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CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television
production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...
which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of
Paramount Global Paramount Global ( doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. ...
. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by
CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and ...
as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the original incarnation of the Paramount Television studio. It is the television production arm of the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
network ( CBS Productions previously assumed such functions until 2004, when it was merged into Paramount Television), and, along with
Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...
through its
Warner Bros. Television Studios Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
, it is also the television
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...
arm of
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
(in which Paramount has a 12.5% ownership stake).


Background and timeline


CBS

In 1952 the
Columbia Broadcasting System CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
formed an in-house television production unit, CBS Productions (commonly referred to as ''The CBS Television Network''), as well as facilities in the newly established
Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and C ...
in the
Fairfax District, Los Angeles The Fairfax District is a neighborhood in the Central region of Los Angeles, California. Historically the Fairfax District has been a center of the Jewish community in Los Angeles. It is known for the Farmer's Market, The Grove, CBS Television ...
in Westside. Also formed is CBS Television Film Sales (later known as ''CBS Films'') as the distributor of off-network and first-run syndicated programming to local television stations in the United States and abroad. In 1963, CBS Studio Center is established in Studio City, Los Angeles district of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
. Later in 1971, CBS Films is spun off as Viacom International, Inc. The company is re-established as ''CBS, Inc.'', in 1974. In 1978, the production unit gained the secondary/alternate name ''CBS Entertainment Productions''. In 1994, Westinghouse Electric acquired CBS. Viacom merged with its creator CBS, in 1999.


Paramount Pictures' early television ventures

In 1939, experimental television stations were established in Los Angeles (''W6XYZ)'' as Television Productions Inc. and Chicago (''W9XBK'') with
Balaban and Katz Balaban and Katz Theater Corporation, or B&K, was a theatre corporation which owned a chain of motion picture theaters in Chicago and surrounding areas. It was founded by Barney Balaban (later long-time President of Paramount Pictures), his six ...
. Commercial broadcasting began in 1943 over ''WBKB'' in Chicago (now
WBBM-TV WBBM-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington Str ...
). Commercial broadcasting began in 1947 over KTLA in Los Angeles. In 1949, the first major studio to establish program syndication as
Paramount Television Network Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
(much of which originated from KTLA). Paramount branched out of broadcasting in 1964 with the sale of KTLA to
Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
.


Desilu Productions

Desilu Productions Desilu Productions () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Mannix'', ''The Untouchabl ...
formed in 1950 by
Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', in which he c ...
and
Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...
. Desilu Studios was established in Hollywood and Culver City in 1957, after Arnaz/Ball purchased the
RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
studio lot. Desilu Sales Inc. was formed in 1962 as the company's syndication arm. In 1967, Desilu Productions was acquired by
Gulf and Western Industries Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. Originally, the company focused on manufacturing and resource extraction. Beginning in 1966, and continuing throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the company ...
. The company becomes the TV division of Paramount Pictures Corporation in July, retaining the Desilu name until the end of that year.Patrick J. White, ''The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier'' p. 117, 141. New York: Avon Books, 1991. Desilu Sales, in turn, merges with Paramount's syndication division to become Paramount Television Sales.


Paramount Television

From 1966 to 1967,
Gulf+Western Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. Originally, the company focused on manufacturing and resource extraction. Beginning in 1966, and continuing throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the company ...
acquired Paramount Pictures. In 1968 Paramount Television, formerly Desilu, was established as the studio's television production unit.Patrick J. White, ''The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier'' p. 141. New York: Avon Books, 1991. In 1977,
Paramount Television Service The Paramount Television Service (or PTVS for short and also known as Paramount Programming Service) was the name of a proposed but ultimately unrealized "fourth television network" from the U.S. film studio Paramount Pictures (then a unit of ...
was formed. In 1982 Paramount Television Group and Paramount Domestic Television and Video Programming was established. In September 1989,
Gulf+Western Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. Originally, the company focused on manufacturing and resource extraction. Beginning in 1966, and continuing throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the company ...
was reincorporated as
Paramount Communications Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest ...
, Inc.. On March 11, 1994, Viacom acquired Paramount Communications. In 1995, Viacom launched the United Paramount Network (
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
) with Chris-Craft Industries.


