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Viacom (1952–2006)
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 Viacom's final logo, used from 1990 to 2006 | |
Former type |
Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NYSE: VIA |
| Industry | Broadcasting and publishing |
| Fate | Split into CBS Corporation and the current incarnation of Viacom |
| Predecessors | Viacom Enterprises |
| Successors | CBS Corporation (legal) Viacom (spin off) |
| Founded | 1952 (1952) |
| Founder | Sumner Redstone |
| Defunct | January 3, 2006 (2006-01-03) |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York , United States |
Area served |
United States |
| Parent | National Amusements |
| Divisions | CBS Infinity Broadcasting Corporation Viacom Productions CBS Sports Viacom Outdoor UPN |
| Subsidiaries | Paramount Pictures MTV Networks Showtime Networks BET Networks Simon & Schuster King World Productions Westinghouse Licensing Corporation |
| Website | www.viacom.com/  |
The original incarnation of Viacom Inc. (originally an initialism of Video & Audio Communications) was an American media conglomerate. During the 1970s and 1980s, Viacom was a prominent distributor of syndicated CBS television series. They also distributed syndicated shows which originated during the 1980s, with the biggest examples being The Cosby Show and Roseanne (which were produced by Carsey-Werner Productions, who later began distributing their own programming). On December 31, 2005, Viacom split into two new companies, resulting in the creation of CBS Corporation and the current incarnation of Viacom.
Contents
1 History
1.1 String of acquisitions
1.2 Viacom Cable
1.3 2005 split
1.4 Postponed re-merger of Viacom and CBS
2 Notes
3 Former Viacom-owned stations
3.1 Radio stations
3.2 Television stations
4 Footnotes
5 See also
6 References
History
Viacom began as CBS Films, the television syndication division of CBS established in 1952[1] and renamed as CBS Enterprises Inc. in January 1968.[2] The division was incorporated in 1970 as Viacom[3] and spun off in 1971, amid new FCC rules forbidding television networks from owning syndication companies[1] (the rules were later repealed).
The original Viacom logo used from 1971 to 1976
In addition to CBS TV series syndication rights, Viacom also held cable systems with 90,000 cable subscribers at that time the largest in the US. In 1976, Viacom started Showcase pay movie channel with Warner-Amex taking a half share ownership. The company went into original programming production starting in the late 1970s until the early 1980s with middling results.[3]
String of acquisitions
Viacom's first broadcast station acquisition came in 1978 when the company purchased WHNB-TV in New Britain, Connecticut, changing its call letters to WVIT.[4] Two years later Viacom added the Sonderling Broadcasting chain, giving it radio stations in New York City, Washington, D.C., Houston, and San Francisco, and one television station, WAST (now WNYT) in Albany, New York.[5]
Viacom's logo from 1976 to 1989.
In 1983 Viacom purchased KSLA-TV in Shreveport, Louisiana,[6][7] and WHEC-TV in Rochester, New York,[8] in separate transactions. This was followed in 1986 with (ironically) CBS-owned KMOX-TV in St. Louis; with the purchase, that station's call letters were changed to KMOV.[9][10]
In 1984, 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. This led to Viacom becoming a mass media company rather than simply a distribution company.
In 1986, movie theater owner National Amusements bought controlling interest in Viacom, which brought Sumner Redstone to the company. Redstone retained the Viacom name and made a string of large acquisitions in the early 1990s, announcing plans to merge with Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf+Western), parent of Paramount Pictures, in 1993, and buying the Blockbuster Video chain in 1994. The acquisition of Paramount Communications in July 1994 made Viacom one of the world's largest entertainment companies.[11]
The Blockbuster acquisition gave Viacom access to large television holdings controlled by Aaron Spelling's company, Spelling Entertainment; along with his own productions, Spelling controlled the pre-1973 ABC and NBC back catalogs by way of Worldvision Enterprises and Republic Pictures. Shortly after the UPN network started operations in January 1995, Viacom/Paramount sold off its non-UPN affiliated stations to various owners over the next couple of years. In 1997, Viacom exited the broadcast radio business, albeit temporarily, when it sold the majority of its stations to Chancellor Media, a predecessor company of iHeartMedia.
