Viacom Inc. was a major media and communications company. It owned a number of popular cable television channels, including BET (Black Entertainment Television), CMT (Country Music Television), Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike, TV Land, and VH1. Viacom produced and distributed feature films through its motion-picture division, Paramount Pictures Corporation. The company also produced electronic games and internet content. Viacom International, a division of the company, had holdings in major countries around the world.
Viacom was originally the syndication division of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). Syndication is the sale of reruns and other programming for broadcast. Viacom became a separate company in 1971 after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) forced CBS to give up control of some cable television and syndication operations. In 2000, Viacom acquired its former parent company. In 2005, it split into two divisions: Viacom and the CBS Corporation.
In 2006 and 2007, Viacom entered digital distribution deals with a number of companies that provide online media. These outlets included Yahoo!, Microsoft, America Online, and the social networking site Bebo. In addition, the company negotiated an agreement with the Chinese online-search leader Baidu to provide video over the internet. The deal with Baidu gave Viacom access to the vast and fast-growing Chinese internet market. In 2019, Viacom and CBS Corporation merged to form ViacomCBS Inc., and the two companies ceased to exist separately.
See also MTV; Paramount Pictures.
