Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
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.
Paramount may refer to:
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 many of its television channels and online brands. Its related international division is Paramount International Networks.
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.
The second incarnation of CBS 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.
Showtime Networks, Inc. is an American entertainment company that oversees the company's premium cable television channels, including its flagship service Paramount+ with Showtime. It is a subsidiary of media conglomerate Paramount Global under its networks division.
Paramount Streaming is a division of Paramount Global that oversees the company's video streaming technology and direct-to-consumer services; including Pluto TV and Paramount+. It was founded in 2005, Tom Ryan is President and CEO.
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.
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 September 26, 2006 by CBS Corporation from a merger of CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions.
Paramount International Networks (PIN) 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 stake in Viacom18, an Indian joint venture with domestic partner TV18, from 2007 to 2024.
Viacom18 Media Private Limited is an Indian media company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 2007 by the MTV Networks Europe division, it later became a joint venture between TV18 and Viacom in 2014, with TV18 becoming the majority shareholder in the company in January 2018 and Bodhi Tree Systems currently owning minority stakes. The company owns and operates various channels, as well as content production studios in India.
Black Entertainment Television LLC is a subsidiary of American media conglomerate Paramount Global under its CBS Entertainment Group 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+ 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.
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 stepped down on April 29, 2024.
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.