Paramount Television

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2002-2006 Paramount Domestic Television logo

Image:Blue mountain Paramount Television 1975.jpg

1975-1987 Blue Mountain variation of the Paramount Television logo with the "Television" name on top of the mountain.

Paramount Television (re-incorporated from Desilu Productions) was an American television production/distribution company that was active from December 1967 to May 28, 2006 and was launched by Gulf+Western after acquiring Desilu. The first television series to be produced under the "Paramount Television" banner was Here's Lucy in 1968.

Its successor is CBS Paramount Television. Its predecessor is Desilu Productions.

[edit] Background

The company was known for producing and distributing programs such as The Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days, Cheers, the Star Trek franchise, Girlfriends and the daily Paramount staple Entertainment Tonight, among others.

After Viacom's merger with Paramount Communications in 1994, Viacom Enterprises (the original TV distribution company) was merged with Paramount Television and was renamed Paramount "Domestic" Television (which was also called Paramount/Viacom) in 1995. The name Paramount Network Television was also used for the first time, with Viacom Productions (the original production company) becoming a unit of Paramount Network Television.

Also in 1995, Viacom launched the United Paramount Network (UPN) with Chris-Craft Industries. In 1999, the company acquired 80% of Spelling Entertainment Group and Rysher Entertainment's TV holdings.

In 2000, after Viacom's merger with its creator CBS, Paramount TV acquired CBS Enterprises, which included King World Productions at that time. That same year, the company distributed the DreamWorks Television sitcom Spin City. In 2004, Viacom Productions was folded into Paramount Television by ceasing its television operations after 30 years of television production.

In 2005, Viacom separated in to two companies. CBS Corporation was the result of this separation. On January 17, 2006, CBS Corporation acquired the Paramount Television library, and merged Paramount Television with CBS Productions forming CBS Paramount Television. The company kept the Paramount Domestic Television logo intact on television until May 28, 2006. However, the network version was used until June 10, 2006.

Among Paramount Television's holdings are libraries from its own studio including those acquired from Desilu (but not its pre-1950 films, which are owned by EMKA, Ltd., a name-only division of Universal Studios), Bing Crosby Productions, some of the Rysher Entertainment programs, Viacom (the CBS catalog, which includes The Twilight Zone and I Love Lucy [which CBS bought back from Desilu]; the Terrytoons library; the television rights to most of Cannon Films' and Carolco Pictures' libraries).