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Paramount Global Distribution Group or Paramount Global Content Distribution is the international
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
distribution arm of American
media conglomerate A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According t ...
,
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. ...
, originally established in 1962 as the international distribution division of ''
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 ...
''. With the sale of Desilu to
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 ...
, then-owners of film studio
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, in 1968, the division evolved into Paramount's first foray into the international television industry in the 1970s. The division handles the distribution of television content from the libraries of
Paramount Media 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 ...
,
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 success ...
,
CBS Studios 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 ...
,
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 Glob ...
,
Showtime Networks Showtime Networks Inc. is an American entertainment company that oversees the company's premium cable television channels, including its flagship service Showtime. It is a subsidiary of media conglomerate Paramount Global under its networks uni ...
and
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 ...
.


History

The division as well as Paramount International Television was originally established in 1962 as the international distribution division of
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 ...
, ''Desilu International'', which was managed by Bruce Gordon. The company co-produced ''
The Lost Islands ''The Lost Islands'' is an Australian television series which first aired in Australia on Network Ten. It later screened around the world, including the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Greece (and various other ...
'' with the Ten Network (now
Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
) in 1975. Network 10 and this division have been in common ownership since 2019 after the Viacom/CBS merger. In 1983, it acquired distribution rights to the Australian miniseries, ''
Return to Eden ''Return to Eden'' is an Australian television drama series starring Rebecca Gilling, James Reyne, Wendy Hughes and James Smillie. It began as a three-part, six-hour mini-series shown on Network Ten on September 27–29, 1983. Gilling and Sm ...
''.In 1968, Desilu was sold to
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 ...
, the then-owners of film studio
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, eventually adding international television to its well known film operations. Gulf+Western rebranded the division as ''Paramount Television International'' to handle international sales of Desilu/Paramount properties from Paramount Television. In 1981, CBS launched its international division, ''CBS Broadcast International'', to sell news, sports and entertainment programing produced in-house to foreign markets as well as non-broadcast and new technology markets in the U.S. It eventually merged into ''CBS Worldwide Enterprises'' and later merged into its marketing unit ''CBS Productions'' (unrelated to the later company of the same name) with ''
CBS Theatrical Films CBS Theatrical Films, also as CBS Theatrical Films Group, was the film production branch of the U.S. television network, CBS, which was active from 1979 to 1985. CBS was also a partner in TriStar Pictures, which started as a joint venture with Col ...
'' on 17 December 1984. In the summer of 1985, CBS Productions, CBS News and Columbia House partnered to produce a videocassette ''The Vietnam War with Walter Cronkite''. Later that year, CBS shut down its theatrical production unit and CBS Broadcast International spun-out from the production unit, restoring the CBS Broadcast International moniker in the process. It planned to provide the ''
CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...
'' bulletins to UK-based
British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was a television company, headquartered in London, that provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. They started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company was merged with ...
in 1988. CBS Broadcast International produced syndicated episodes of the TV series, ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'' in 1985. It then signed a partnership agreement with MGM/UA Telecommunications 2 years later to syndicate its episodes from all 2 seasons with the addition of 30 new first-run episodes in order to form a 90-episode syndication package. On 28 October that same year, ''CBS Broadcast International'' announced its acquisition of TV and ancillary market rights to four Academy Award/Oscar-winning films produced by
Arthur Cohn Arthur Cohn (born February 4, 1927) is a film producer and a multiple Academy Award winner. Biography Cohn was born to a Jewish family, the son of Marcus Cohn, a lawyer and leader of the Swiss Zionist movement who moved to Israel in 1949 where h ...
such as ''
Dangerous Moves ''Dangerous Moves'' (french: La Diagonale du fou) is a 1984 French-language film about chess, directed by Richard Dembo, produced by Arthur Cohn, starring Michel Piccoli, Alexandre Arbatt, as well as Liv Ullmann, Leslie Caron, and Bernhard W ...
'', '' Black and White in Color'', '' The Garden of the Finzi Continis'' and '' The Sky Above, The Mud Below''. It also announced plans to pick up the bulletins of ''
CBS Evening News with Dan Rather The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature st ...
'' which would place it on a tape-delayed basis on international channel Tele Monte Carlo. In 1986, CBS Broadcast International has a partnership that they will exploit the rights to the
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
properties. In 1987, the company, along with MCA TV International, had inked an agreement with
China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
