Viacom (1971–2005)

Viacom (1971–2005)

Viacom (short for VIsual & Audio COMmunications) was an American media conglomerate. Effective December 31, 2005, this corporate entity changed its name to CBS Corporation. The present firm known as Viacom was also established at that date and is a new spin-off company created during the CBS-Viacom split.

Viacom was highly profitable during the 1970s and 1980s distributing old CBS classics to syndication, including such landmark shows as I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, The Twilight Zone and All in the Family (which was later owned by Embassy/Columbia Pictures Television, now called Sony Pictures Television). They also syndicated shows for others, the biggest examples being The Cosby Show and Roseanne (which were produced by Carsey-Werner Productions. Carsey-Werner eventually got big enough to distribute their own shows, mainly because of the success of these two).