Paramount Global

Not to be confused with the film division Paramount Pictures or its former parent company Paramount Communications.
"ViacomCBS" redirects here. For the article on the merger, see 2019 merger of CBS and Viacom.

Paramount Global
Paramount
FormerlyViacomCBS Inc. (2019–2022)
Company typePublic
ISINUS92556H2067
Industry
Predecessors
FoundedDecember 4, 2019; 4 years ago (2019-12-04)
FateMerger with Skydance Media (pending)
HeadquartersOne Astor Plaza
New York, NY 10036
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
Services
RevenueDecrease US$29.65 billion (2023)
Decrease US$−451 million (2023)
Decrease US$−608 million (2023)
Total assetsDecrease US$53.54 billion (2023)
Total equityDecrease US$22.53 billion (2023)
OwnerNational Amusements (9.7% equity, 79.9% voting power)[1]
Number of employees
21,900 (December 2023)
Divisions
SubsidiariesList of assets owned by Paramount Global
Websiteparamount.com
Footnotes / references
[2][3]

Paramount Global (also known simply as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan. The company was formed on December 4, 2019, as ViacomCBS through the merger of the second incarnations of CBS Corporation and Viacom[4] (which were split from the original Viacom on December 31, 2005). The company took its current name on February 16, 2022.[5]

Paramount's main properties include the namesake Paramount Pictures film and television studio, the CBS Entertainment (consisting of the CBS and partially owned The CW television networks and television stations, BET Media Group (which oversees the BET and VH1 channels, among others), and other CBS-branded assets), Paramount Media Networks (consisting of U.S.-based cable television networks including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, CMT, Paramount Network, and Showtime) and Paramount Streaming (including Paramount+ and Pluto TV). It also has an international division that manages international versions of its pay TV networks, as well as region-specific assets including Argentina's Telefe, Chile's Chilevisión, the United Kingdom's Channel 5, and Australia's Network 10. From 2011 to 2023, the division also owned a 30% stake in the Italian Rainbow S.p.A. studio.[6]

As of 2019, the company operates over 170 networks and reaches approximately 700 million subscribers in 180 countries.[7]

In 2024, National Amusements held talks for a potential merger or acquisition of Paramount Global, with Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony Pictures, Apollo Global Management, and Skydance Media all considering acquiring the company. By June 3, Paramount reportedly agreed to merger terms with the latter company. However, by June 11, merger talks between Paramount and Skydance had fallen apart, resulting in the proposed merger being called off. The companies would later re-negotiate the deal, and on July 2, 2024, Skydance reached a preliminary agreement to acquire National Amusements and merge with Paramount to create what is currently being called "New Paramount".[8][9] The transaction is expected to close in spring 2025.

  1. ^ "2021 Proxy Statement". ViacomCBS, Inc. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "SEC Filing – ViacomCBS Inc". ViacomCBS. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  3. ^ "Paramount Global Annual Report (Form 10-K)". SEC.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "CBS and Viacom Reveal December Merger Date". November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  5. ^ Baccardax, Martin (February 16, 2022). "ViacomCBS Stock Plunges After Q4 Earnings Miss, Paramount Name Change". TheStreet. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  6. ^ Roxborough, Scott; Brzeski, Patrick (May 24, 2021). "Why Local-Language Adaptations Are the Next Round of Remakes". The Hollywood Reporter. ViacomCBS counts Argentina's Telefe and producer Iginio Straffi's Italian TV shingle Rainbow, in which it has a 30 percent stake, among its global assets.
  7. ^ "ViacomCBS | Company Profile". Vault. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  8. ^ Mullin, Benjamin; Hirsch, Lauren (July 2, 2024). "Paramount and Skydance Are Said to Reach a Deal to Merge". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  9. ^ Media, Skydance (July 8, 2024). "Skydance Media and Paramount Global Sign Definitive Agreement to Advance Paramount as a World-Class Media and Technology Enterprise". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved July 8, 2024.