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This page is about the original Viacom (founded 1971) and its successor form (founded 1986) which is now known as CBS Corporation. For information on the new post-2005 Viacom, see Viacom.
Viacom began life as CBS Films, the television syndication division of CBS. In 1971, the division was renamed VIACOM (Video & Audio Communications), and in 1973 it was spun off, amid new FCC rules forbidding television networks from owning syndication companies (the rules were later repealed).
Viacom made large amounts of money during the 1970s and 1980s distributing old CBS classics to syndication, including such landmark shows as I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show 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). Viacom also syndicated the Nickelodeon game shows Double Dare and Finders Keepers; both shows were co-syndicated by Fox Television Stations.
String of acquisitions
Viacom's first non-programming acquisition came in 1978 when the company purchased the Sonderling Broadcasting chain, giving them radio stations in New York City, Washington, DC, Houston, San Francisco and a TV station (CBS affiliate WAST, now NBC affiliate WNYT) in Albany, New York. Later that year, Viacom added NBC affiliate WNHB in New Britain, Connecticut (Hartford market) changing its calls to WVIT. The early 1980s saw Viacom sorting through the Sonderling stations with several being donated, swapped, or being the nucleus for new corporations (WOL in Washington, DC launched the Radio One group, today a large African-American-owned and targed corproation). In 1983, Viacom purchased CBS affiliates KSLA in Shreveport, Louisiana and WHEC in Rochester, New York, followed three years later with (ironically) CBS-owned KMOX-TV in St. Louis, Missouri in 1986, with that sale that station's calls became KMOV.
In 1985, Viacom bought Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, which owned MTV and Nickelodeon, renaming the company MTV Networks. Viacom also received Warner-Amex's share of Viacom/WASEC joint venture Showtime Networks, Inc. (which included Showtime and The Movie Channel), which has retained its original name, Showtime Networks, Inc. In 1986, Viacom was bought by movie theater owner National Amusements, which brought Sumner Redstone to the company. Redstone made a string of large acquisitions in the early 1990s, announcing plans to buy Paramount Communications, parent of Paramount Pictures, in 1993, and buying the Blockbuster Video chain in 1994.
Viacom's corporate "V" logo, which was used from 1976 to 1990 . This version began use in 1986
The Blockbuster acquisition gave Viacom access to large television holdings controlled by Aaron Spelling's company, Spelling Entertainment; along with his own productions (such as The Love Boat and Beverly Hills 90210), Spelling controlled the pre-1973 ABC and NBC back catalogs by way of Worldvision Enterprises and Republic Pictures. After these acquisitions, Viacom owned many movie and television production and syndication units, which were slowly integrated into Paramount; many TV shows previously distributed by Viacom, Republic or Worldvision have since gained Paramount closing logos.
In 1999, Viacom made its biggest acquisition to date by announcing plans to buy its former parent CBS Corporation. The merger was approved in 2000, bringing cable channels TNN (now Spike TV) and Country Music Television (CMT) under Viacom's wing, as well as CBS's production units and TV syndicators Eyemark (formerly Group W) and King World. CBS's production unit and King World (which has since absorbed Eyemark) operated under their own names; however, TNN and CMT were merged into MTV Networks almost immediately.
In 2001, Viacom completed its purchase of Black Entertainment Television (BET). As with TNN and CMT, it was immediately integrated into MTV Networks, causing some outcry among BET workers in the Washington, DC area (where BET was based before the merger). As a result, BET was de-integrated from MTV Networks.
Although a majority economic interest in Viacom was held by independent shareholders, the Redstone family maintained 71% voting control of the company through National Amusements' holdings of Viacom's stock.
In 2002, Viacom bought independently-run music channel TMF, which at the time was broadcasting in Belgium and the Netherlands. In June 2004, Viacom bought VIVA Media AG, the German equivalent to MTV. The same month, plans were announced to dispose of Viacom's interest in Blockbuster later that year by means of an exchange offer. In June of 2003 Sega announced that they would sell all Sonic The Hedgehog trademarks to Viacom.
Viacom - CBS split
In March 2005, Viacom announced plans of looking into splitting the company into two publicly traded companies. The company was not only dealing with a stagnating stock price, but also the rivalry between Les Moonves and Tom Freston, longtime heads of CBS and MTV Networks respectively. After the departure of Mel Karmazin in 2004, Redstone, who served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, decided to split the offices of President and Chief Operating Officer between Moonves and Freston. Redstone was set to retire in the near future, and a split would be a creative solution to the matter of replacing him.
The split was approved by Viacom's board June 14, 2005, took effect December 31, 2005, and effectively undid the Viacom/CBS merger of 1999. The existing Viacom was renamed CBS Corporation and was headed by Moonves. It now includes Viacom's "slow growth businesses", namely CBS, UPN, CBS Radio, Simon & Schuster, Paramount Parks, Viacom Outdoor, Showtime, and most television production assets. These, according to some analysts, were suffocating the growth of the MTV Networks cable businesses.
Additionally, a new spin-off company was created called Viacom, and is headed by Freston. It comprises MTV Networks, BET Networks, Paramount's movie studio, and Paramount Pictures' home entertainment operations. These businesses are categorized as the high-growth businesses (MTV Networks and BET Networks in particular), and if they were split into a separate company, it could infuse new funds/capital to allow for future acquisitions and expansion. Sumner Redstone still controls 71 percent of the voting stock of both companies and is the chairman of both companies.
Footnote
↑ Viacom was initially founded in 1971, but was reincorporated in 1985. Effective December 31, 2005, this corporate entity changed its name to CBS Corporation. The present firm known as Viacom beginning December 31, 2005 is a new spin-off company created during the CBS-Viacom split.
See also
The CBS "eye"
Logo of the new Viacom.

The new CBS Corporation began trading on the New York Stock Exchange once again on January 3 after officially finishing its split with Viacom two days earlier. The split had been in the works since around March 2005 when Viacom announced it was breaking into two publicly traded companies due to stock price stagnation. 

In June 2005, Viacom's board approved the split and saying the CBS Corporation name would be revived for one of those companies. One of these units would receive most of Viacom's broadcasting and mass-media portion of subsidiaries (CBS, UPN, Infinity Broadcasting, now CBS Radio) along with Viacom Outdoor (now CBS Outdoor), Showtime Networks, and Paramount's television studio and a few other operations and announced long-time excutive Leslie Moonves would head that new company.

The split is filled with twists and turns. Viacom was founded in 1971 as CBS' television syndication division and was spun off in 1973. Westinghouse Electric Corporation bought CBS and changed its name to CBS Corporation. In a ironic twist, Viacom accquired their parent company in 1999 and CBS' stock symbol was de-listed as it became a division of Viacom. Ironically, the new CBS Corporation is actually the original Viacom. A new Viacom was founded and spun off containing MTV Networks (which contains CMT and Spike TV, two cable networks originally owned by CBS) along with BET, Paramount's film studio and home entertainment divisions, online virtual pet game Neopets, and a music publisher. It also partially owns Sega of America along with the Sonic the Hedgehog trademarks and is currently in the process of acquiring DreamWorks.

CBS unveiled its logo, the iconic CBS eye, and launched the corporation's official wesbite,  cbscorporation.com