Viacom (1971-2005)
This page is about the original Viacom (founded 1971) and its successor form (founded 1986) which is now known as CBS Corporation. For information on the new post-2005 Viacom, see Viacom.Viacom (With a long
I as in
Enterprises began life as
CBS Films, the television
syndication division of
CBS. In
1971, the division was renamed
VIACOM (Video & Audio Communications), and in
1973 it was spun off, amid new
FCC rules forbidding
television networks from owning syndication companies (the rules were later repealed).
Viacom made large amounts of money during the
1970s and
1980s distributing old CBS classics to syndication, including such landmark shows as
I Love Lucy,
The Andy Griffith Show and
All in the Family (which was later owned by
Embassy/
Columbia Pictures Television, now called
Sony Pictures Television). They also syndicated shows for others, the biggest examples being
The Cosby Show and
Roseanne (which were produced by
Carsey-Werner Productions; Carsey-Werner eventually got big enough to distribute their own shows, mainly because of the success of these two). Viacom also syndicated the
Nickelodeon game shows
Double Dare and
Finders Keepers; both shows were co-syndicated by
Fox Television Stations.
Viacom's first non-programming acquisition came in
1978 when the company purchased the
Sonderling Broadcasting chain, giving them radio stations in
New York City,
Washington, DC,
Houston,
San Francisco and a TV station (CBS affiliate WAST, now NBC affiliate
WNYT) in
Albany, New York. Later that year, Viacom added NBC affiliate WNHB in
New Britain, Connecticut (Hartford market) changing its calls to
WVIT. The early 1980s saw Viacom sorting through the Sonderling stations with several being donated, swapped, or being the nucleus for new corporations (
WOL in Washington, DC launched the
Radio One group, today a large
African-American-owned corporation). In
1983, Viacom purchased CBS affiliates
KSLA in
Shreveport, Louisiana and
WHEC in
Rochester, New York, followed three years later with (ironically) CBS-owned
KMOX-TV in
St. Louis, Missouri in
1986, with that sale that station's calls became
KMOV.
In
1985, Viacom bought
Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, which owned
MTV and
Nickelodeon, renaming the company
MTV Networks. Viacom also received Warner-Amex's share of Viacom/WASEC joint venture Showtime Networks, Inc. (which included Showtime and The Movie Channel), which has retained its original name, Showtime Networks, Inc. In
1986, Viacom was bought by movie theater owner
National Amusements, which brought
Sumner Redstone to the company. Redstone made a string of large acquisitions in the early
1990s, announcing plans to buy
Paramount Communications, parent of
Paramount Pictures, in
1993, and buying the
Blockbuster Video chain in
1994.
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Viacom's corporate "V" logo, which was used from 1976 to 1990. This version began use in 1986. |
The Blockbuster acquisition gave Viacom access to large television holdings controlled by
Aaron Spelling's company,
Spelling Entertainment; along with his own productions (such as
The Love Boat and
Beverly Hills 90210), Spelling controlled the pre-1973
ABC and
NBC back catalogs by way of
Worldvision Enterprises and
Republic Pictures. After these acquisitions, Viacom owned many movie and television production and syndication units, which were slowly integrated into Paramount; many TV shows previously distributed by Viacom, Republic or Worldvision have since gained Paramount closing logos.
In
1999, Viacom made its biggest acquisition to date by announcing plans to buy its former parent
CBS Corporation. The merger was approved in
2000, bringing cable channels
TNN (now
Spike TV) and
Country Music Television (CMT) under Viacom's wing, as well as CBS's production units and TV syndicators Eyemark (formerly
Group W) and
King World. CBS's production unit and King World (which has since absorbed Eyemark) operated under their own names; however, TNN and CMT were merged into MTV Networks almost immediately.
In
2001, Viacom completed its purchase of
Black Entertainment Television (BET). As with TNN and CMT, it was immediately integrated into MTV Networks, causing some outcry among BET workers in the
Washington, DC area (where BET was based before the merger). As a result, BET was de-integrated from MTV Networks.
Although a majority economic interest in Viacom was held by independent shareholders, the Redstone family maintained 71% voting control of the company through National Amusements' holdings of Viacom's stock.
In 2002, Viacom bought independently-run music channel
TMF, which at the time was broadcasting in
Belgium and the
Netherlands. In June 2004, Viacom bought
VIVA Media AG, the German equivalent to MTV. The same month, plans were announced to dispose of Viacom's interest in Blockbuster later that year by means of an exchange offer. In June of
2003 Sega announced that they would sell all
Sonic the Hedgehog trademarks to Viacom.
In March 2005, Viacom announced plans of looking into splitting the company into two publicly traded companies. The company was not only dealing with a stagnating stock price, but also the rivalry between
Les Moonves and
Tom Freston, longtime heads of
CBS and
MTV Networks respectively. After the departure of
Mel Karmazin in
2004, Redstone, who served as
Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, decided to split the offices of
President and
Chief Operating Officer between Moonves and Freston. Redstone was set to retire in the near future, and a split would be a creative solution to the matter of replacing him.
The split was approved by Viacom's board
June 14, 2005, took effect
December 31, 2005, and effectively undid the Viacom/CBS merger of 1999. The existing Viacom was renamed
CBS Corporation and was headed by Moonves. It now includes Viacom's "slow growth businesses", namely
CBS,
UPN,
CBS Radio,
Simon & Schuster,
Viacom Outdoor,
Showtime, and most television production assets. These, according to some analysts, were suffocating the growth of the MTV Networks cable businesses. In additon, CBS Corporation was given
Paramount Parks, which they sold to
amusement park operator
Cedar Fair, L.P. on June 30, 2006.
Additionally, a new spin-off company was created called
Viacom, and is headed by Freston. It comprises MTV Networks, BET Networks, Paramount's movie studio, and Paramount Pictures' home entertainment operations. These businesses are categorized as the high-growth businesses (MTV Networks and BET Networks in particular), and if they were split into a separate company, it could infuse new funds/capital to allow for future acquisitions and expansion. Sumner Redstone still controls 71 percent of the voting stock of both companies and is the chairman of both companies.
Viacom was initially founded in
1971, but was reincorporated in 1985. Effective December 31,
2005, this corporate entity changed its name to
CBS Corporation. The present firm known as
Viacom beginning December 31, 2005 is a new spin-off company created during the CBS-Viacom split.
*
CBS Corporation, the renamed 1986 Viacom
*
New Viacom, post CBS-split
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Closing logos of Viacom
