News about Paramount Global

Viacom and CBS Corporation Complete Merger

-- On December 4, 2019, CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc. merged to form ViacomCBS Inc. The two businesses were separated in 1973, merged in 2000 and split again in 2006.

ViacomCBS now owns CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, CBS All Access, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster. The company says it has "one of the industry's most important and extensive libraries of TV and film titles."

Members of the Redstone family are majority owners of ViacomCBS.

Viacom Statement on DirecTV Dropping Most of Its Channels

-- On July 10, 2012, at exactly 11:46 p.m. ET, DirecTV replaced most of Viacom's networks with a looping video message from their CEO.

According to Update on State of Talks with DirecTV, the satellite TV service also replaced Nickelodeon with "a mosaic image of non-Viacom kids' programming available on DirecTV."

More from the update, published July 11, 2012:

"After doing so, DirecTV told the press that Viacom ignored attempts to reach a deal. This is not true.

The following is a statement from Denise Denson, our Executive Vice President of Content Distribution and Marketing, that clarifies the events that led up to DirecTV removing our channels last night:

"The last time we spoke with DirecTV was at 11:00 a.m. yesterday morning and there were no new ideas offered for resolution. In fact, the last proposal DirecTV had made was lower than anyone else pays in the industry, and a deal we said we would not do out of fairness to other distributors. It is essentially the same proposal they had been talking about for three weeks, and one we continually said we would not do. DirecTV also refused to engage with us on any issues related to the deal beyond the rate increase. We are ready to talk at any time.""

TV Land has some of the stupidest programmers (outside of OWN) going--intelligent programmers don't put the exact same episode on 2 days running. This was done today with MASH. Stupid, stupid programmers.

Enough already with Hot In Cleveland and Happ[ly Divorced. Who is your target audience for GARBAGE?

The constant commercials are crude.

I watched an episode of Bonanza yesterday on TVLand but it was so un-enjoyable, I can't see myself ever watching that channel again. The whole time there were advertisements for Hot in Cleveland and Happily Divorced on the screen as the show was playing. The animated circus show was so distracting, it made me want to just put in a DVD rather than sit through the show I was trying to watch. I know many networks are doing this and I hate it and feel the same way anytime this happens. I never watch Lifetime anymore because they are some of the worst. My friends and family all agree. You are losing viewers with this type of advertising. Not everybody will bother to complain to the networks. They just quit watching.

My kids and I love watching the old shows I grew up with and they are fans. I control what they watch due to their age. While watching Bewitched I was upset over the Hot in Cleveland commercial, by the way I do not watch that program. The lady says something about her ex and calls him a bastard. I was not planning on my kids hearing that.

MPAA's Top Lawyer Leaving to Join Viacom

-- Top antipiracy exec will oversee the company's litigation efforts, The Hollywood Reporter reported on February 16, 2011:

"Daniel Mandil, the MPAA's top antipiracy executive and a key player in its efforts to fight global movie theft and counterfeiting, is leaving the organization for a big job at Viacom, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

Mandil, who serves as the movie industry lobbying group's senior executive vp general counsel and chief content protection officer, has accepted a position overseeing Viacom's litigation efforts. The MPAA and Viacom declined to comment on the move but sources say Mandil will start at Viacom's New York headquarters on April 1."

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"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" Return to Hulu.com

-- On February 2, 2011, Hulu and Viacom announced a new content partnership:

"Hulu and Viacom Inc. today announced a new content partnership that will return "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" to Hulu.com and bring many popular TV shows from Viacom's media networks, including Comedy Central, MTV, Black Entertainment Television (BET), VH1, Spike TV, and TV Land to the Hulu Plus subscription service.

Under the agreement, current full episodes and clips of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report", starring Stephen Colbert, will be available on the free ad-supported Hulu.com service and through the Hulu Plus subscription service beginning February 2, 2011. In addition, Viacom will make available to Hulu Plus subscribers a selection of current programs, like Jersey Shore, Tosh.0, Teen Mom 2, Manswers, Let's Stay Together, and Hot in Cleveland 21 days after they air. Viacom content availability on Hulu Plus will vary on a show-by-show basis.

Additionally, Hulu Plus subscribers will have access to more than 2,000 episodes of programming from Viacom's library, including The Chappelle Show, Reno 911, Beavis & Butthead, Real World, Punk'd, Baldwin Hills and many others on PCs, internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players, gaming consoles, set-top boxes, mobile phones, and tablets (in HD when available).

