CBS Corporation was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and television production.
It was the world's eighth largest entertainment company in terms of revenue and headquartered at the CBS Building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
[4] CBS Corporation announced on August 13, 2019, that it would merge with Viacom for the second time to form ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Global).
In March 2005, Viacom contemplated splitting the company into two publicly traded companies, amid issues of the stock price stagnating and clashing corporate cultures between the cable and broadcast divisions, which came to a head with the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy a year previous with the MTV-produced show causing controversy for game broadcaster CBS.
However, in this case, CBS retained virtually all of the prior firm's broadcast television assets, including its various syndication companies.
[11] On June 30, 2006, Cedar Fair completed its acquisition of Paramount Parks from CBS Corporation in a cash transaction valued at US$1.24 billion.
[12] On February 7, 2007, CBS sold seven smaller-market stations in Providence, Rhode Island, Austin, Texas, Salt Lake City and West Palm Beach, Florida to Cerberus Capital Management for US$185 million.
[18] On May 15, 2008, CBS Interactive agreed to buy CNET Networks for $1.8 billion, with the deal due to close in the third quarter of 2008.
[21] On March 26, CBS and Lionsgate entered a 50/50 joint venture to operate the TV Guide Network (TVGN) and TVGuide.com.
[30] CBS Corp. sold Television City to Los Angeles real estate investment company Hackman Capital Partners for $750 million in a deal finalized in mid-December 2018.
[37] On March 30, 2018, CBS made an all-stock offer slightly below Viacom's market value and insisting that its existing leadership, including long-time chairman and CEO Les Moonves, oversee the re-combined company.
[38][39] Eventually, on May 14, 2018, CBS Corporation sued National Amusements and accused Shari Redstone of abusing her voting power and forcing a merger that was not supported by it or Viacom.
Moonves also considered Bakish a threat as he never wanted an ally of Shari Redstone as a board member of the combined company.
[43] Following Moonves' resignation due to sexual harassment allegations, National Amusements agreed in September 2018 to defer any proposal of a CBS-Viacom merger for at least two years after the date of the settlement with former CEO Moonves, donating $20 million to groups supporting the #MeToo movement as result of his resign.
[5][51] On October 29, 2019, National Amusements approved the re-merger deal, to be completed by early December 2019, with the recombined company trading on Nasdaq under the symbol "VIAC" and "VIACA" after CBS delist its shares on the NYSE.
[52] On December 4, the deal was completed, with the merger structured such that CBS Corporation absorbed Viacom and changed its name to ViacomCBS.