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. The division was active from 1974 until 2004, when the company was folded into Paramount Network Television 10 years following Viacom's acquisition of Paramount Pictures, 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 jurisdictio ...

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 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 gr ...

left Universal for Viacom. In 1984, Thomas D. Tannenbaum 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 premium cable television channels, including its flagship service Showtime. It is a subsidiary of media conglomerate Paramount Global under its networks un ...

. 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 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 terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...

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.

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/

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 ...

split at the end of 2005. All shows from Viacom Productions are now owned by CBS Studios 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 Glo ...

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

History

Viacom Pictures

Shows produced by Viacom Productions

Note

See also

References