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Philippe Dauman, President and CEO of Viacom, said, "We are very pleased to partner with Hulu in a way that recognizes the value of our strong brands and the passionate young fans who are attracted to our content. The Hulu Plus service offers us the opportunity to connect with our audiences through an exciting subscription and ad supported platform that is complementary to our existing distribution arrangements. This innovative agreement allows us to benefit from the success and expansion of Hulu and we look forward to bringing our popular content to their growing audience."

"We are thankful that Viacom was DTS," said Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu, "Our first order of business in the partnership is GTL with Philippe and his team.""

Viacom Partners with the White House to Announce the 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge

-- From the announcement, released February 1, 2011:

"Viacom and the Get Schooled Foundation are excited to be partnering with the White House again to support the 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge. The high-stakes contest encourages public high-school students to submit applications demonstrating how their high school best prepared them for college and career. The winning submission is awarded the premier commencement speaker, President Barack Obama. Schools can begin submitting applications for the Commencement Challenge today and applications are due by Friday, February 25th.

The Get Schooled Foundation partnered with the White House on the first Race to the Top Commencement Challenge in 2010.

Carl Folta, Viacom's Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications, said, "We are excited to partner with the White House again on this important initiative - one that takes a unique approach to getting our youth excited about education. This campaign does two very important things: it shines a spotlight on a national priority that is the core of our nation's future success and it makes setting and achieving educational goals appealing and tangible for students."

The 2011 Challenge asks schools to submit essays, supporting data and an optional video to demonstrate their school's efforts to support post-graduation success. Last year, Viacom sent production teams from Viacom's media networks to assist each finalist in the creation of a short video that embodied how the school was helping achieve President Obama's goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. These videos were posted on the White House website and the public voted on their favorite. The President made the final selection and the winning school was Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Get Schooled Foundation then worked with several students from Kalamazoo Central High to create video diaries, which chronicled the days leading up to the commencement and the entire celebration.

Marie Groark, the Executive Director of the Get Schooled Foundation, said, "Dramatically improving our nation's high school graduation and preparation rates is fundamental to America's future prosperity. But we will not succeed unless we engage and motivate our young people and their families to join educators and policymakers in the effort to improve. The Get Schooled Foundation is proud to partner with the White House on the Commencement Challenge. We will use our unparalleled channels and platforms to encourage students and schools from across the country to participate in the Commencement Challenge."

Viacom Execs Get Big Pay Hikes in 2010

-- CEO tops $84.5 M in total compensation in 2010, Multichannel News reported on January 22, 2011:

"Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman got a $50 million raise in 2010, as his total compensation ballooned to $84.5 million, fueled mainly by big gains in stock options and awards.

According to a proxy statement filed late Friday, Dauman's total compensation in 2010 was $84.5 million, up from the $34 million he earned in 2009. Fueling that 148.5% increase were $54 million in one-time stock options and awards. Without those one-time incentives, Dauman's 2010 compensation would have been $30.2 million, short of the $34 million he earned in 2009.

The one-time awards were part of a new five-year employment deal Dauman signed in April 2010."

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I am appalled by the vulgar and insulting program "HOT IN CLEVELAND"--I boycott any advertisers of this lowbrow offering and encourage others to do the same.

I once admired Betty White; I no longer do. Quality programming becomes increasingly difficult to find; how about raising sensibilities and degrees of dignity rather than lowering standards and insulting our intelligence?

"BAGGAGE" and "THE NEWLYWED GAME" fall under the same category.

"2 and 1/2 Men" on a different channel IS ANOTHER CREEPY EXAMPLE, by the way, and a show which we never watch.

Viacom Sued by Former Harmonix Shareholders, the Wall Street Journal reported on December 21, 2010:

"Former shareholders of Harmonix Music Systems, maker of the "Rock Band" music videogame, have sued its parent company Viacom Inc., alleging that the media giant is trying to cheat them out of hundreds of millions of dollars owed under the terms of Viacom's 2006 acquisition of the videogame company."

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Comedy Central, MTV, Nick, and Other Viacom Properties Blocked on Google TV

-- GTV Hub reported on November 21, 2010:

"Are we beginning to see a pattern yet? Just when we thought (or at least we were hoping) that Fox was going to be the last major network to block Google TV, Viacom has arrived just in time to rain on our parade. That’s right folks, Viacom is now blocking Google TV devices from streaming full episodes across their entire line of properties."