CBS Paramount Television

On August 10, 2004 Viacom merged the international television banners of CBS Broadcast International and
Paramount International Television Paramount Global Distribution Group or Paramount Global Content Distribution is the international television distribution arm of American media conglomerate, Paramount Global, originally established in 1962 as the international distribution divis ...
to form CBS Studios International. On September 7, 2004, Viacom merged CBS Productions and Paramount Network Television to form a new entity of Paramount Network Television, aka the CBS Paramount Television Entertainment Group, with CBS Productions becoming an in-name only unit. On January 1, 2006, as the CBS/Viacom split took effect, CBS inherited Paramount's television program library, with the second incarnation of Viacom keeping Paramount's films, the
MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...
and the BET Networks. On January 17, 2006,
CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and ...
CEO
Les Moonves Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...
announced that Paramount Television would be renamed CBS Paramount Television as of that day, and the network division becoming CBS Paramount Network Television, and the domestic distribution arm becoming CBS Paramount Domestic Television. On September 26, 2006, CBS Corporation merged its television distribution arms—
King World King World Productions, Inc. (also known as King World Entertainment, King World Enterprises, or simply King World) was a production company and syndicator of television programming in the United States independently established in 1964 until acq ...
, CBS Paramount International Television and CBS Paramount Domestic Television—to form
CBS Television Distribution CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Television Distribution, Inc. and CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Inc.) is an American television distribution company owned by CBS Studios, part of CBS Entertainment Group, a division of Paramount Glo ...
(CBSTVD). CBS Home Entertainment was then established as a subsidiary of the latter. On May 17, 2009, the Paramount name was dropped after a -year loan of its use from sister company Viacom, forming CBS Television Studios. National Amusements retained majority control of both CBS and the second Viacom. For a short time, many of Paramount's theatrical films were distributed domestically by
CBS Television Distribution CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Television Distribution, Inc. and CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Inc.) is an American television distribution company owned by CBS Studios, part of CBS Entertainment Group, a division of Paramount Glo ...
(the new name for the distribution arm as of 2007).
Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
continues to distribute home video sales of CBS shows through the
CBS DVD CBS Home Entertainment (formerly CBS Video Enterprises, Inc., MGM/CBS Home Video, CBS/Fox Video and CBS Video, currently branded as CBS DVD for DVD releases and CBS Blu-ray for Blu-ray releases) is a home entertainment company owned by Paramoun ...
brand. From 2009 until 2011, all shows produced by the company aired on either CBS or The CW. In the past, Paramount Television produced shows for all networks, but especially had a good relationship with
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
(much as Universal Television had a good relationship with eventually sister network
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
). ''The Cleaner'', which aired on A&E until September 2009, was the most recent show from the company to air on a network other than CBS or the CW (which is ironic when NBC/ABC's ownership of A&E is taken into account). This was until
BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
began airing new episodes of ''The Game'' in 2011. In 2012,
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
began airing ''
Common Law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
''. CTS does not directly produce any shows appearing on
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
, a premium cable television network co-owned with the studio. Instead, sister company Showtime Entertainment handles in-house productions for the network. However, CTD and its international arm handle syndication distribution for these shows if they ever appear in syndication. On October 25, 2018, CBS Television Studios announced the opening of a new animation division,
CBS Eye Animation Productions CBS Eye Animation Productions is an American animation studio division of CBS Studios owned by Paramount Global. The studio is closely associated with the ''Star Trek'' franchise with its first projects, ''Star Trek: Lower Decks'' and '' Star Tre ...
. A new ''Star Trek'' series entitled '' Star Trek: Lower Decks'' was announced at the same time. It was announced on August 14, 2019, that parent company CBS Corporation would reunite with Viacom to form a combined media company and be renamed
ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It ...
. For the first time in 13 years, ViacomCBS will encompass Paramount's film studio, the current incarnation of its television division and CBS's production studio under one umbrella.


CBS Studios

On October 8, 2020, it was announced that CTS had been renamed CBS Studios as part of a unification of branding elements between CBS divisions, citing that use of the word "Television" in the name was antiquated due to its position of producing programming for multiple platforms.


Past names

* CBS Paramount Television/
CBS Paramount Network Television CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...
(2006–2009) *CBS Television Studios (2009–2020) * Paramount Television (1967–2006) *
Desilu Productions Desilu Productions () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Mannix'', ''The Untouchabl ...
(1951–1967) * CBS Productions (1952–2006, 2008–2012, 2015–2016)


Productions (2009–present)


See also

*
CBS Media Ventures CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Television Distribution, Inc. and CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Inc.) is an American television distribution company owned by CBS Studios, part of CBS Entertainment Group, a division of Paramount Glo ...
*
Paramount Global Distribution Group Paramount Global Distribution Group or Paramount Global Content Distribution is the international television distribution arm of American media conglomerate, Paramount Global, originally established in 1962 as the international distribution divis ...
*
Paramount Television Studios Paramount Television Studios (formerly known as Paramount Television from 2013 to 2020) is an American television production and distribution company, that is a division of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It is the succe ...
,
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
's other current television studio and CBS Studios' corporate sibling *
Terrytoons Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in name only). Terrytoons was founded by ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cbs Television Studios Television production companies of the United States Paramount Global subsidiaries Companies based in Los Angeles 2006 establishments in California American companies established in 2006 Mass media companies established in 2006