(CCTV), to offer a total of 100 drama hours, which combined, represent the largest license to date, and making it the two Hollywood studios the largest suppliers for foreign producers on Chinese TV. In 1990, it was considered as an investor in the Nine Television Network. In 1995, CBS Broadcast International launched a joint venture to be headed by Peter Press. In 1998, James Dowaliby was tapped to be vice president of production and Christopher Ottinger was named vice president of business development at the division. Later that year, Paramount has plans to sign for an international co-production. CBS Broadcast International launched a global programming alliance with Virgin Media Television in 1997. That following year, Stephanie Pacheco was named the managing director of international sales of the division. In 2000, the division was touted to develop and co-produce ''Jeremiah'' with
Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
, but got replaced by MGM. ''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 ...
'' merged on 11 August 2004 to create CBS Paramount International Television'' and would be headed by Armando Nuarez Jr. The division was transferred to
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 t ...
after CBS spun-off from Viacom at the beginning of 2006, with television rights to the films from its sister company,
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, obtained by
Trifecta Entertainment and Media Trifecta Entertainment & Media is an American entertainment company founded in 2006. The company's founders previously held jobs as executives at MGM Television. Trifecta is primarily a distribution company and also handles advertising sales in exc ...
. With the 4 December 2019 merger of CBS and Viacom the TV rights to Paramount's films were brought back to the now-combined ViacomCBS. The company distributes televion content from the libraries of CBS Studios, the
King World Productions 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 ...
and certain
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
shows internationally the Rysher Entertainment library, the latter owned domestically by 2929 Entertainment. In May 2009, CPITV was renamed CBS Studios International. On 14 September that year, CBS Studios International struck a joint venture deal with Chellomedia to launch six CBS-branded channels in the UK which would replace
Zone Romantica Zone Romantica (formerly ''Romantica'') was a European TV channel that launched in 1998. The channel broadcast a mixture of telenovelas, music and entertainment from all over the world, but mainly from Latin America. The channel was available 24 ...
, Zone Thriller, Zone Horror and
Zone Reality CBS Reality is a European television channel broadcast in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. History CBS Reality was launched as Reality TV on 1 December 1999 as a joint-venture between UPCtv and Zone Vision. In 2005, Liberty Global, owner of U ...
, plus timeshift services Zone Horror +1 and Zone Reality +1. The replacement channels launched on 16 November that year. On 5 April 2010, Zone Horror and Zone Horror +1 were rebranded as
Horror Channel Legend (formerly Horror Channel, and Zone Horror) is a British free-to-air television channel specialising in sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, action and cult series. It is broadcast in the UK and Ireland. The channel is known for its horror movies dur ...
and Horror Channel +1 respectively. CBS Studios International licensed rights for the top international formats. In 2010, CBS Studios International went into an equal joint venture with Reliance Broadcast Network Limited to form ''Big CBS Networks Pvt. Ltd''. At the time, the network operated 3 main channels; Big CBS Prime, a general entertainment channel, Big CBS Spark, a youth-oriented channel and Big CBS Love, a women's and urban couple-oriented channel. In January 2011, CBS Studios International partnered with Australian company,
Ten Network Holdings Ten Network Holdings Ltd, commonly referred as Paramount Australia & New Zealand, is a major media company in Australia. Headquartered in Sydney, its major asset is Network 10, a free-to-air television network. Formerly a public company listed ...
, to launch digital free-to-air channel known as
Eleven Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *'' ...
and would hold a 33% stake in its joint-venture holding company, ElevenCo. Ten Network Holdings entered voluntary administration in June 2017 which ultimately led to CBS acquiring the entirety of the company that November. On 1 August 2012, Chellomedia revealed that the European versions of
Zone Romantica Zone Romantica (formerly ''Romantica'') was a European TV channel that launched in 1998. The channel broadcast a mixture of telenovelas, music and entertainment from all over the world, but mainly from Latin America. The channel was available 24 ...
,
Zone Reality CBS Reality is a European television channel broadcast in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. History CBS Reality was launched as Reality TV on 1 December 1999 as a joint-venture between UPCtv and Zone Vision. In 2005, Liberty Global, owner of U ...
and
Club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...
would be rebranded respeectively as
CBS Drama RealityXtra (formerly CBS Drama) is a British free-to-air television channel that centres its programming on American television shows produced by CBS. It is the sister channel of CBS Reality and is owned in partnership by AMC Networks and Para ...
,
CBS Reality CBS Reality is a European television channel broadcast in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. History CBS Reality was launched as Reality TV on 1 December 1999 as a joint-venture between UPCtv and Zone Vision. In 2005, Liberty Global, owner of U ...
and CBS Action. Following the 4 December 2019 merger of CBS and Viacom to create ViacomCBS, ''CBS Studios International'' and ''
Viacom International Studios Paramount International Networks (PIN) is the international division of Paramount Global. The division oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of key Paramount's brands outside of the United States. These brands include Paramount Net ...
'' merged and rebranded to ''ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group''. On 16 February 2022, ViacomCBS rebranded as
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. ...
, rebranding the division likewise to its current name and restoring the "Paramount" name for the first time in 17 years, with ''Paramount International'' getting absorbed into it.