In 1999, Viacom made its biggest acquisition to date by announcing plans to merge with its former parent CBS Corporation (the original, not the current one). The merger was approved in 2000, bringing cable channels TNN (now Paramount Network) and Country Music Television (CMT) under Viacom's wing, as well as CBS's production units and TV syndicaters Eyemark Entertainment (formerly Group W) and King World. CBS's production unit and King World (which has since folded 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).[12] As with TNN/Spike TV and CMT, it was immediately integrated into MTV Networks, causing some outcry among BET workers in the Washington area (where BET was based before the merger). As a result, BET was separated from MTV Networks.
Although a majority economic interest in Viacom was held by independent shareholders, the Redstone family maintained 71-percent 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; the spinoff of Blockbuster was completed in October.
Also in 2002, Viacom acquired the remaining shares of Infinity Broadcasting radio chain. And in April 2003, Viacom acquired the remaining ownership shares of Comedy Central from Time Warner, making Comedy Central integrated into MTV Networks.
Viacom Cable
From its formation until 1995, Viacom operated several cable television systems generally located in the Dayton, San Francisco, Nashville and Seattle metropolitan areas.[13] Several of these were originally independent systems that CBS acquired in the 1960s. The division was known as Viacom Cablevision until the early 1990s, when it was renamed to just Viacom Cable. By 1995, Viacom Cable had about 1.1 million subscribers. Viacom sold the division to TCI in 1995.[14]
2005 split
CBS Corporation logo
In March 2005, Viacom announced plans of looking into splitting the company into two publicly traded companies under the continuing ownership of National Amusements. The company was not only dealing with a stagnating stock price, but also the internal 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 January 1, 2006, and effectively reversed the Viacom/CBS merger of 1999. The existing Viacom was renamed CBS Corporation (thus restoring its pre-merger name) and was headed by Moonves. It now includes Viacom's "slow growth businesses", namely CBS, The CW (a merger of UPN and The WB), CBS Radio, Simon & Schuster, CBS Outdoor (formerly Viacom Outdoor), Showtime, CBS Television Studios, CBS Television Distribution and CBS Studios International. These, according to some analysts[who?], were suffocating the growth of the MTV Networks cable business. The split effectively made CBS an independent company again.
In addition, CBS Corporation was given Paramount Parks, which it later sold to amusement park operator Cedar Fair on June 30, 2006, and the CBS College Sports Network, now known as the CBS Sports Network.
Logo of the spun-off Viacom, introduced on January 1, 2006
Additionally, a new spin-off company was created called Viacom, which was 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.
In September 2006, Redstone fired Freston and named Philippe Dauman as the new head of Viacom.
National Amusements is the administrator of the two companies formed after the split.
Postponed re-merger of Viacom and CBS
On September 29, 2016, National Amusements sent a letter to the company and CBS Corporation, encouraging the two companies to merge back into one company.[15] On December 12, the deal was called off.[16]
On January 12, 2018, CNBC reported that Viacom had re-entered talks to merge back into CBS Corporation, after Disney's proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets, AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner, and the heavy competition from streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon.[17] Shortly afterward, it was reported that the combined company could be a suitor for acquiring the film studio Lionsgate.[18] Viacom and Lionsgate were both interested in acquiring The Weinstein Company.[19]
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 and COO Joe Ianniello, 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 instead of Ianniello. It was reported these conflicts had resulted from Shari Redstone seeking more control over CBS and its leadership.[20][21]
Eventually, on May 14, 2018, CBS Corporation sued National Amusements and accused Shari Redstone of abusing her voting power in the company and forcing a merger that was not supported by it or Viacom.[22][23] CBS also accused Redstone of discouraging Verizon Communications from acquiring it, which could have been beneficial to its shareholders.[24]
On May 23, Moonves stated that he considered the Viacom channels to be an "albatross," and while he favors more content for CBS All Access and Showtime Anytime, he believes that there are better and cheaper deals for CBS than the Viacom deal, such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Lionsgate or Sony Pictures. Moonves also considered Bakish a threat because he does not want an ally of Shari Redstone as a board member of the combined company, nor does he want Bakish to succeed him as the CEO.[25]
On September 9, 2018, Moonves was fired by CBS after getting accused by twelve women of sexual assault. National Amusements has agreed to make no proposal of a CBS-Viacom merger for at least two years after the date of the settlement, although the two companies are allowed to propose a merger on their own.[26]
Notes
Over the years, the pronunciation of the name Viacom has changed. As noted by Ralph Baruch, Viacom's first chairman, it was initially pronounced /ˈviːəkɒm/ VEE-ə-kom.[27] Subsequent to Sumner Redstone's National Amusements purchase of the company in 1986, the pronunciation favored by Redstone and included in its audible identification marks is pronounced /ˈvaɪ.əkɒm/ VY-ə-kom.[28]
Former Viacom-owned stations
Stations are arranged alphabetically by state and community of license.
