Viacom Productions (formerly Viacom Enterprises) was a
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 advertisin ...
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
Viacom International
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 ...
. The division was active from 1974 until 2004, when the company was folded into
Paramount Network Television
The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its na ...
10 years following Viacom's acquisition 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 led Perry Simon to move itself to Paramount for a production deal.
History
Viacom Enterprises was formed in 1971 as the successor of the pre-1968 CBS Films, later reincorporated as CBS Enterprises, Inc. in 1968. In 1973, it was spun-off because it was against the
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
regulations for a television network to distribute its programs under its own name. Subsequently, Viacom formed "Viacom Productions" to produce first-run television series airing on the major television networks.
The first primetime television show to be produced by Viacom Productions for the ABC network was ''
The MacKenzies of Paradise Cove
''The MacKenzies of Paradise Cove'' (also known as ''Wonderland Cove'') is an American six-episode drama miniseries which aired on ABC during the 1978–79 season from March 27 to May 18, 1979, following a television film pilot titled ''Stickin ...
''. The studio had development contracts with independent writers and producers. The studio made significant deals in 1977, when
Roland Kibbee
Roland Kibbee (15 February 1914 in Monongahela, Pennsylvania – 5 August 1984 in Encino, California) was an award-winning American screenwriter and producer. He was a frequent collaborator and friend of actor-producer Burt Lancaster.
Career ...
and
Dean Hargrove
Dean Hargrove (born July 27, 1938 in Iola, Kansas) is an American television producer, writer, and director. His background includes graduating the St. John's Military School, Wichita State University, and attending the UCLA Film School as a gradu ...
left Universal for Viacom.
In 1984,
Thomas D. Tannenbaum
Thomas David Tannenbaum (February 4, 1932–December 1, 2001) was an American producer. Tannenbaum was a producer for more than 40 years. And in that time, Tannenbaum served as an executive at several film and television studios. They include ...
became president of the studio.
On March 11, 1994, Viacom acquired
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. and Viacom Enterprises was folded into
Paramount Domestic Television
Paramount Domestic Television (PDT) was the television distribution arm of American television production company Paramount Television, once the TV arm of Paramount Pictures. It was formed in 1982 originally as Paramount Domestic Television and V ...
, by transferring the domestic rights of the Viacom library. Viacom International was later reorganized as the parent company of
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
Showtime Networks
Showtime Networks Inc. is an American entertainment company that oversees the company's pay television, premium cable television television channel, channels, including its flagship service Showtime (TV network), Showtime. It is a subsidiary of me ...
. Viacom transferred the international rights of the said library into
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 ...
, while Viacom Productions was reincorporated as a production sub-division of Paramount Television.
The first hit came after the acquisition was ''
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...
'', a show
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 ...
aired from 1996 to 2000, followed by a run on
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
from 2000 to 2003.
Viacom Productions was folded into Paramount Network Television in 2004, amid financial troubles brought on to Viacom. The final two series to end under the Viacom Productions name are ''Ed'' and ''The Division''.
Viacom Pictures
From 1991 to 1995, Viacom Productions produced some theatrical films and television films under the brand Viacom Pictures. Viacom Pictures was shut down a year after its parent acquired Paramount Communications, the parent 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 ...
.
Shows produced by Viacom Productions
:''Among select titles''
Note
''The 4400'' continued as a Paramount Network Television production for season 2. The show became a
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 ...
production for its last two seasons after the
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 ...
/
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 Entertainmen ...
split at the end of 2005.
All shows from Viacom Productions are now owned by
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 o ...
Productions, LLC., a holding company, and distributed 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 Glob ...
.
See also
*
Paramount Television
The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name ...
*
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 o ...
, formerly CBS Paramount Television and CBS Television Studios
*
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 ...
, formerly CBS Television Distribution
*
Viacom Enterprises
Viacom Productions (formerly Viacom Enterprises) was a television production arm of Viacom International. The division was active from 1974 until 2004, when the company was folded into Paramount Network Television 10 years following Viacom's acq ...
*
Viacom (1952–2006)
The original incarnation of Viacom Inc. (derived from "Video & Audio Communications") was an American media conglomerate based in New York City. It began as CBS Television Film Sales, the broadcast syndication division of the CBS television netw ...
References
{{Authority control
Television production companies of the United States
Entertainment companies based in California
Companies based in Los Angeles
Entertainment companies established in 1974
Mass media companies established in 1974
Mass media companies disestablished in 2004
American companies established in 1974
American companies disestablished in 2004
1974 establishments in California
2004 disestablishments in California
Paramount Global subsidiaries
Predecessors of CBS Studios
nl:Viacom Productions