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I would like to submit a music video To CMT USA but I haven't been able to find a contact person to send it to

Cheers Byron Andres

David Kline Named Senior Vice President Technology, Chief Information Officer of Viacom and MTV Networks

-- October 13, 2010 -- Viacom Inc. has appointed David Kline to the position of Senior Vice President Technology, Chief Information Officer of Viacom and its MTV Networks unit, it was announced today by Thomas E. Dooley, Viacom's Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Kline, who joins Viacom on November 1 from Discovery Communications Inc., will be based in New York and report dually to James Barge, Viacom's Chief Financial Officer and Rich Eigendorff, MTV Networks' Chief Operating Officer.

In this role, Mr. Kline will not only provide the strategic leadership for the company's technology infrastructure, but will also oversee the MTV Networks Online Technology and Interactive Services, Content Creation and Distribution Technologies, Applications Development, and Information Security and Compliance.

Mr. Kline joined Discovery Communications in 2007, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President and CIO. In this role, he provided global leadership, strategic management and technical guidance for Discovery's IT operations and facility engineering worldwide. Prior to Discovery, Mr. Kline spent nearly 10 years at Rainbow Media Holdings, the content subsidiary of Cablevision Systems. At Rainbow Media, Mr. Kline rose to the post of Senior Vice President and CIO, Information Systems & Facilities Management, with full accountability for information systems and facilities performance.

Please stop showing the samed episodes of Andy Griffith over and over! You show the same Bonanza eppisodes two or three days in a row also. Can't you just show them in sequence and keep going? I enjoy TV Land and the old shows that I grew up with but I want a different episode everyday.

Also, can you not advertise that ColonFlow commercial around lunch and dinner times?

Thanks

CAN U GUY BRING WHAT'S HAPPENING BACK TO TV LAND I AM A BIG FAN AND A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE LOVE TO WATCH RERUN

Please take 'The Nanny' off the air in the late evenings. The last thing I want it to be annoyed to sleep.

James W. Barge Named Chief Financial Officer of Viacom; Katherine Gill-Charest Named Controller

-- September 30, 2010 -- James W. Barge has been named Chief Financial Officer of Viacom Inc., it was announced today by Thomas E. Dooley, Viacom's Chief Operating Officer. In his new role, Mr. Barge, who previously served as Executive Vice President, Controller, Tax and Treasury for the Company, succeeds Mr. Dooley, who has served as Viacom's Chief Financial Officer since January 2007.

Mr. Barge, 55, will be responsible for the Company's financial reporting and planning, accounting, tax and treasury functions, as well as Viacom's information technology activities. He will continue to report to Mr. Dooley.

Mr. Dooley also announced the appointment of Katherine Gill-Charest to the post of Senior Vice President and Controller for Viacom. In this role, she will have direct responsibility for the financial reporting, accounting and financial compliance activities of Viacom and its subsidiaries. Ms. Gill-Charest, 46, has been Vice President and Deputy Controller of Viacom since June 2007. She will report to Mr. Barge.

Both positions are effective October 1, 2010.

Viacom Digital Boss Greg Clayman Headed to Rupert Murdoch’s iPad Newspaper

-- The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital reported on August 22, 2010:

"Rupert Murdoch’s iPad-friendly digital newspaper doesn’t have a launch date or a name yet, but it is hiring. News Corp. has tapped Greg Clayman, who runs digital distribution for Viacom, to run the new publication’s business operations, multiple sources tell me.

For some reason, News Corp. people (who also own this site), don’t like to use the word “newspaper” to describe their plans for the news…thing. But as earlier reports have detailed, the idea is to create a subscription-based digital news service, designed expressly for mobile platforms like Apple’s iPad and Google’s Android phones and upcoming tablets.

New York Post Executive Editor Jesse Angelo will oversee the service’s editorial role. And if you did call this thing a newspaper, you could call Clayman the publisher.

For now, Clayman’s old job will be handled by a group of his deputies, Viacom said in an internal memo announcing Clayman’s departure (but not his destination) last week."

The full story:
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100822/exclusive-viacom-digital-boss-greg-clayman-headed-to-rupert-murdochs-ipad-newspaper/