Radio stations
Notes:
- Two boldface asterisks appearing following a station's call letters (**) indicate a station that was purchased from Sonderling Broadcasting in 1980, which initiated Viacom's entry into radio station ownership (WAST television in Albany was also purchased through the Sonderling deal);
- This list does not include stations owned by CBS Radio and its predecessors, Westinghouse Broadcasting and Infinity Broadcasting which were acquired by Viacom through its merger with CBS in 2000. Ironically, KIKK-AM-FM in Houston were reacquired by Viacom as a result of the merger.
AM Stations |
FM Stations |
City of License/Market |
Station |
Years owned |
Current ownership status |
|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles |
KJOI/KXEZ/KYSR–98.7 |
1990–1997 |
owned by iHeartMedia |
| KQLZ/KXEZ/KIBB–100.3 |
1993–1997 |
KKLQ, owned by Educational Media Foundation |
|
San Francisco Bay Area |
KDIA–1310 ** |
1980–1993 |
KMKY, owned by Akai Broadcasting Corporation |
| KDBK/KSRY-FM–98.9 |
1990–1994 |
KSOL, owned by Univision Radio |
|
| KDBQ/KYLZ/KSRI–99.1 |
1990–1994 |
KSQL, owned by Univision Radio |
|
Denver |
KHOW–630 |
1990–1993 |
owned by iHeartMedia |
| KHOW-FM/KSYY–95.7 |
1990–1993 |
KPTT, owned by iHeartMedia |
|
Washington, D.C. - Northern Virginia |
WMZQ/WZHF–1390 |
1984–1997 |
owned by Multicultural Broadcasting |
| WCPT–730 |
1993–1997 |
WTNT, owned by Metro Radio |
|
WMZQ-FM–98.7 ** |
1980–1997 |
owned by iHeartMedia |
|
| WCXR-FM–105.9 |
1993–1997 |
WMAL-FM, owned by Cumulus Media |
|
Chicago |
WLAK/WLIT-FM–93.9 |
1982–1997 |
owned by iHeartMedia |
Detroit |
WLTI/WDRQ–93.1 |
1988–1997 |
owned by Cumulus Media |
New York City |
WWRL–1600 ** |
1980–1982 |
owned by NJ Broadcasting LLC |
WKHK/WLTW–106.7 ** |
1980–1997 |
owned by iHeart Media |
|
WAXQ–104.3 |
1996–1997 |
owned by iHeart Media |
|
Memphis |
WDIA–1070 ** |
1980–1983 |
owned by iHeartMedia |
| WRVR–680 |
1985–1988 |
WMFS, owned by Entercom |
|
WRVR-FM–104.5 |
1981–1988 |
owned by Entercom |
|
Houston |
KIKK–650 ** |
1980–1993 |
owned by Entercom |
| KIKK-FM–95.7 ** |
1980–1993 |
KKHH, owned by Entercom |
|
Seattle - Tacoma |
KBSG–1210 |
1989–1996 |
KMIA, owned by Bustos Media Holdings, LLC |
| KBSG-FM–97.3 |
1987–1996 |
KIRO-FM, owned by Bonneville International |
|
KNDD–107.7 |
1993–1996 |
owned by Entercom |
Television stations
- This list does not include other stations owned by Paramount Stations Group which were acquired by Viacom through its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994, nor any other station purchased by Viacom/Paramount following the Paramount acquisition and prior to its merger with CBS in 2000.’’
