Term Paper on "Viacom"

Term Paper 13 pages (3495 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Viacom is one of the world's most valuable media and entertainment company, with operations spanning 164 countries and territories worldwide. Viacom owns two broadcast networks, 79 cable networks, 40 owned-and-operated television stations, 180 radio stations, a leading outdoor advertising company, three television production and syndication units, a major motion picture studio, and more than 1,000 movie screens, a worldwide publishing company and five regional theme parks. Some of Viacom's well-known brands include CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, UPN, Comedy Central, and Showtime. This paper will provide an overview of the Viacom company, discussing its' historical background, a brief overview of financial data, mergers and acquisitions, competition, foreign interests, and its' future expectations. It concludes with an explanation of whether or not stock should be bought in the company.

Historical Background

This brief overview of Viacom's history reveals that Viacom historically has been shaped by a series of anti-trust moves and leveraged buyouts, many of them occurring decades before Viacom was actually formed. Viacom's history reveals that the company has programming that appeals to audiences in every demographic category. This has made Viacom the leader in the creation, production and distribution of entertainment, news, music and comedy. Viacom's history can be best understood via a breakdown of several of the segments that the company owns. CBS Television Network is the No. 1 most-watched network with more than 200 affiliated stations providing viewers with some of the nation's best entertainment, news and sports programming. Popular programs include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Survivor, The Late Show with David Letterman and 60 Minutes. Sports franchises include the NFL and the NCAA Basketball Championship; daytime drama The Young and The Restless leads a daytime programming lineup that has been No. 1 for more than 15 years.

Also under the Viacom umbrella, MTV Networks owns and operates many of the most popular basic cable television programming services. MTV: Music Television, the world's most widely distributed television network, reaches more than 412 million subscribers in 164 countries and territories. Nickelodeon serves more than 181 million subscribers worldwide via localized channels, branded blocks and individual programs. VH1 reaches more than 116 million subscribers around the world, and Comedy Central reaches nearly 88 million subscribers in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Other services include Spike TV, CMT: Country Music Television, Nick at Nite, TV Land, MTV2, LOGO, mtvU and The Digital Suite from MTV Networks; MTVN is also involved in a variety of entertainment businesses that extend its brands, including films, books, online and consumer products.

Internationally, MTVN owns and operates, participates in as a joint venturer, and licenses third parties to operate, approximately 80 MTVN program services including MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Spike TV, Paramount Comedy, The Box, CMT, Game One, Viva, TMF and TV Land. These program services reach audiences in Canada, Asia, Europe, Australia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. BET is comprised of Black Entertainment Television, the largest national cable network serving African-Americans, reaching more than 90 million subscribers; digital networks BET Jazz: The Jazz Channel, the country's only 24-hour network devoted to jazz music, and BET Gospel. BET Pictures produces made-for-TV movies and documentaries, and BET.com is the leading online destination for African-Americans.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI) owns the premium television networks Showtime, The Movie Channel and FLIX. SNI owns a 30% interest in Sundance Channel, which is a venture among NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. Through Showtime PPV, SNI also produces, markets and distributes major sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis.

The Viacom Television Stations Group consists of 40 television stations, reaching 15 of the top 20 television markets in the United States. The division includes 21 owned-and-operated CBS stations, 16 UPN-affiliated stations and three stations not affiliated with the major networks. The Viacom Television Stations Group owns multiple stations in 10 major markets, including Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, San Francisco and West Palm Beach. Paramount Television is one of the largest producers and distributors of television programming for network and cable primetime, daytime, first-run syndication and international cable platforms. The division offers for license more than 55,000 hours of its programming library to more than 125 countries, in more than 30 languages, through its production and syndication units Paramount Network Television and Paramount Domestic Television. Some of the most notable series include top CBS dramas CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY as well as UPN's hit comedy One on One for Paramount Network Television, and such syndie successes as the Entertainment Tonight franchise and television's No. 1-rated courtroom series Judge Judy for Paramount Domestic Television.

CBS Enterprises, a premier provider of television programming around the globe, oversees the operations of King World Productions, Inc., the domestic syndication arm, as well as King World Media Sales and CBS Consumer Products. King World is the preeminent company in television syndication, distributing six of the top 10 syndicated series, including the two highest-rated talk shows The Oprah Winfrey Show and Dr. Phil, the two highest-rated game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, and the highest-rated off-network comedy Everybody Loves Raymond and the highest-rated off-network drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

CBS Paramount International Television was recently established to handle international sales for CBS and Paramount television programming around the globe; some of its series include Late Show with David Letterman and America's Next Top Model. Globally, it distributes such long-running syndicated favorites as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy! And Inside Edition.

