Viacom (2005–2019)
Viacom Inc. (/ˈvaɪəkɒm/ ⓘ VY-ə-kom or /ˈviːəkɒm/ ⓘ VEE-ə-kom; a portmanteau of Video & Audio Communications), was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate with interests primarily in film and television.The second Viacom was the world's ninth-largest media company in terms of revenue and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.All indications were that the whole of DreamWorks—both live-comedy film and television studios, albeit not the DreamWorks archive (which was sold to a group led by George Soros in March 2006) nor the animated unit (which was not part of the deal)—would remain owned by Viacom, even though CBS Corporation acquired Paramount's television studio.[22] On February 21, Viacom publicly announced they would be offering free online access to their material through Silicon Valley's distributor Joost.The deal allowed Microsoft to license many shows from Viacom owned cable television and film studios for use on Xbox Live and MSN.The deal also made Viacom a preferred publisher partner for casual game development and distribution through MSN and Windows.Finally, Microsoft would also collaborate on promotions and sponsorships for MTV and BET award shows, two Viacom-owned cable networks.Spike TV started to air Bellator in 2013, after the rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) library ended in 2012.[31] On December 1, 2011, the company stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and began listing its securities on Nasdaq instead.[35] In 2012 CEO Phillip Dauman began to report Viacom's intentions to bundle past programming and make it available on-demand via services like Hulu.[37] On April 1, 2014, Cable One removed 15 channels owned by Viacom (MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and TV Land) off after the two companies failed to reach an agreement.On August 20, 2016, a settlement between Sumner and Shari Redstone and Philippe Dauman was reached that would have him resign as chief executive officer and be replaced with Thomas E. Dooley as interim CEO.[62] On January 12, 2018, CNBC reported that Viacom had re-entered talks to merge back into CBS Corporation after the AT&T-Time Warner merger was planned, as well as Disney's proposed acquisition of most 21st Century Fox assets and heavy competition from companies such as Netflix and Amazon.[66][67] On March 30, 2018, CBS made an all-stock offer slightly below Viacom's market value and insisted that its existing leadership, including long-time chairman and CEO Les Moonves, oversee the re-combined company.[79] However, on August 7, 2019, both CBS and Viacom delayed their merger announcement as the two companies reported the quarterly earnings, though the talks about the re-merger continued.[13] In February 2007, Viacom sent upwards of 100,000 Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notices to the video-sharing site YouTube.In July 2008, the case generated controversy when District Judge Louis Stanton ruled that YouTube was required to hand over data detailing the viewing habits of every user who had ever watched videos on the site.The previous board of directors of Viacom were George S. Abrams, David Andelman, Joseph Califano, Jr., William Cohen, Philippe Dauman, Alan C. Greenberg, Charles Phillips, Shari Redstone, Sumner Redstone (deceased), Frederic Salerno, William Schwartz, and Robert D. Walter.Following the Viacom/CBS split, the Viacom board consisted of George S. Abrams, Philippe Dauman, Thomas E. Dooley, Ellen V. Futter, Robert Kraft, Alan Greenberg, Charles Phillips, Sumner Redstone (chairman), Shari Redstone (non-executive vice-chair), Frederic Salerno, and William Schwartz.
Viacom (1952–2005)One Astor PlazaNew York CityPublicTraded asNasdaqMass mediaEntertainmentThe first incarnation of ViacomSumner Redstonethe second incarnation of CBS CorporationViacomCBSManhattan, New York CityemeritusBob BakishpresidentCable televisionpublishingmotion picturespodcastsweb portalsOperating incomeNet incomeTotal assetsTotal equityNational AmusementsDivisionsViacom Media NetworksViacom International Media NetworksSubsidiariesViacom InternationalViacom18Rainbow S.p.A.Bellator MMAWhoSayVidConAwesomenessTVParamount PicturesPluto TVPaws, Inc.portmanteaumultinationaltelevisionoriginal Viacomsecond CBS CorporationMTV FilmsNickelodeon Animation StudioMidtown Manhattansecond mergerParamount GlobalWestinghouse Electric CorporationFamous Players Film CompanyFamous Players–LaskyColumbia RecordsGulf+WesternDesiluParamount TelevisionCBS StudiosViacomParamount CommunicationsViacom splitsCBS CorporationThe CWCBS RadioAudacyre-mergeSkydance Mediaagree to mergefirst ViacomLes MoonvesTom FrestonMTV NetworksSuper BowlSuper Bowl Halftime Show controversyMel KarmazinBET NetworksNeopetsGameTrailersDreamWorks PicturesGeorge Sorosanimated unitParamount's television studioHarmonixYouTubeNetwork 18Viacom 18NickelodeonBollywoodMicrosoftXbox LiveWindowsTime Warner CableBright House NetworksMTV BrasilGrupo AbrilThe Daily Show with Jon StewartThe Colbert ReportWinx ClubClub 57Bellator Fighting ChampionshipsUltimate Fighting ChampionshipNew York Stock ExchangeDirecTVComedy CentralCable OneTV LandBBC AmericaSproutSundance TVInvestigation DiscoveryTV OneNational Geographic ChannelTheBlazeChannel 5Northern & ShellRichard DesmondSuddenlink CommunicationsUplifting EntertainmentOprah Winfrey NetworkWomen's EntertainmentShari RedstoneThomas E. DooleyTelefeAmazon Prime VideoFacebookTwitter