City of license / market |
Station |
Channel TV (RF) |
Years owned |
Current ownership status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
New Britain – Hartford – New Haven |
WVIT |
30 (35) |
1978–1997 |
NBC owned-and-operated (O&O) |
Shreveport – Texarkana |
KSLA-TV |
12 (17) |
1983–1995 |
CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
St. Louis |
KMOV |
4 (24) |
1986–1997 |
CBS affiliate owned by Meredith Corporation |
Albany – Schenectady – Troy |
WAST/WNYT |
13 (12) |
1980–1996 |
NBC affiliate owned by Hubbard Broadcasting |
Rochester, New York |
WHEC-TV |
10 (10) |
1983–1996 |
NBC affiliate owned by Hubbard Broadcasting |
Footnotes
^ Viacom was initially founded in 1971 but was reincorporated in 1986. Effective January 1, 2006, this corporate entity changed its name to CBS Corporation. The present firm known as Viacom was also established at that date and is a new spin-off company created during the CBS-Viacom split.
See also
- Viacom
- CBS Corporation
References
^ ab Brennan, Jude (July 23, 2014). "CBS Films' Presidency: And Then There Was One". Forbes. Retrieved August 16, 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "Broadcasting Magazine, January 29, 1968 (page 8)" (PDF).
^ ab "History of Viacom Inc.". International Directory of Company Histories. St. James Press. 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2018 – via FundingUniverse.
^ "Viacom gets into station ownership" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 20, 1977. p. 28. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
^ "Viacom, Sonderling propose marriage." Broadcasting, March 20, 1978, pp. 33-34. Accessed January 8, 2019. [1][2]
^ "In brief" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 17, 1983. p. 144. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
^ "Changing hands–Proposed" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 24, 1983. p. 74. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
^ "Changing hands–Proposed" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 25, 1983. p. 86. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
^ "In brief" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 9, 1985. p. 120. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
^ "Call letters–Grants–Existing TV's" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 30, 1986. p. 64. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
^ "75 Power Players: The Outsiders". Next Generation. Imagine Media (11): 61. November 1995.Viacom completed acquisition of Paramount Communications in July 1994, creating one of the world's largest entertainment companies.
^ Reuters, From (2001-01-24). "Viacom Completes BET Acquisition". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
^ Taylor, Chuck (29 December 1994). "Viacom Expected To Sell Cable Franchises - TCI Group Would Gain 1.1 Million Subscribers". The Seattle Times.
^ Taylor, Chuck (22 January 1995). "Cable Execs To Visit Viacom Sites In Seattle Area - Intermedia Partners Optimistic As They Face Regulatory Hurdles, Tax Scrutiny By Congress". The Seattle Times.
^ "National Amusements Proposes Viacom, CBS Reunion, Cites "Substantial Synergies"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
^ "Shari Redstone withdraws CBS-Viacom merger proposal". Retrieved 2016-12-17.
^ Wang, Christine (2018-01-12). "Viacom, CBS shares surge after report Shari Redstone pursuing merge of companies". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
^ "Lionsgate Ripe For Takeover As Amazon, Verizon and CBS-Viacom Emerge As Potential Suitors". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
^ "Weinstein Co Talking to 22 Buyers, $300 Million Expected Price, Bob Weinstein Must Exit". October 26, 2017.
^ "Moonves vs. Redstone: Inside the Poisonous War for Control of CBS and Viacom". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
^ Littleton, Cynthia (2018-04-11). "Could CBS-Viacom Strife Cause Leslie Moonves to Walk Away?". Variety. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
^ "CBS Sues Redstones' Firm in Escalation of Longstanding Fight". Bloomberg.com. 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
^ Chmielewski, Dawn C. (2018-05-14). "National Amusements Fires Back At CBS Suit, Says It's "Outraged" By Allegations". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
^ Chmielewski, Dawn C. (2018-05-14). "Verizon Expressed Interest In Acquiring CBS Before Viacom Talks Heated Up". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
^ Bond, Paul (2018-05-23). "Behind Leslie Moonves' Crusade to Save CBS From Viacom". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
^ Parker, Ryan (September 9, 2018). "Leslie Moonves Exits CBS After Being Accused of Sex Crimes, Violence by More Women". The Hollywood Reporter.
^ The Communicators (video). C-SPAN. November 2, 2007.
^ Hagey, Keach (2018). The King of Content: Sumner Redstone's Battle for Viacom, CBS, and Everlasting Control of His Media Empire. New York: HarperBusiness. p. 131. ISBN 9780062654090.In the beginning, Sumner's Viacom—which he had renamed VIE-uh-com during the first board meeting, in a nod to his fighting spirit […]
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