CBS Corporation

The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and television production. It was formed on December 31, 2005, as the legal successor of the original Viacom, following the spin-off of the second incarnation of Viacom; both CBS Corporation and the second Viacom were controlled by National Amusements, a theater company owned by billionaire Sumner Redstone. CBS Corporation comprised the over-the-air television (CBS and The CW) broadcasting, television production and distribution, publishing, pay-cable, and recording assets that were previously owned by the first Viacom. It was the world's eighth largest entertainment company in terms of revenue and headquartered at the CBS Building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. CBS Corporation announced on August 13, 2019, that it would merge with Viacom for the second time to form ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Global). The merger was completed on December 4. Background The first incarnation of Viacom was created in 1952 as the television syndication division of CBS and was spun off in 1971. However, in 2000, Viacom acquired its former parent, by this time also named CBS Corporation, formerly Westinghouse Electric. The prior CBS Corporation also owned CMT and The Nashville Network (TNN), which remained Viacom properties after the 2005 split, but the prior CBS did not own UPN, Showtime, Paramount Television, Paramount Parks, or Simon & Schuster.