Viacom (1952–2006)
American media conglomerate (1952–2005) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The original incarnation of Viacom Inc.[lower-alpha 1] (derived from "Video & Audio Communications") was an American media 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.
 Final logo, used from 1990 to 2005 | |
 Viacom's headquarters at One Astor Plaza in New York City | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| NYSE: VIA | |
| Industry | Broadcasting and publishing |
| Founded | March 16, 1952 |
| Founder | Ralph Baruch |
| Defunct | December 31, 2005 |
| Fate | Split into the second incarnations of CBS Corporation and Viacom |
| Successors | |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Sumner Redstone (Chairman and CEO) Tom Freston (Co-President and Co-COO) Les Moonves (Co-President and Co-COO) |
| Parent | CBS (1952–1971) Independent (1971–1986) National Amusements (1986–2005) |
| Divisions | Infinity Broadcasting Corporation Viacom Productions Viacom International CBS Sports Viacom Outdoor |
| Subsidiaries | CBS Paramount Pictures MTV Networks Showtime Networks BET Networks Paramount Parks Famous Players Simon & Schuster King World Productions UPN Westinghouse Licensing Corporation |
In 1999, Viacom acquired the parent company of CBS, the former Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which had been renamed CBS Corporation in 1997. Viacom was split into the second CBS Corporation and Viacom incarnations, and ceased operations in 2005. The spin-off was structured so that CBS Corporation would be the legal successor to the first Viacom, with the second Viacom being an entirely separated company. The two companies eventually re-merged in 2019, leading to the formation of ViacomCBS, now known as Paramount Global.