CBS Television Studios

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Television Production
Founded	Los Angeles, California, USA (January 17, 2006 (2006-01-17) as CBS Paramount Television)
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, United States
Key people	Leslie Moonves, President & CEO
Parent	CBS Corporation
Website	http://www.cbstelevisionstudios.com

CBS Television Studios (CTS) (formerly CBS Paramount Television, Desilu Productions, Paramount Television, among other companies) is an American television production company that was formed on January 17, 2006 by the CBS Corporation merging Paramount Television and CBS Productions. It is the television production arm of the CBS network (CBS Productions previously assumed such functions), and, alongside Warner Bros. Television, it is also the television production arm of The CW Television Network (in which CBS has a 50% ownership stake).

Background and timeline [edit]

CBS [edit]

• 1952: The Columbia Broadcasting System forms an in-house television production unit, CBS Productions (a.k.a. The CBS Television Network), as well as facilities in the newly established CBS Television City in Hollywood. Also formed is CBS Television Film Sales (later known as CBS Films) as the distributor of off-network and first-run syndicated programming to local television stations in the United States and abroad.
• 1963: CBS Studio Center is established in Studio City, California.
• 1971: CBS Films is spun off as Viacom International, Inc.
• 1974: The company is re-established as CBS, Inc.
• 1978: The production unit is renamed CBS Entertainment Productions
• 1995: November 28, Westinghouse Electric acquires CBS.
• 1999: Viacom merges with its creator CBS.

Paramount Pictures' early television ventures [edit]

• 1939: Established experimental television stations in Los Angeles (W6XYZ) as Television Productions Inc. and Chicago (W9XBK) with Balaban and Katz.
• 1943: Began commercial broadcasting over WBKB in Chicago (now WBBM).
• 1947: Began commercial broadcasting over KTLA in Los Angeles.
• 1949: The first major studio to establish program syndication as Paramount Television Network (much of which originated from KTLA).
• 1964: Paramount branched out of broadcasting with the sale of KTLA to Golden West Broadcasters.

Desilu Productions [edit]

• 1950: Desilu Productions formed by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.^[1][2]
• 1957: Desilu Studios is established in Hollywood and Culver City, after Arnaz/Ball purchased the RKO studio lot.
• 1962: Desilu Sales Inc. is formed as the company's syndication arm.
• 1967: Desilu Productions is acquired by Gulf+Western Industries. The company becomes the TV division of Paramount Pictures Corporation in July, retaining the Desilu name until the end of that year.^[3] Desilu Sales, in turn, merges with Paramount's syndication division to become Paramount Television Sales.

Paramount Television [edit]

• 1966: March 24, Gulf+Western acquires Paramount Pictures.
• 1967: Paramount Television Enterprises releases 60 titles from their post-1949 feature film library to television broadcasters under the Paramount Portfolio I umbrella package.
• 1968: Paramount Television, formerly Desilu, is established as the studio's television production unit.^[4]
• 1977: Paramount Television Service is formed.
• 1982: Paramount Television Group and Paramount Domestic Television and Video Programming are established.
• 1989: September, Gulf+Western is reincorporated as Paramount Communications, Inc.
• 1994: March 11, Viacom acquired Paramount Communications, resulting in the formation of Paramount/Viacom as a byline for several of Viacom's subsidiaries.
• 1995: Viacom launched the United Paramount Network (UPN) with Chris-Craft Industries.

Viacom [edit]

• 1971: Viacom Enterprises is established for domestic and overseas syndication of off-network and first-run television programs from various independent producers.
• 1974: Viacom Productions is formed as the company's television production unit.
• 1986: Viacom switches from a syndicate to a media conglomerate.
• 1995: Viacom Enterprises was folded into Paramount Domestic Television. The name Paramount Network Television (PNT) was also used for the first time ever (Viacom Productions would also become a division of PNT).
• 2004: Viacom Productions was folded into Paramount Network Television by ceasing its television operations.

