Joe Ianniello, acting chief executive of CBS, will become chairman and CEO of CBS. ** CBS folds UPN into joint venture with Warner Bros.’ WB Network to create CW Network, SEPTEMBER: Longtime Sumner Redstone attorney Philippe Dauman replaces Freston as CEO of Viacom, MARCH: Viacom files $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube and Google, MAY: CBS buys CNET Networks for $1.8 billion, MARCH: CBS buys 50% of TV Guide Network, co-owned with Lionsgate, JUNE: CBS completes spinoff of its outdoor advertising division, honing its focus on content production and distribution, SEPTEMBER: Viacom buys U.K. broadcaster Channel 5, OCTOBER: CBS launches CBS All Access subscription streaming service. Multiple other companies have done similar deals in an attempt to gain scale and combat challenges from digital-native rivals. On September 29, 2016, National Amusements, the parent company of CBS Corporation and Viacom, wrote to Viacom and CBS encouraging the two companies to merge back into one company. But the enlarged ViacomCBS will emerge to do battle in a much more treacherous competitive landscape than they faced two decades ago. [6] The merger would early be named CBSViacom. These conflicts had resulted from Shari Redstone seeking more control over CBS and its leadership. That’s a capstone on her three-year quest to reshape her family’s media holdings after years of executive rivalries, fiefdoms and executive largess at the companies that are less vulnerable to shareholder pressure on performance because of NAI’s iron grip on about 80% of voting shares in both firms. [33], On December 10, 2019, Bakish announced that ViacomCBS would look to divest Black Rock, the building that held CBS's headquarters since 1964. AUGUST: CBS and Viacom unveil merger agreement after a weekend of marathon negotiations. [19] Reports said that CBS and Viacom reportedly set August 8 as an informal deadline for reaching an agreement to recombine the two media companies. Announce Expected Closing Date of Merger", "Bob Bakish's Memo to ViacomCBS Staff: Merger "A Historic Moment, "CBS' Historic New York Headquarters to Be Sold", "ViacomCBS to acquire 49 percent stake in Miramax for $375 million", "CBS Communications Chief Dana McClintock To Exit This Summer After 27 Years At Company", "ViacomCBS to Sell Publisher Simon and Schuster", "ViacomCBS hires former Turner exec Jaime Ondarza for Europe role", "ViacomCBS Sets Launch Of EyeQ, A Comprehensive Offering For Advertisers", "Red Ventures acquires CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS for $500M", "WSJ News Exclusive | ViacomCBS to Sell CNET to Red Ventures for $500 Million", "TV18 to increase stake to 51% in Viacom18, the JV with Viacom Inc", "Viacom reorganizes creative team in advance of CBS merger", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=ViacomCBS&oldid=985968971, Entertainment companies based in New York City, Entertainment companies established in 2019, Conglomerate companies of the United States, Conglomerate companies established in 2019, Mass media companies based in New York City, Mass media companies of the United States, Publicly traded companies based in New York City, Articles needing additional references from June 2020, All articles needing additional references, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, CBS forms the CBS Films division, later renamed.

[39], On September 14, 2020, ViacomCBS announced an agreement to sell CNET Media Group to Red Ventures for $500 million. Viacom is spun off from CBS as a separate company. [9] Following the Weinstein effect, Viacom was listed as one of 22 potential buyers that were interested in acquiring TWC. Before the first 1999 CBS merger, it also acted as the first Viacom's licensee company for Viacom's owned television stations; for instance New Britain, Connecticut station WVIT, currently an NBC owned-and-operated station for the Hartford market owned by Viacom from 1978 until 1997, took their call letters from Viacom International. [14][15] CBS also accused Redstone of discouraging Verizon Communications from acquiring it, which could have been beneficial to its shareholders. On January 12, 2018, CNBC reported that Viacom had re-entered talks to merge back into CBS Corporation, after the merger of AT&T-Time Warner and Disney's proposed acquisition of most of the 21st Century Fox's assets were announced. The talks had started following rumors of CBS acquiring Starz from Lionsgate. [7] Shortly afterward, it was reported that the combined company could be a suitor for acquiring the film studio Lionsgate. He is named chairman emeritus of both companies. ViacomCBS Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media conglomerate formed through the merger of CBS Corporation and the second incarnation of Viacom on December 4, 2019,[3] which were split from the original incarnation of Viacom in 2006. 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[36] On March 4, the company announced plans to potentially sell its Simon & Schuster publishing unit, with Bakish arguing that it lacked a "significant connection for our broader business.”[37], On June 19, 2020, Jaime Ondarza, formerly the senior vice president of Turner Broadcasting South Europe and Africa, became the new head of ViacomCBS Networks International for France, Spain, Italy, the Middle East, Greece and Turkey. Morningstar: Copyright 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. On the day before the deal closed, Bakish was nothing but bullish about the company’s ability to thrive amid the growing global demand for content and the increasing value to be mined from large film and TV libraries, which ViacomCBS has to the tune of 140,000 episodes of TV and more than 3,600 movie titles. The deal brings Viacom’s Paramount Pictures and cable channels such as MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and BET together with the CBS broadcast network, Showtime, 28 O&O TV stations, CBS All Access and Simon & Schuster. ** CBS splits from Viacom under the leadership of CEO Leslie Moonves. The marriage of the two companies was orchestrated by Shari Redstone, the daughter of legendary media magnate Sumner Redstone, who split Viacom from CBS in 2006. In 1999, Viacom made its biggest acquisition to date by announcing plans to merge with its former parent CBS Corporation (the renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which had merged with CBS in 1995). Getting the merger over the finish line is a victory for Shari Redstone, who is the controlling shareholder in CBS and Viacom through her National Amusements Inc. holding company. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc.2018. Viacom - Press Releases. Just a few … ** Nielsen alum Nancy Phillips named head of human resources for ViacomCBS. The combined company’s shares will begin trading Thursday on the NASDAQ index under the ticker symbols VIACA (for preferred shares largely held by the Redstones) and VIAC (for common shares). On March 30, 2018, CBS made an all-stock offer slightly below Viacom's market value, insisting that its existing leadership, including long-time chairman and CEO Les Moonves, oversee the re-combined company. official revealed, Trump walked off interview in 1990 when asked tough questions about his casino, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner threaten to sue over billboard, See the '60 Minutes' interview that Trump cut short, Trump falsely claims best economy in history in '60 Minutes' interview, Listen to Biden's new answer on question of court expansion, Keilar: Maria Bartiromo has history of peddling baseless claims. Both companies came to an agreement on the management team for the merger, with Bob Bakish serving as CEO of the combined company with president and acting CEO of CBS, Joseph Ianniello, overseeing CBS-branded assets. CBS Corp. and Viacom are united once again.

[28], On October 28, 2019, the merger was approved by National Amusements, which then announced the deal would close in early December; the recombined company will trade its shares on Nasdaq under the symbols "VIAC" and "VIACA" after CBS Corporation delist its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. [29][30], On November 25, 2019, Viacom and CBS announced the merger would close on December 4 and begin trading Nasdaq on December 5. As of November 2019, AwesomenessTV is overseen by its co-founder Brian Robbins, an executive for ViacomCBS Domestic.[45]. Then, in 2019, Viacom and CBS announced their long-anticipated merger — and CEO Bob Bakish started moving all the different pieces.