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CJR's guide to what the major media companies own.
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- Viacom, Inc. Headquarters
- 1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036 - Voice (212) 258-6000 Fax (212) 285-6100
- www.viacom.com
- One of the largest global media empires, Viacom has a financial interest in broadcast and cable television, radio, Internet, book publishing, and film production and distribution. Some of this vertically integrated conglomerate's highly recognizable properties include the CBS network, MTV, Infinity broadcasting, Simon & Schuster, Blockbuster and Paramount Pictures. With such a diverse portfolio of properties, Viacom is one of the most profitable media giants as CBS is a top draw for older viewers while MTV remains the most popular teen orientated media outlet.
- 1912
- Adolph Zukor founds the Famous Players Film Corp
- 1916
- Famous Players becomes Paramount Pictures becomes Famous Players-Lasky Corp.
- 1916
- Westinghouse engineer Dr. Frank Conrad begins experimental radio broadcasts from his home in Pittsburgh
- 1920
- Westinghouse's KDKA in Pittsburgh begins scheduled radio programming with the Harding-Cox Presidential election returns
- 1924
- Richard L. (Dick) Simon and M. Lincoln (Max) Schuster form Simon & Schuster. First publication is a cross word puzzle book.
- 1928
- William S. Paley purchases the Columbia Broadcasting System for $400,000. Paley first became interested in the radio business after purchasing advertising time for his La Palina Cigar company.
- 1935
- Famous Players-Lasky Corp. becomes Paramount Pictures after bankruptcy and reorganization.
- 1937
- Edward R. Murrow and William L. Shirer do a radio news program which eventually becomes The CBS World News Roundup
- 1938
- CBS buys American Record Company, owner of the Columbia Phonograph label. CBS renames the division Columbia Record Corp.
- 1941
- CBS launches the first commercial black & white television broadcast
- 1949
- Department of Justice announces the Paramount decree which forces the film studios to sell off their movie theaters
- 1954
- Sumner Redstone takes control of National Amusements Inc. (NAI), a chain of movie theaters
- 1961
- Murrow resigns from CBS
- 1964
- CBS purchases the New York Yankees
- 1966
- Diversified conglomerate, Gulf + Western, buys Paramount Pictures. Gulf + Western is owned by Charles Bluhdorn
- 1968
- CBS teams up with a Japanese company to form CBS-Sony Records
- 1970
- FCC's Fin-Syn ruling limits the financial interest television networks can have in syndicated programming. As a result, Viacom is formed after CBS spins off its television programming arm
- 1973
- CBS sells Yankees to George Steinbrenner
- 1981
- Dan Rather replaces Walter Cronkite as anchor on the CBS Evening News
- 1981
- (August 1) MTV is launched
- 1985
- Ted Turner makes a takeover attempt on CBS. Loew's president, Laurence Tisch, buys a 25% share in CBS to block Turner's takeover. Loews is a multi-national conglomerate with interests ranging from tobacco to insurance. Jesse Helms and Ivan Boesky also make unsuccessful bids for CBS.
- 1985
- First Blockbuster Video store opens in Dallas
- 1986
- Tisch becomes CEO of CBS
- 1987
- Redstone becomes Chairman of the Board of Viacom after NAI buys a majority interest in it
- 1987
- CBS sells its entire book publishing division for $500 million
- 1987
- Wayne Huizenga, who made his money in the waste business, buys Blockbuster
- 1989
- Gulf + Western changes its name to Paramount Communications
- 1990
- Paley dies of a heart attack at age 89
- 1994
- Viacom acquires Paramount Communications for $10 billion. Viacom was in a bidding war for Paramount with USA Networks.
- 1994
- Viacom acquires Blockbuster Video from Huizenga for $8.4 billion
- 1995
- Viacom sells Madison Square Garden and its related properties to Cablevision, and ITT for $1 billion
- 1995
- Viacom sells its cable systems to John Malone's TCI
- 1995
- (November) CBS is sold to the Westinghouse Corporation for $5.4 billion
- 1995
- (January 16) UPN network hits the television airwaves
- 1996
- Redstone becomes Viacom's CEO
- 1996
- Westinghouse/CBS buys Infinity radio broadcasting and outdoor advertising group for $4.7 billion. This deal is mainly a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which heavily deregulated the media industry and allowed a company to significantly increase the amount of radio stations it could own.
- 1997
- CBS buys American Radio Systems chain
- 1997
- Viacom deals its educational, professional and reference publishing businesses to Pearson for 4.6 billion. Viacom retains Simon & Schuster.
- 1997
- Westinghouse changes name to CBS and sells its hardware and manufacturing operations
- 1999
- CBS buys King World Productions, leading television program syndicator, for $2.5 billion
- 1999
- Infinity buys Outdoor Systems billboard group for $8.3 billion.
- 1999
- (September, 7) Viacom and CBS announce merger. The $50 billion deal, the largest media merger of the time, comes one month after the FCC gives approval to duopolies. The new Viacom has 33 television stations which eclipse the FCC's 35 % ownership cap. The cap is based on the amount of stations one company owns that reach 35% or more of the nation's television households.
- 2001
- United States Court of Appeals, DC Circuit gives Viacom temporary approval to exceed the 35% ownership cap
- 2001
- Viacom completes $3 billion deal for BET Inc.
- 2002
- Viacom completes acquisition of KCAL-TV (Los Angeles) from Young Broadcasting Inc. for $650 million. The deal forms a Viacom duopoly in Los Angeles raising the number of markets where it owns two broadcast stations to eight.
- 2003
- Infinity Broadcasting owns and operates 185 radio stations, second in size to only Clear Channel Communications. Viacom Outdoor is the largest outdoor advertising entity in North America. Viacom Television Stations Group owns and operates 39 TV stations.
- 2004
- After years of internal battles with Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone, Mel Karmazin, resigns as the company's chief operating officer. Karmazin was formely the president and CEO of CBS
- 2005
- The "new" Viacom gains control of trendy Neopets, a popular children's website. Through Paramount, they also acquire DreamWorks.
- 2006
- Viacom acquires several new holdings: Xfire, Atom Entertainment, and Harmonix.
- 2007
- Viacom engaged in disputes with YouTube over copyrighted video clips, and removed their leaked clips from the site. They opted instead for a content licensing deal with similar videosharing website Joost. Later in the year, Viacom entered into a split venture with Global Broadcast News, the result of which was Viacom-18: a provider of Viacom channels in India as well as Network 18's Bollywood movie business. In December, Viacom signed a 5-year contract with Microsoft, thus ensuring mutually heightened advertising between the two companies.
- Cable
- MTV
- MTV2
- mtvU
- AtomFilms
- Addicting Games
- Gamerailers
- Harmonix
- MTVN International
- MTV TR3S
- Neopets
- Parents Connect
- Quizilla
- Rhapsody
- Shockwave
- VH1
- VH1 Classic
- VH1 Soul
- Virtual Worlds
- XFIRE
- Nickelodeon
- Nick Jr.
- BET
- BET J
- Nick at Nite
- TV Land
- NOGGIN
- VH1
- Spike TV
- CMT
- Comedy Central
- Film
- Paramount Pictures
- Paramount Home Entertainment
- Dreamworks Studiis
- Paramount Vantage
- MTV Films
- Nickelodeon Movies
- Home Entertainment
- last updated 07/31/08
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