Viacom (1952–2006) in the context of Westinghouse Electric Corporation


Viacom (1952–2006) in the context of Westinghouse Electric Corporation

⭐ Core Definition: Viacom (1952–2006)

The first incarnation of Viacom Inc. (derived from "Video & Audio Communications") was an American mass media and entertainment conglomerate based in New York City. It began as CBS Television Film Sales, the broadcast syndication division of the CBS television network on March 16, 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. The company came under Sumner Redstone's control in 1987 through his cinema chain company National Amusements.

At the time of its split, Viacom's assets included the CBS and UPN broadcast networks, the Paramount Pictures film and television studio, local radio station operator CBS Radio, cable channels such as MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, and Showtime, outdoor media operator Viacom Outdoor, television production and distribution firm King World Productions, and book publisher Simon & Schuster. It also owned its IP holding subsidiary Viacom International and brand licensor Westinghouse Licensing Corporation.

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Viacom (1952–2006) in the context of DreamWorks Pictures

DreamWorks Pictures (also known as DreamWorks SKG and commonly referred to as DreamWorks) is an American film studio and distribution label of Amblin Partners. The studio was originally founded on October 12, 1994, as a live-action and animation film studio by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen (which together form the SKG of DreamWorks SKG), of which they owned 72%. The studio formerly distributed its own and third-party films. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses of more than $100 million each.

DreamWorks Pictures was sold to Viacom, parent of Paramount Pictures in February 2006 (this version is now named DW Studios, LLC). In 2008, DreamWorks announced its intention to end its partnership with Paramount and made a deal to produce films with India's Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, re-creating DreamWorks Pictures as an independent entity. The following year, DreamWorks entered into a distribution agreement with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, wherein Disney would distribute DreamWorks films through the Touchstone Pictures label; the deal continued until August 2016. Since October 2016, Universal Pictures has distributed most of the films produced by DreamWorks Pictures. Currently, DreamWorks operates out of offices on the Universal Studios Lot.

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Viacom (1952–2006) in the context of Star Trek (2009 film)

Star Trek is a 2009 American science fiction action film directed by J. J. Abrams, and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It is the 11th film in the Star Trek franchise, and is also a reboot that features the main characters of the original Star Trek television series portrayed by a new cast, as the first in the rebooted film series. The film follows James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) aboard the USS Enterprise as they combat Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan from their future who threatens the United Federation of Planets. The story takes place in an alternate reality that features both an alternate birth location for James T. Kirk and further alterations in history stemming from the time travel of both Nero and the original series Spock (Leonard Nimoy). The alternate reality was created in an attempt to free the film and the franchise from established continuity constraints while simultaneously preserving original story elements.

The idea for a prequel film which would follow the Star Trek characters during their time in Starfleet Academy was first discussed by series creator Gene Roddenberry in 1968. The concept resurfaced in the late 1980s, when it was postulated by Harve Bennett as a possible plotline for what would become Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, but it was rejected in favor of other projects by Roddenberry. Following the critical and commercial failure of Star Trek: Nemesis and the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise, the franchise's executive producer Rick Berman and screenwriter Erik Jendresen wrote an unproduced film titled Star Trek: The Beginning, which would take place after Enterprise. After the separation of Viacom and CBS Corporation in 2005, former Paramount Pictures president Gail Berman convinced CBS to allow Paramount to produce a new film in the franchise. Orci and Kurtzman were soon approached to write the film, and Abrams was approached to direct it. Kurtzman and Orci used inspiration from novels and graduate school dissertations, as well as the series itself. Principal photography occurred between November 2007 and March 2008, in locations around California and Utah. Abrams wanted to avoid using greenscreen, and preferred sets and locations instead. Heavy secrecy surrounded the film's production and was under the fake working title Corporate Headquarters. Industrial Light & Magic used digital ships for the film, as opposed to miniatures used in most of the previous films in the franchise. Production for the film concluded by the end of 2008.

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Viacom (1952–2006) in the context of Westinghouse Electric (1886)

The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in 1945. Through the early and mid-20th century, Westinghouse Electric was a powerhouse in heavy industry, electrical production and distribution, consumer electronics, home appliances and a wide variety of other products. They were a major supplier of generators and steam turbines for most of their history, and was also a major player in the field of nuclear power, starting with the Westinghouse Atom Smasher in 1937.

A series of downturns and management missteps in the 1970s and 80s combined with large cash balances led the company to enter the financial services business. Their focus was on mortgages, which suffered significant losses in the late 1980s. In 1992 they announced a major restructuring and the liquidation of their credit operations. In 1995, in a major change of direction, the company acquired the CBS television network and renamed itself CBS Corporation. Most of its remaining industrial businesses were sold off at this time. CBS Corp was acquired by Viacom in 1999, a merger completed in April 2000. The CBS Corporation name was later reused for one of the two companies resulting from the split of Viacom in 2005.

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Viacom (1952–2006) in the context of CBS News and Stations

CBS News and Stations is a division of the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Skydance Corporation that owns and operates a group of American television stations along with CBS News. As of January 2021, the division owned 28 stations: 15 are the core stations of the CBS television network (Including those in locations such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Atlanta, among others), two are affiliates of The CW, ten are independent stations, and one is a primary-channel affiliate of the digital subchannel network Start TV, located in Indianapolis. As of January 2018. it maintained a half-interest in Start TV, which was co-owned with Weigel Broadcasting.

CBS began its television operations on July 1, 1941, with its initial owned-and-operated station, WCBS-TV (then known as WCBW) in New York City. Other owned-and-operated stations were acquired through an ownership stake or outright purchase instead of being built by the network. The Westinghouse Electric Corporation's purchase of CBS in 1995 then merged the network's owned-and-operated stations with those of Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W). With the subsequent 2000 merger with Viacom, the CBS-owned stations were combined with Viacom's Paramount Stations Group to form the Viacom Television Stations Group. The group was then renamed CBS Television Stations in 2006, and later CBS News and Stations in 2021.

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