Paramount International

Paramount International Inc. is a defunct subsidiary of Paramount Global which originally launched in 1971 as Viacom International Inc., just a year after
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
spun-out from 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 ...
TV network and it became Viacom's parent company. The company was responsible for copyrights and trademarks associated with its corporate websites, applications and cable networks, specifically its Media Networks division. The division also
licenses A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
the product rights for their various properties and the dissemination of visual and textual television programs on a subscription/fee basis. Viacom International also served as the licensee name and division for its group of television stations for FCC purposes before the 1999 Westinghouse merger. Former Viacom station
WVIT WVIT (channel 30) is a television station licensed to New Britain, Connecticut, United States, broadcasting NBC programming to the Hartford–New Haven market. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations divisio ...
in
New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135. Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wit ...
(serving
Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
and
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
), which it owned from 1978 until 1997, took its call letters from the initials of Viacom International, and retains them to the present day under NBC ownership. The second incarnations of
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
and
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 t ...
merged on December 4, 2019 to create ViacomCBS, but this division wouldn't reflect its name change until the following year. ViacomCBS rebranded as the current ''Paramount Global'', which consequentially rebranded the division before it finally dissolved and had its operations folded into the main distribution unit of Paramount Global.


Past activities

As ''CBS Paramount International Television'', the division distributed films/movies from the libraries of
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
and the
Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
between 2006 and 2009, as well as
DreamWorks Pictures DreamWorks Pictures (also known as DreamWorks SKG and formerly DreamWorks Studios, commonly referred to as DreamWorks) is an American film company and distribution label of Amblin Partners. It was originally founded on October 12, 1994 as a li ...
from 2006 to 2008. As ''CBS Studios International'', the division had 50% ownership of former Australian pay-TV channels, TV1 and SF Channel. In 2013,
RTL Group RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France and ...
and CBS Studios International announced a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
called ''RTL CBS Asia Entertainment Network'' for Southeast Asia with the launch of RTL CBS Entertainment in September that year, but would be acquired 5 years later in January by Blue Ant Media. The division previously owned all CBS-branded European TV channels in a joint venture with
AMC Networks International AMC Networks International is the division of AMC Networks that operates outside the United States. AMC Networks commissions and distributes TV channels, content and video services. The division's operating companies and business units currently ...
and Australian television company,
Ten Network Holdings Ten Network Holdings Ltd, commonly referred as Paramount Australia & New Zealand, is a major media company in Australia. Headquartered in Sydney, its major asset is Network 10, a free-to-air television network. Formerly a public company listed ...
. Both have since been transferred to the main international networks division of Paramount Global.


See also

*
CBS Studios 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 ...
*
MTV Entertainment Studios MTV Entertainment Studios is the film and television production arm of MTV Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Founded in 1991 as MTV Productions, it is a consolidation of the former MTV ...
*
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 success ...


References


External links

* {{Paramount Global Paramount Global divisions Mass media companies established in 1962 Television production companies of the United States Television syndication distributors