television was Sabrina the Teenage Witch , based on the Archie Comics of the same name. Starring Melissa Joan Hart as the title character, the series lasted four seasons on ABC (in contrast to the lack of success from the parent company on the network in this period) and three on The WB between 1996 and 2003.
In 1995, Paramount struck a program deal with Procter & Gamble for a three-year period. [20] It also expanded with a first-look partnership with NBC to obtain their projects created by the partnership that year. [21] Also that year, it entered into a partnership with the Fox Broadcasting Company to launch a joint partnership with Television Production Partners to help them advertise their projects, and also include support from Fox's production partners. [22]
In 1994, the Paramount Television Group and MTV Productions signed a deal to develop projects commissioned by MTV, and gave Paramount the right of first refusal on projects developed by MTV. [23] For the 1997-98 season Paramount Network Television collaborated with Viacom sister MTV Productions, to produce the NBC comedy Jenny , the UPN (then-sister of MTV) comedy Hitz , and the WB drama Three , but none of them got success beyond its first season. [24]
In 1996, producer Barry Kemp had signed a multi-year overall deal with Paramount to produce their projects under the Bungalow 78 Productions banner, and had plans for a series with a 13-episode commitment for CBS. [25] Paramount then turned around, along with Kemp, with part ways, to turn the project over to Warner Bros. Television with new showrunners Ed Decter and John J. Strauss on the board. [26]
Paramount continued to build its television library. In 1999, Viacom acquired full interest in Spelling Entertainment Group (which included Spelling Television, Big Ticket Entertainment, Worldvision Enterprises, and Republic Pictures, among other companies), and the rights to Rysher Entertainment's television holdings. Also in 1999, Steven Bochco, being lured from CBS was recruited by Paramount Television for a production/distribution agreement. [27] In 2003, Big Ticket was absorbed into Paramount, but Big Ticket continued to be used as an in-name only unit. [28] In late 2005, Spelling Television has laid off its employees, transitioning from a separate studio to a pod development deal within the studio. [29]
In January 1995, Paramount finally launched a television network, the United Paramount Network, or UPN for short, which later merged with Time Warner's The WB in 2006 to form The CW. Paramount Television produced the bulk of the series airing on UPN, including the first program ever shown on the network, Star Trek: Voyager . UPN became 100% owned by Viacom in 2000 after Chris-Craft sold its share (its television stations were sold to News Corporation). Along with Star Trek: Voyager, the most successful Paramount Television shows on UPN were One on One , Star Trek: Enterprise and Girlfriends .
In 2000, Viacom acquired its founding parent CBS, which had actually spun off Viacom in 1971. Paramount Television began producing more shows airing on CBS (it already produced JAG , a former NBC production, Becker starring Cheers veteran Ted Danson, and Nash Bridges , having acquired the latter from Rysher Entertainment). Most of the new Paramount Television series that debuted on CBS after the merger were not very successful, including Bram & Alice and Out of Practice (starring Happy Days veteran Henry Winkler). However, four of these series would become hits: JAG spin-off NCIS , Numb3rs , Criminal Minds , and Ghost Whisperer (the latter two were co-productions with Touchstone Television, which later became ABC Studios). All four of these series would continue under CBS Paramount Television and later CBS Television Studios, with only NCIS and Criminal Minds still airing (both also had spin-offs of their own, with varied success).
In 2004, it was merged with CBS Productions to form a new entity of Paramount Network Television, which produced all new shows for CBS. [30] CBS Productions was rendered defunct in September 2004 by folding it up into Paramount Network Television, though the CBS Productions logo continued to be used on older co-productions airing on the CBS television network until 2006, becoming an in-name only unit of the studio. [31]
In 2001, Warren Littlefield moved his Littlefield Company from NBC Studios to Paramount Television. [32] Ed Redlich was struck to a deal with Paramount Network Television in 2005. [33]
At the end of 2005, Viacom split into two companies, one of which was called CBS Corporation, the other retaining the Viacom name. Despite Paramount Pictures being owned by the new Viacom, CBS Corporation inherited Paramount Television, as well as the right to retain the Paramount name. On January 16, 2006, the new incarnation of Paramount Network Television was renamed CBS Paramount Network Television. [34] Paramount's final series was Courting Alex (co-produced with Touchstone Television) for CBS. Programs produced by Paramount Television before and after the split are distributed on home media by Paramount Home Entertainment (pre-2005 Paramount programs are released through CBS Home Entertainment due to CBS Studios owning the pre-2005 Paramount television library).
The company survived as CBS Paramount Television for three years. However, CBS began phasing out the Paramount name as early as 2007, when the American distribution arm was merged with King World Productions (bought by CBS just prior to the 2000 Viacom merger) to form CBS Television Distribution. The international arm of PTV was merged with CBS Broadcast International in 2004 (one year before the CBS/Viacom split) to form CBS Paramount International Television.
