Viacom Productions: Difference between revisions

The company was popular during the 1970s and 1980s, originally distributing CBS-produced shows such as ''I Love Lucy'' and ''The Andy Griffith Show''. In later years, they've distributed shows from numerous other production companies, including [[MTM Enterprises]], [[Filmways Television]], [[The Carsey-Werner Company|Carsey/Werner]], [[Lorimar Television]], [[Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment|Rankin/Bass]], and [[Hanna-Barbera]] (the latter mostly internationally). They also distributed several [[Four Star International|Four Star]] shows, and early [[Nelvana Enterprises|Nelvana]] TV specials, as well as most movie releases from Romulus Films, [[Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions|Hallmark Hall of Fame]], [[Tomorrow Entertainment]], [[New World Pictures]] (until 1984), [[Orion Pictures]], [[New Line Cinema]], [[Cannon Films]], and the [[Terrytoons]] library, among others, until they formed their own syndication companies. In 1976, Viacom and its production division formed "Viacom International, Inc." as their new parent company for distributing programs overseas.

Within a decade, Viacom was bought by cinema chain [[National Amusements]], becoming part of the newly-reincorporated "Viacom, Inc." On January 1, 1990, as part of a restructuring, [[Viacom Pictures]] was formed. On March 11, 1994, Viacom acquired Paramount Communications, Inc. and Viacom Enterprises was folded into [[Paramount Television (1967-2006)|Paramount Domestic Television]] (later "CBS Television Distribution" and now "[[CBS Media Ventures]]"), by transferring the domestic rights of the Viacom library. Viacom International was later reorganized as the parent company of MTV Networks and [[Showtime Networks]]. Viacom transferred the international rights of the said library into Paramount International Television, while Viacom Productions was reincorporated as a production sub-division of Paramount Television. The Viacom Enterprises logo of the era was still used for "Viacom Productions" with an updated variant, and would remain until 1999, receiving another update to the logo to reflect the company's new status after merging with former parent company CBS. The 1999-2004 Viacom logo would be its last, as the final two series to end under the Viacom Productions name would be ''Ed'' and ''The Division''.

In light of serious financial troubles brought on to Viacom, the production unit was folded into Paramount Network Television (now "[[CBS Studios]]") in 2004. Paramount took control of the remaining Viacom-produced series in 2005. On December 31 of that year, Viacom was reincorporated as "CBS Corporation", ceasing to exist officially. A "new" Viacom was established on the same day, as the holding company for Paramount Pictures, the MTV Networks, BET Networks, and their non-television firms. By 2009, most Viacom-distributed TV productions were distributed under CBS Media Ventures (formerly "CBS Paramount Domestic Television" and "CBS Television Distribution") and outside the U.S. under [[Paramount Global Content Distribution]] (formerly "CBS Paramount International Television" and "CBS Studios International"), while the previous Viacom-distributed movies, and some Viacom Domestic Media Networks TV shows were distributed by Paramount with U.S. over-the-air rights licensed to [[Trifecta Entertainment and Media]]. On December 4, 2019, Viacom and CBS re-merged, forming [[ViacomCBS]]. On February 16, 2022, ViacomCBS was renamed to [[Paramount Global]], putting the Viacom name to rest after 51 years.

'''Availability:''' Extinct. It was seen on the 1984 ''Twilight Zone Silver Anniversary'' special, as well as mid-'80s prints of classic [[Rankin-Bass Animated Entertainment|Rankin-Bass]] TV specials (including ''Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town''), and some TV movies from the era, among others.

* It was once seen on original airings of the first 3 episodes of the 1st season of ''Matlock'' on NBC plus its pilot episode (from March 1986), as well as on the ''Andy Griffith'' reunion special ''Return to Mayberry'' and the first five made-for-TV movie revivals of ''Perry Mason'', but most have all fallen victim of being plastered with the "V of Steel" or "Wigga Wigga", 1995 or 2003 [[Paramount Television (1967-2006)|Paramount Domestic Television]], [[CBS Studios|CBS Paramount Network Television]] ("Wallpaper"), or [[CBS Media Ventures|CBS Television Distribution]] logos.

* Some episodes of ''Gunsmoke'', ''Matlock'' (seasons 1-4), and one episode of ''Hogan's Heroes'' (seen in Australia) have the 1990 "Wigga-Wigga" music playing over this. A Russian print of ''Father Dowling Mysteries'' S1 EP3 also features this over the warp-speed variant, which continues into the 2007 [[CBS Media Ventures|CBS Television Distribution]] logo.

** The "in-progress" variant can be found on the [[Universal Pictures Home Entertainment|MCA/Universal Home Video]] VHS of ''Super Force'', the unsold ''Baby on Board'' pilot from 1988, as well as at least one episode of ''Rawhide'' on Me-TV.  

* '''''Warp Speed Variant (Extended)'':''' Extremely rare, usually plastered by either the "Wigga-Wigga", [[Paramount Television (1967-2006)|Paramount Domestic Television]], [[CBS Studios|CBS Paramount Domestic/Network Television]] ("Eye in the Sky" or "Wallpaper"), or CBS Television Distribution logos, though they have been spotted on a few episodes of ''Rawhide'' on Me-TV and H&I, and the 4 wipe version was spotted on an Australian television print of the ''Hogan's Heroes'' episode "Request Permission to Escape", which is the last episode of season 1. When the episode aired in the UK on Forces TV, the last wipe was cut off. It was also seen on UK airings of some episodes of ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams''.

* At the end of a Russian print of ''Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark'', the 1971 [[Lorimar Television|Lorimar]] jingle plays over this logo. This is due to a plaster error.