CBS, Viacom together again

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Bob Jersey

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Aug 13, 2019, 1:13:26 PM8/13/19
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All that's left is the formal announcement, which Deadline says will come this afternoon (8/13)... both firms' stock prices recovered following big plunges Monday...


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Kevin M.

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Aug 13, 2019, 2:28:55 PM8/13/19
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Here is the formal announcement 


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Kevin M. (RPCV)

Doug Eastick

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Aug 14, 2019, 6:59:04 AM8/14/19
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Why did I think that CBS had been owned by Viacom for years already?   Were they already "close" on many fronts?



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Doug Fields

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Aug 14, 2019, 7:27:00 AM8/14/19
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The original Viacom owned CBS for several years, until the company decided to split in the mid-00s due to stock market strategy (and as a solution to an internal power struggle between Les Moonves and whoever the guy in charge of MTV was at the time, over who would replace Sumner Redstone when he retired).

The original Viacom took the name "CBS Corporation" after the split, with the rest of the company (MTV, BET, Paramount Pictures, etc) taking the name "Viacom" as a completely new entity.  Now, with this merger, they're putting the band back together, the way it was 15 years ago.

Doug Fields
Tampa, FL

From: tvor...@googlegroups.com <tvor...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Doug Eastick <eas...@mcd.on.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2019 6:58 AM
To: tvor...@googlegroups.com <tvor...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [TV orNotTV] CBS, Viacom together again
 

Bob Jersey

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Aug 14, 2019, 8:39:15 AM8/14/19
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Doug Fields, to Doug Eastick and Kevin M, in part today (8/14):
The original Viacom owned CBS for several years, until the company decided to split in the mid-00s due to stock market strategy (and as a solution to an internal power struggle between Les Moonves and whoever the guy in charge of MTV was at the time, over who would replace Sumner Redstone when he retired).

 
Tom Freston. Possibly better known today as chairman of anti-poverty charity ONE Campaign.

B

chi...@nc.rr.com

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Aug 14, 2019, 10:45:02 AM8/14/19
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A propos of nothing, but I don't see Cedar Fair giving up the parks it gained in the Paramount Parks deal. But that's neither here nor there.

~D

-----------------------------------------

From: "Doug Fields"
To: "tvor...@googlegroups.com"
Cc:
Sent: Wednesday August 14 2019 7:26:55AM
Subject: Re: [TV orNotTV] CBS, Viacom together again

The original Viacom owned CBS for several years, until the company decided to split in the mid-00s due to stock market strategy (and as a solution to an internal power struggle between Les Moonves and whoever the guy in charge of MTV was at the time, over who would replace Sumner Redstone when he retired).

Doug Fields

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Aug 14, 2019, 12:43:56 PM8/14/19
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???  Where do you see anything saying they're trying to get Paramount Parks back?  This merger is strictly between CBS and Viacom.  Cedar Fair (and Paramount Parks) isn't involved at all, unless I missed something in the press release.

Doug Fields
Tampa, FL
From: tvor...@googlegroups.com <tvor...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of chi...@nc.rr.com <chi...@nc.rr.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2019 10:44 AM

M-D November

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Aug 14, 2019, 12:55:34 PM8/14/19
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Minor correction - the ORIGINAL Viacom was spun off of CBS to act as their syndication arm; they were forced to divest in the early '70s. In the late 90s, THAT version of Viacom ultimately bought Westinghouse (which, by then, had bought CBS and renamed itself after the network).  They split again in 2006; the company that became CBS, Inc. was essentially the legal successor to the original Viacom (as well as CBS), whereas the entity known as Viacom was, essentially, a new company.


On Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 7:27:00 AM UTC-4, Doug Fields wrote:
The original Viacom owned CBS for several years, until the company decided to split in the mid-00s due to stock market strategy (and as a solution to an internal power struggle between Les Moonves and whoever the guy in charge of MTV was at the time, over who would replace Sumner Redstone when he retired).

The original Viacom took the name "CBS Corporation" after the split, with the rest of the company (MTV, BET, Paramount Pictures, etc) taking the name "Viacom" as a completely new entity.  Now, with this merger, they're putting the band back together, the way it was 15 years ago.

Doug Fields
Tampa, FL

From: tvor...@googlegroups.com <tvor...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Doug Eastick <eas...@mcd.on.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2019 6:58 AM
To: tvor...@googlegroups.com <tvor...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [TV orNotTV] CBS, Viacom together again
 
Why did I think that CBS had been owned by Viacom for years already?   Were they already "close" on many fronts?



