01.17.2006
Star Trek Now Under "CBS Paramount Television"
If you've been reading the business pages lately, you probably know that Viacom — the home company of Paramount Pictures and Star Trek — was split into two separate entities as of the first of the year: CBS Corp. and the "new" Viacom Inc. Under the terms of the separation, CBS took control of — among other things — all of Paramount's television properties.
The new division housing these television properties, including all the Star Trek TV series, was formally unveiled today: CBS Paramount Television.
"The new name brings together two of the most iconic symbols in entertainment — the CBS Eye, one of the most recognized logos in the world, and the Paramount mountain," read a press release from CBS. "Both brands and symbols will be part of the division's new identity and logo," which can be seen at left.
According to Daily Variety, "Keeping 'Paramount' in the new name was a nod to history as well as recognition that the Par brand still has some equity among viewers. Studio is associated with a number of franchises, from Star Trek to Frasier."
Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corp., made the announcement. "The new CBS Paramount Television represents the very finest collection of programs on television, from hit network series to top-rated syndicated programming to an extraordinary library," he said.
That library contains over 60,000 hours of television programming, with titles that include cherished classics such as I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, Happy Days, Cheers and many others, along with Trek. CBS Paramount TV currently produces more than 46 hours of programming each week, including the CSI franchise, Medium, Everybody Hates Chris, Girlfriends and Charmed, as well as syndicated fare such as Entertainment Tonight, The Insider and Dr. Phil, which continue to be shot on the Paramount lot.
The Paramount Television label has existed since the late 1960s, when Paramount Pictures acquired Desilu Productions from Lucille Ball, thus picking up Star Trek, Mission: Impossible and other shows, and launching its TV operation from there.
Licensing and merchandising activities for Star Trek will now fall under the aegis of CBS Consumer Products. However, according to Variety, Paramount Home Entertainment (which remains with Viacom) will continue to distribute Star Trek on DVD, at least in the short term.
Simon & Schuster — which publishes all Star Trek books through its Pocket Books label — is now owned by CBS Corp., as is Paramount Parks, which operates Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. CBS also holds UPN, Showtime, King World, etc.
Viacom Inc. retains Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Entertainment, MTV Networks (which includes Spike TV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TV Land and many others), BET and music publisher Famous Music.
CBS has already started to exploit the Trek property by offering downloadable episodes of Deep Space Nine and Voyager through the Google Video Store (related story).
The press release announcing CBS Paramount Television is posted on this page at
www.cbscorporation.com.
If you're curious how this news relates to STARTREK.COM, we will be posting an announcement soon regarding the site. Please stay tuned.