Spelling Entertainment Inc. [edit]

• 1967: Thomas/Spelling Productions formed by Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas.
• 1969: Aaron Spelling Productions was established.
• 1972: Spelling-Goldberg Productions formed by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg.
• 1988: Aaron Spelling Productions acquires Laurel Entertainment, Inc. and Worldvision Enterprises Inc.
• 1989: Aaron Spelling Productions is renamed Spelling Entertainment, Inc.
• 1991: Spelling Entertainment, Inc. is acquired by the Jacksonville-based Charter Company.
• 1992: Spelling Entertainment Group introduces Spelling Television, Inc. as the label for the company's production unit.
• 1992: The Charter Company becomes Spelling Entertainment Group.
• 1993: Blockbuster buys Spelling Entertainment Group.
• 1999: Viacom acquires 80% of Spelling Entertainment Group (Such as Spelling Television) and Rysher Entertainment's TV holdings.

Worldvision Enterprises [edit]

• 1953: The American Broadcasting Company forms ABC Film Syndication Inc. (renamed ABC Films in 1962) as the domestic syndicator of independent programming supplied for the network.
• 1962: ABC International and The Worldvision Corporation are established as the network's international distribution branch to other countries.
• 1973: Worldvision Enterprises (WVE) adapted from ABC's original domestic syndication arm.
• 1979: Worldvision acquired by Taft Entertainment Company (TECO)
• 1988: Worldvision acquired by Spelling from Great American Broadcasting (successor to Taft beginning in 1987).

King World [edit]

• 1964: King World Productions (KWP) founded by Charles King.
• 2000: In January, CBS acquires King World and forms CBS Enterprises, Inc., after which Eyemark Entertainment folds into King World.
• 2000: After Viacom's merger with CBS, Paramount TV acquires CBS Enterprises, which included King World at that time.
• 2006: September 26, As part of the corporate restructuring, King World along with CBS Paramount Domestic Television and CBS Paramount International Television forms the CBS Television Distribution group.

Group W [edit]

• 1961: WBC Productions and WBC Program Sales, Inc. established by Westinghouse Broadcasting for first run program syndication.
• 1968: October 14, The company is renamed Group W Productions to emphasize the moniker of the parent company which was established five years prior.
• 1995: Westinghouse Electric acquires CBS and the company is renamed to CBS, Inc.
• 1995: Group W Productions is renamed Eyemark Entertainment.

CBS Paramount Television [edit]

The CBS Paramount Television logo, used from 2006 to 2009.

• 2004: August 10, Viacom merged the international television banners of CBS Broadcast International and Paramount International Television to form CBS Paramount International Television.
• 2004: Viacom merged CBS Productions and Paramount Network Television to form CBS Paramount Network Television. Their respective logos remain the same.
• 2006: When the CBS/Viacom split took effect, CBS inherited Paramount's TV program library, with the new Viacom keeping Paramount's films.
• 2006: On January 17, CBS Corporation CEO Les Moonves announced that Paramount Television would be renamed CBS Paramount Television as of that day, after merging with CBS Productions, with both the CBS 'eyemark' and Paramount's mountain united in the new logo, and the network division becoming CBS Paramount Network Television.^[5]
• 2006: CBS Corp. merged its TV distribution arms—King World, CBS Paramount International Television and CBS Paramount Domestic Television—to form CBS Television Distribution (CTD).
• 2009: May 15, CBS quietly drops the Paramount name after a three and a half year loan of its use from now sister company Viacom forming CBS Television Studios.^[6]

The production company today: CBS Television Studios [edit]

CBS Paramount Television was the only CBS division that used the Paramount name and logo in its own name and logo (Paramount Pictures is currently owned by the post-2006 Viacom that was spun off from CBS, which was once known as the old Viacom). All three of its original divisions had used Paramount in their name: CBS Paramount Network Television (the production arm), CBS Paramount Domestic Television (the US distribution arm), and CBS Paramount International Television (the international distribution arm). When the companies split, CBS had permission to use the Paramount name for three years. The contract expired in 2009, and thus the Paramount name is now gone from television for good, after 42 years as a production company (39 as Paramount Television), and before that, the owners of two early television stations (KTLA and WBKB), an earlier production company (Telemount Productions), and part-owners of the DuMont Television Network. The new company exempts programming from the revived CBS Productions, the in-name-only producer of 90210, Melrose Place and Three Rivers, among others.

National Amusements retains majority control of both CBS and the new Viacom. For a short time, many of Paramount's theatrical films were distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution (the new name for the distribution arm as of 2007).^[7] Paramount Home Entertainment continues to distribute home video sales of CBS shows through the CBS DVD brand.

The studio has an output deal with Australia's Channel Ten, which means that Ten usually gets first airing rights to the studio's productions.

