Star Trek TV and films reunite as ViacomCBS merger is finalized
Viacom and CBS
DECEMBER 5, 2019 - As of last night, CBS and Viacom are back together again, henceforth known only as ViacomCBS. From today, they will trade on the Nasdaq under their new ticker symbols. A piece from the Hollywood Reporter says that the companies made the deal official after the market closed on Wednesday night.
An abridged primer on the history of this long-awaited deal, and why it matters: Star Trek was originally produced by Desilu Studios, but in 1967, Desilu was bought by Gulf+Western and renamed Paramount Television, a division of the larger Paramount Pictures. It was Paramount Television who produced most of the “Next Generation”-era series: Next Gen (of course), Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. Paramount Pictures produced the Star Trek films.
In 1994, Paramount (Pictures and Television) was bought by the old Viacom. Then, in 2000, Viacom bought CBS Studios, and combined it and Paramount Television to become CBS Paramount Studios, still a division of Paramount Pictures.
But in 2005, just months after Star Trek: Enterprise ended, Viacom split into two companies. The old Viacom moved forward as CBS Corporation, and a new Viacom was created. The new Viacom retained ownership of Paramount Pictures, and with it, the rights to the ten existing Star Trek films. The new CBS Corporation retained the rights to the overall Star Trek franchise. After 2005, Paramount Pictures produced the three new Kelvin Timeline films under license from CBS, and they serve as CBS’s distributor for the first ten films. And CBS recently started making Star Trek for television again, with Discovery.
Today, Viacom (owners of Paramount Pictures) and CBS are once again reunited as ViacomCBS.
Long story short: since 2005, the film and television production of Star Trek has been controlled by two separate corporate entities. From today, those companies will both be owned by the same parent company, ViacomCBS. Many Star Trek fans interpret this merger as “reuniting” the franchise.
There may yet be a long way to go, however, before we see Star Trek operating as a single, combined TV and film franchise. While ViacomCBS does plan to make use of synergies between their companies to save money and boost profits, they have yet to detail a full plan of how that will work. Paramount Pictures is still Paramount Pictures, and CBS Television Studios is still CBS Television Studios. At least for now. It’s worth mentioning as well that The Hollywood Reporter characterizes Wall Street’s reaction to the merger as cautious. They say that analysts argue “that ViacomCBS will have to prove the financial and strategic benefits of the deal beyond the initial cost cuts over time.”
That said, new ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish called out Star Trek by name in a memo to employees yesterday evening. He said, “ViacomCBS brings together powerful consumer brands that have shaped media and entertainment for decades. It reunites America’s most-watched network and Hollywood’s longest-running film studio; a suite of leading broadcast and premium pay-TV channels from the U.S. to Australia; a major force in consumer publishing; and one of the most innovative digital and streaming portfolios in the marketplace.
“Our shared passion for storytelling is one reason why I believe our companies are a great fit. You see it in our incredible legacy of hit programming, from SpongeBob to 60 Minutes, Star Trek to South Park. [...] And now, we have a rare and exciting opportunity to drive the future of our industry as one of the largest and most influential content creators in the world.”
We’ll all be watching the markets closely over the next few weeks, as we learn more details about the bright new future of ViacomCBS.
Sources: Memory Alpha, Wikipedia