On Tue., Aug. 13, 2019, 2:28 p.m. Kevin M., <drunkba...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Tue, Aug 13, 2019 at 10:13 AM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV <tvor...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
All that's left is the formal announcement, which Deadline says will come this afternoon (8/13)... both firms' stock prices recovered following big plunges Monday...


B



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Kevin M. (RPCV)

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M-D November

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Aug 14, 2019, 1:10:36 PM8/14/19
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Per the 'pedia, Cedar Fair terminated their licensing agreement with CBS for Paramount properties (like Star Trek) in 2007-2008.  As for the parks themselves, some have been integrated into Cedar Fair's operations, and some have been sold.

It wouldn't be in CBS's best interest to go after Cedar Fair (either to get the parks back or to acquire the company as a whole) - unless you're Disney or Comcast and have the ancillary business to prop them up during down times, theme parks tend to be a losing proposition for movie studios/entertainment companies in the US.  (And I say this having worked at Six Flags Great Adventure at the tail end of the Time Warner era.)
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Kevin M. (RPCV)

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chi...@nc.rr.com

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Aug 14, 2019, 4:49:04 PM8/14/19
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Just me thinking back to the mid 2000s. No worries.

-----------------------------------------

From: "Doug Fields"
To: "tvor...@googlegroups.com"
Cc:
Sent: Wednesday August 14 2019 12:43:51PM
Subject: Re: [TV orNotTV] CBS, Viacom together again

???  Where do you see anything saying they're trying to get Paramount Parks back?  This merger is strictly between CBS and Viacom.  Cedar Fair (and Paramount Parks) isn't involved at all, unless I missed something in the press release.

Doug Fields
Tampa, FL
From: tvor...@googlegroups.com <tvor...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of chi...@nc.rr.com <chi...@nc.rr.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2019 10:44 AM
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Kevin M. (RPCV)

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Mark Jeffries

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Aug 22, 2019, 3:34:57 AM8/22/19
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To be exact, all three networks had to divest their syndication and cable holdings as part of the Prime Access Rule.  CBS and ABC spun off their holdings as Viacom and Worldvision Enterprises, respectively.  Since most of NBC's filmed programs were produced by MCA/Universal, their smaller library was sold to National Telefilm Associates.  In the 80s, Worldvision was acquired by Taft Broadcasting while NTA changed its name to Republic Pictures, reflecting the ownership of that B picture studio's library.  When Taft went under (after changing its name to Great American), Aaron Spelling acquired Worldvision and then sold out his holdings, including his shows, to Blockbuster, who then acquired Republic.  Blockbuster was then acquired by Viacom before the merger of Viacom and CBS, which is why essentially CBS ended up owning the pre-1971 program libraries of all three networks.

At the time of the breakup, CBS was considered the weaker of the two companies, with just an OTA network, one premium channel, radio, billboards and Simon & Schuster, while Viacom kept all those famous cable channels and the hottest brand going Blockbuster.  Over the years, that did not hold up and CBS became the stronger company (with the radio stations and billboards sold off).

Mark Jeffries
Saints Spotlight Editor
spotl...@gmail.com


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Tom Wolper

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Aug 22, 2019, 1:22:32 PM8/22/19
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On Thu, Aug 22, 2019 at 3:34 AM Mark Jeffries <spotl...@gmail.com> wrote:
To be exact, all three networks had to divest their syndication and cable holdings as part of the Prime Access Rule.  CBS and ABC spun off their holdings as Viacom and Worldvision Enterprises, respectively.  Since most of NBC's filmed programs were produced by MCA/Universal, their smaller library was sold to National Telefilm Associates.  In the 80s, Worldvision was acquired by Taft Broadcasting while NTA changed its name to Republic Pictures, reflecting the ownership of that B picture studio's library.  When Taft went under (after changing its name to Great American), Aaron Spelling acquired Worldvision and then sold out his holdings, including his shows, to Blockbuster, who then acquired Republic.  Blockbuster was then acquired by Viacom before the merger of Viacom and CBS, which is why essentially CBS ended up owning the pre-1971 program libraries of all three networks.

At the time of the breakup, CBS was considered the weaker of the two companies, with just an OTA network, one premium channel, radio, billboards and Simon & Schuster, while Viacom kept all those famous cable channels and the hottest brand going Blockbuster.  Over the years, that did not hold up and CBS became the stronger company (with the radio stations and billboards sold off).

Thanks for this rundown. I wondered why there was a modern Republic Pictures slide at the end of some syndicated shows. It's worth noting that CBS and Viacom together are still a relatively small property in today's media business landscape and part of their merger might have to do with preparing themselves for sale to a large conglomerate.
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