Until recently—in the U.S.—King World distributed its product independently from CBS Paramount Domestic Television, while internationally CBS Paramount International Television handled distribution and sales. As of September 16, 2007 the CBS Television Distribution logo appears after shows that had been distributed by King World.

From 2009 until 2011, all shows produced by the company aired either on CBS or the CW. In the past, Paramount Television produced shows for all networks, but especially had a good relationship with ABC (much as Universal Television had a good relationship with now co-owned NBC). The Cleaner, which aired on A&E until September 2009, was the most recent show from the company to air on a network other than CBS or the CW (which is ironic when NBC/ABC's ownership of A&E is taken into account). This was until Black Entertainment Television began airing new episodes of The Game in 2011. In 2012, USA Network began airing Common Law.

CTS does not directly produce any shows appearing on Showtime, a premium cable television network co-owned with the studio. Instead, sister company Showtime Entertainment handles in-house productions for the network. However, CTD and its international arm do handle syndication distribution for these shows if they ever appear in syndication.

Libraries [edit]

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Among CBS Television Studios' holdings are libraries from the following:

Properties owned outright [edit]

• Shows produced by Paramount Television, including:
  • Post-1960 programs acquired from Desilu Productions
• Bing Crosby Productions
• Most of the Rysher Entertainment programs (under license from 2929 Entertainment)
• Viacom including:
  • The pre-1982 CBS television catalog
    • The pre-1960 shows by Desilu
  • The pre-1982 CBS theatrical library
    • Television rights to Back Roads and The Challenge.
    • Cinema Center Films (these films were originally released by National General Pictures)
      • Its in-house theatrical productions from predecessors CBS Films and CBS Productions
  • The Terrytoons library
  • Viacom's in-house productions (excluding BET Networks and MTV Networks properties)
• Spelling Entertainment Group: which includes
  • Spelling Television and most of the libraries of ancestor companies
  • Laurel Entertainment
  • Big Ticket Television
  • Republic Pictures Television (copyrights shared with Republic) including:
    • Their in-house TV series
    • The inherited holdings of National Telefilm Associates (NTA), which itself includes:
      • Pre-1973 NBC-produced shows
      • Most programs distributed through NTA and the NTA Film Network
  • Worldvision Enterprises
    • The Sunn Classic Pictures and Titus Productions television libraries
    • All of the Quinn Martin library, except Twelve o'Clock High (owned by Twentieth Century Fox Television), Banyon and The F.B.I. (both co-productions with and owned by Warner Bros. Television)
    • Pre-1973 ABC-produced shows
    • US television rights to NBC's Little House on the Prairie (premiered in 1974)
    • The Taft Entertainment Television library
      • Note: This does not include distribution rights to most of the Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears backlogs, which are controlled by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (any H-B or R-S shows that are controlled by CBS are from libraries of co-production companies that were later absorbed into what became CTS, an example being The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, which CBS owns as part of the Happy Days franchise, originally by Paramount Television)
• The television rights to the Carolco Pictures/Orbis Communications library of TV programs (such as Rambo and the Forces of Freedom) under license from StudioCanal.
• King World Productions
  • In-house productions
  • The Eyemark Entertainment library
    • The Group W Productions library
      • This does not include television distribution rights to most of the Filmation library, which are currently owned by Classic Media
  • Television distribution rights to CBS' own library of theatrical films such as My Fair Lady, which CBS owns the copyright to
    • CBS-produced films released in the 1980s
  • Note: The King World library was distributed separately until 2007

Television rights only [edit]

Until 2009, CBS held television distribution rights to:

• Paramount Pictures films, including:
  • Some of Paramount's silent films from 1923–28, and most sound films from 1950 onward
    • Many of the silent films (especially those before 1923) are in the public domain, and may be distributed by companies which distribute public domain features on TV. Yet another portion of the silent films are lost. Some silents are currently aired on TCM.
    • This library did (and still does) not include most of Paramount's pre-1950 theatrical sound features, which are owned by EMKA, Ltd., a name-only division of NBC Universal's Universal Studios. These are instead distributed by NBC Universal Television Distribution.
• Bing Crosby Productions feature films
• Most of the Rysher Entertainment theatrical films (under license from 2929 Entertainment)
• Viacom including:
  • Most of the Elvis Presley film library originally distributed by Paramount
  • The television rights to most of the Cannon Films library
  • The pre-1984 New World Pictures library
  • The African Queen
  • The BET Networks and MTV Networks library
• Spelling Entertainment Group: which includes
  • Laurel Entertainment feature films
  • Spelling Films
  • Republic Pictures including:
    • much of its own library of films
    • The inherited holdings of National Telefilm Associates (NTA), which itself includes:
      • It's a Wonderful Life
      • Most of Paramount's animated productions and live-action short subjects released prior to October 1, 1950 (except for the Popeye and Superman cartoons, owned by Time Warner; while the Jerry Fairbanks library is now owned by Shields Pictures)
      • Some early United Artists material (including High Noon)
      • Leo McCarey's Rainbow Productions (The Bells of St. Mary's, Good Sam)
      • The Enterprise Studios catalog (Body and Soul, Arch of Triumph, Force of Evil, Caught, etc.)
      • A number of reissued films from Budd Rogers Releasing Corporation (The Dark Mirror, Magic Town, A Double Life, Secret Beyond the Door, and Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid)
      • The pre-1960 United States Pictures catalog
      • A number of Cary Grant films independently produced but released by major studios
      • Select films produced by Ely Landau (NTA's founder)
      • Most films from NTA sub-division Commonwealth United Entertainment
  • Worldvision Enterprises
    • The Sunn Classic Pictures and Titus Productions theatrical libraries
    • Films produced by The Taft Entertainment Company and Taft International Pictures
    • The television rights to most of the Carolco Pictures library, under license from StudioCanal

These rights now stand with Trifecta Entertainment & Media.

In addition, some other TV series which are distributed by CBS on TV are actually under the ownership of other entities, which control distribution rights for other media. For example, Get Smart is only owned by CBS for US TV rights, all other rights are owned by HBO and Warner Bros. Television.

DreamWorks [edit]

Around the same time of then-CPT's formation, Viacom completed its acquisition of DreamWorks SKG, so then-CBS Paramount Television got distribution rights to DreamWorks' library of films (such as Shrek and Gladiator) originally in co-operation with Tribune Entertainment, while being solely responsible for DreamWorks' TV series (such as Spin City, which PDT was already distributing anyway having done so since the show's reruns debuted in syndication in 2000, and Father of the Pride).

After DreamWorks became independent again, their live-action studio announced a distribution pact with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Thus, TV rights to their live-action library will move to Disney-ABC Domestic Television (except films released prior to 9-17-2005; Trifecta now also holds the TV rights to those and all animated productions, as Paramount continues to distribute animated films).

Past names [edit]

• CBS Paramount Television/CBS Paramount Network Television (2006–2009)
• Paramount Television Group (1967–2006)
• Desilu Productions, Inc. (1951–1967)
• CBS Productions (1952–2006, 2008–Present)
• Viacom Productions (1974-2004)
• Aaron Spelling Productions, Spelling Entertainment, Spelling Television (among other names) (1969-2006)
• Taft Entertainment Television (???-1988)
• Big Ticket Entertainment (1994-2006 on network television, still produced Judge Judy but otherwise in-name-only)

Shows produced (starting in 2009) [edit]

Airing on CBS [edit]

• The Amazing Race (with Jerry Bruckheimer Television and ABC Studios)
• Criminal Minds (with ABC Studios)
• CSI franchise (with Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Alliance Atlantis)
  • CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
  • CSI: Miami
  • CSI: NY
• Flashpoint (with Pink Sky Entertainment, Avamar Entertainment and Bell Media)
• The Good Wife
• Hawaii Five-0
• NCIS
• NCIS: Los Angeles

Criminal Minds and NCIS are the last shows formerly from Paramount Television still airing on network television.

Airing on The CW [edit]

• 90210
• Beauty & the Beast (TV series) (with Take 5 Productions/Whizbang Films)
• Gossip Girl (with Warner Bros. Television)
• Hart of Dixie (with Warner Bros. Television)
• Ringer (with ABC Studios and Warner Bros. Television)
• The Secret Circle (with Warner Bros. Television)
• The Vampire Diaries (with Warner Bros. Television)

Airing on other stations [edit]

• The Game (with Georgia Entertainment Industries, Akil Productions, Grammnet Productions, and BET Originals) BET
• Common Law USA

See also [edit]

• CBS Paramount Domestic Television
• CBS Studios International

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Official website