In 2009, CBS quietly announced that the Paramount name would be stripped from: the main company (CBS Paramount Television), its production arm (CBS Paramount Network Television), and its international arm, with the latter two being renamed CBS Television Studios and CBS Studios International, respectively. With these transactions, Paramount's involvement in television – at least in name only since 2005 – came to an end after 70 years (when the experimental TV stations that later became KTLA and WBBM were founded). Paramount had been the first major Hollywood studio to be involved in television. When CBS Paramount Television was renamed CBS Television Studios, Paramount Pictures joined forces with Trifecta Entertainment & Media in distributing the Paramount and Republic film libraries on television.
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 United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries's subsidiary, United Television, and Viacom's subsidiary, Paramount Television, then became solely owned by Viacom in 2000 after subsequently purchasing Chris-Craft's remaining stake. On December 31, 2005, UPN was kept by CBS Corporation, which was the new name for Viacom when it split into two separate companies. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Time Warner jointly announced that the companies would shut down UPN and competitor The WB to launch a new joint venture network later that year. UPN ceased broadcasting on September 15, 2006, with The WB following two days later. Select programs from both networks moved to the new network, The CW, when it launched on September 18, 2006.
Desilu Productions, Inc. was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Mannix, The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. Until 1962, Desilu was the second-largest independent television production company in the United States, behind MCA's Revue Studios, until MCA bought Universal Pictures and Desilu became and remained the number-one independent production company, until Ball sold it to Gulf and Western Industries in 1968.
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.
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.
Rysher Entertainment, Inc. was an American film and television production company and distributor. It was founded in 1991. In 1993, Rysher was acquired by Cox Enterprises, and was subsequently closed in 1999. That same year, Viacom entered an agreement with Cox Enterprises for distribution rights to the Rysher library, which currently lie with Viacom's successor Paramount Global, specifically its subsidiaries Paramount Pictures and CBS Media Ventures. Ownership of the company's assets changed hands multiple times over the 2000s before finally being acquired by Vine Alternative Investments in 2011.
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.
Paramount Global Content Distribution is the international television distribution arm of American media conglomerate, Paramount Global, originally established in 1962 as the international distribution division of Desilu Productions. With the sale of Desilu to Gulf+Western, then-owners of film studio Paramount Pictures, in 1968, the division evolved into Paramount's first foray into the international television industry in the 1970s.
Spelling Television Inc. was an American television production company that went through several name changes. It was originally called Aaron Spelling Productions, then Spelling Entertainment Inc. and eventually part of Spelling Entertainment Group. The company produced popular shows such as The Love Boat, Dynasty, Beverly Hills, 90210, 7th Heaven, Melrose Place and Charmed. The company was founded by television producer Aaron Spelling on October 25, 1965. The company is currently an in-name-only unit of CBS Studios. A related company, Spelling-Goldberg Productions, co-existed during a portion of the same time period and produced other well-known shows such as Family, Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch, and Fantasy Island but these series are not part of the modern day library now owned by Paramount Global. Another related company, The Douglas S. Cramer Company co-existed during a portion of the same time period, produced shows like Wonder Woman, Joe and Sons, and Bridget Loves Bernie and television films like Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway.
Viacom Productions was a television production arm of Viacom International. Viacom Enterprises was also a movie production, and a sports production. The division was active from 1971 until 2004, when the company was folded into Paramount Television 10 years following Viacom's acquisition of Paramount Pictures, and led Perry Simon to move itself to Paramount for a production deal.
CBS Productions was a production arm of the CBS television network, now a part of Paramount Global, formed in 1952 to produce shows in-house, instead of relying solely on outside productions. One of its first productions was Studio One, a drama anthology series.
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.
Paramount Domestic Television (PDT) was the television distribution arm of American television production company Paramount Television, once the television arm of Paramount Pictures. It was formed in 1982 originally as Paramount Domestic Television and Video Programming, the successor to Paramount Television Domestic Distribution, Paramount Television Sales, and Desilu Sales.
Star Trek is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the series of the same name and became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. Since its creation, the franchise has expanded into various films, television series, video games, novels, and comic books, and it has become one of the most recognizable and highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
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+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures, CBS Studios, Paramount Media Networks, and Paramount Pictures, while also including original series and films, live streaming sports coverage, and in the United States, live streaming of local CBS broadcast stations.
CBS Eye Animation Productions is an American animation studio, division of CBS Studios owned by Paramount Global. The studio is closely associated with the Star Trek franchise with its first projects, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy. CBS reinstated it as an animation division in late 2018 before its re-merger with Viacom in late 2019.
