NEW YORK, July 21 — Over 170 networks. Roughly 700 million subscribers across 180 countries. By the numbers, Paramount Global commanded one of the largest media footprints on the planet before its 2024 merger with Skydance Media reshaped the corporate structure.
The company now operates as Paramount Skydance, the product of a three-way merger announced July 2, 2024, between Skydance Media, Paramount Global, and its controlling shareholder, National Amusements. The Federal Communications Commission signed off on July 24, 2024, and the deal closed on August 7, 2024.
Formation and Rebranding
Paramount Global was born on December 4, 2019, as ViacomCBS — the product of a merger between the second incarnations of Viacom and CBS Corporation. Those two companies had themselves been split from the original Viacom in 2005. Less than three years later, on February 16, 2022, ViacomCBS was renamed to Paramount.
The company is controlled by National Amusements and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan. Its corporate lineage traces deep into the early days of Hollywood and broadcasting: Paramount Pictures, founded in 1912 as the Famous Players Film Company; CBS, founded in 1927 (Paramount held a 49% stake in CBS from 1929 to 1932); and Viacom, created in 1970 as a syndication division of CBS and spun off in 1971.
Viacom acquired Paramount Communications — the renamed Gulf and Western Industries, which had bought Paramount in 1966 — in 1994, then merged with CBS in 2000 only to split again in 2005.
Portfolio and International Reach
Paramount’s main properties include Paramount Pictures Corporation, the CBS Entertainment Group (the CBS television network and stations, plus The CW and other CBS-branded assets), the BET Media Group, and Paramount Media Networks — a cluster that includes MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, CMT, Paramount Network, and Showtime. Its streaming arm, Paramount Streaming, operates Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
The international division manages global versions of its cable networks and owns region-specific assets: Argentina’s Telefe, Chile’s Chilevisión, the United Kingdom’s Channel 5, and Australia’s Network 10. From 2011 to 2023, Paramount also held a 30% stake in Italy’s Rainbow S.p.A.
The Skydance Merger and What’s Next
The three-way merger that formed Paramount Skydance brought together Skydance Media, Paramount Global, and National Amusements. Investors will note that the deal closed just over two years ago, and the combined entity now holds the legacy Paramount assets alongside Skydance’s production capabilities.
The figure that matters for anyone watching the media landscape: a company that, at its peak, operated over 170 networks and reached approximately 700 million subscribers in 180 countries. How that footprint evolves under the Paramount Skydance structure remains the question for the next quarter.