Infinity Broadcasting, which owns and operates 180 radio stations, is one of the largest operators of radio stations in the United States. Approximately 91% of its radio stations are located in the 50 largest U.S. radio markets. The geographically wide-ranging stations serve diverse target demographics through a broad range of programming formats, such as rock, oldies, news/talk, adult contemporary, sports/talk and country. Paramount Pictures, one of the original major motion picture studios, has been a leading producer and distributor of feature films since 1912. Its more than 1,100-title library includes Oscar winners such as Braveheart, Forrest Gump and Titanic (the highest-grossing motion picture of all time), as well as current release War of the Worlds. Paramount Pictures also co-produces such niche films with MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies as The Longest Yard and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Paramount Home Entertainment, a global leader in the distribution of filmed entertainment on videocassette and DVD, distributes theatrical releases from Paramount Pictures, Paramount Classics, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films, as well as non-theatrical releases both in the United States and abroad.

Under the publishing segment of Viacom, Simon & Schuster publishes more than 1,600 titles annually under 38 well-known trade, mass market, children's and new media imprints. The division published 100 New York Times Best Sellers in 2004, including 17 at No. 1. Viacom also has business in the theme park segment; Paramount Parks is one of the premier theme park companies in the world and entertains more than 13 million visitors annually at its five North American theme parks and interactive attraction Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Financial Data / Mergers and Acquisitions

Viacom's annual income is $23.2 billion, with a total of 126, 820 employees. The company's share volume is 7,057,100; market cap is 49,894,897,029 with 1,453,814,016 shares outstanding. Viacom's financial success can be attributed to in large part by its' many mergers and acquisitions accumulated over the years. The following is a brief outline of some of the important mergers that assisted in forming this global giant. In 1912, Adolph Zukor founded the Famous Players Film Corp, which later became Paramount Pictures as a result of bankruptcy and reorganization. In 1941, CBS launched the first commercial black and white television broadcast, and in 1949 the Department of Justice announced the Paramount decree which forces the film studios to sell off their movie theaters. In 1970, the FCC limited the financial interest television networks can have in syndicated programming. As a result, Viacom was formed after CBS spins off its television-programming segment. In 1981, Dan Rather replaced Walter Cronkite as anchor on the CBS Evening News, and Viacom proceeded forward with its biggest hit with the launching of the MTV cable channel also in 1981.

In 1985, Ted Turner makes a takeover attempt on CBS. Loew's president, Laurence Tisch, buys a 25% percent share in CBS to block Turner's takeover. Loews at that time was a multi-national conglomerate with interests ranging from tobacco to insurance. Several others made unsuccessful bids for CBS, and in 1986 Tisch became CEO of CBS. In 1987, NAI (National Amusements), an operator of drive-in movie theaters, bought a majority interest in Viacom. NAI was already owned by Sumner Redstone, who began a series of acquisitions. In 1994, Viacom acquired Paramount Communications for $10 million, against bidding competitor USA Networks. Shortly afterwards, the company bought Blockbuster Video for $8.4 billion, merged with Paramount (which included Simon & Schuster). In 1995, it spun off its cable systems, and took a… READ MORE

How to Reference "Viacom" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Walt Disney Company and Pixar, Inc Case Study

Disney Pixar

Pixar and the Third Renaissance of the Disney Animated Film

The Disney name has both enjoyed periods of immense success and widespread acclaim and has endured stretches of… read more

Case Study 7 pages (2165 words) Sources: 7 Topic: Film / Movies / Television

---

Company Issues and Leadership Research Paper

Company Issues and Leadership

For any leader, be it in business or politics, his or her key mandate remains meeting the wide range of demands put across by various groups… read more

Research Paper 8 pages (2455 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

Howard vs. The FCC Term Paper

Stern

In the world of radio talk shows, there can be no question that shock-jock personality Howard Stern is one of the most controversial show leads in history. From his… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1415 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Media Conglomeration Term Paper

Media Conglomeration: A Monopoly

While it may seem that continuous government deregulation of the telecommunications industry would result in increased competition, the opposite is actually true. The telecommunications industry has… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1115 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Journalism / Media / PR / News

---

Tylenol Cyanide Case Study

Tylenol Case Analysis: Johnson and Johnson

In the contemporary world, taking responsibility and immediate action in the face of a huge crisis is a requirement for any U.S. corporation if… read more

Case Study 4 pages (1160 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Journalism / Media / PR / News

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>