NEW YORK—At a time when media companies are under increased pressure to diversify on-screen and off-screen talent, ViacomCBS’s BET has launched BET Studios, which the company is calling “an unprecedented studio venture that offers equity ownership for Black content creators.”

BET Studios will draw on the infrastructure and financial resources of BET and ViacomCBS and will create premium television series and films Paramount+, SHOWTIME, CBS, Nickelodeon, BET+, BET and other ViacomCBS divisions. It will also target select third-party outlets that are looking for content from established and rising Black creatives, BET said. 

BET Studios will launch with principal partners Kenya Barris, Rashida Jones and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas.

BET Studios will be headed by Aisha Summers Burke, who was recently appointed executive vice-president and general manager of the new venture. 

“The demand for premium content from Black creators has accelerated dramatically as a result of both the rapidly changing media and social landscapes,” said BET president Scott Mills. “BET, with our 40-year legacy of celebrating Black culture, and the full power of the ViacomCBS ecosystem—is uniquely positioned to service this demand. As a company with its origin in Black entrepreneurship, we are incredibly excited to create the first major studio to provide Black creators with ownership, creative freedom and the unparalleled partnership and support of BET. I am thrilled to have Aisha at the helm of this venture, and I look forward to our collaboration with our amazing creative partners in BET Studios.”

“BET Studios is an exciting and novel extension of the storied BET brand, and we have a structure well-suited to our times to bring top talent into this production company with real ownership,” added David Nevins, chief content officer, scripted originals, Paramount+ & chairman and chief executive officer, Showtime Networks Inc. “Scott Mills deserves tremendous credit for driving this innovative new business from idea to reality – and Kenya, Rashida and Aaron, could not be a more talented or in-demand group to lead this venture along with Aisha Summers.”

In the new role heading BET Studios, Aisha Summers Burke will be responsible for working collaboratively with the Studio’s formidable creative partners and key internal constituencies. Along with overseeing the day-to-day creative affairs for the company, she will also be responsible for the BET Studios content slate and focusing on growing the Studio’s production output across both internal and external platforms. Burke will report to BET President Scott Mills.

Prior to joining BET, Burke spent thirteen years at Warner Bros. Television, most recently serving as vice-president of scripted television for the cable and streaming division of Warner Horizon before it merged with Warner Bros. TV in 2020.

LOS ANGELES—At a time when streaming services have been ramping up production and boosting prices for studio properties, ViacomCBS Inc. has hired a brokerage firm to sell the CBS Studio Center, according to Bloomberg. 

ViacomCBS has announced a strategy of selling off real estate and non-core assets, most recently selling the former CBS headquarters building in Manhattan for $760 million. 

CBS Studio Center, located in Studio City, California, is a full service production facility including eighteen sound stages and over 210,000 square feet of supporting office space that sits on a 40-acre site. CBS became the main company leasing space on the lot in 1963 and purchased the lot in 1967. 

Bloomberg reports that “George Cheeks, chief executive officer of CBS, said in a memo to staff Monday that the company has hired the brokerage firm Jones Lang LaSalle to market the property.”

“Similar to our announcement last week regarding the sale of Black Rock in New York, this aligns with our strategy to divest non-core assets like real estate and direct that value to priorities such as creating more of our best-in-class content,” Cheeks said in the memo quoted by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg also noted that “while the impact of any sale on local staffing has yet to be determined, the company would still have access to enough studio space to continue making its TV shows.”

The full Bloomberg article is available here. 

NEW YORK & BALTIMORE—Sinclair Broadcast Group and ViacomCBS have come to terms on a new multi-year agreement that will renew eight CBS Network affiliations for Sinclair stations, as well as for a ninth station to which Sinclair provides services.

The stations covered in this deal include KUTV in Salt Lake City; KEYE in Austin, Texas; WGME in Portland, Maine; WTVH in Syracuse, N.Y.; KGAN in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; WSBT in South Bend, Ind.; KRCG in Columbia, Mo.; KHQA in Quincy, Ill.; and KTVO in Ottumwa, Iowa.

These nine markets combined reached 3% of the U.S. audience, including more than 3 million television households, per the companies’ announcement.

As part of the deal, these Sinclair CBS affiliates will remain locally available to CBS All Access subscribers and be distributed across virtual and traditional MVPD platforms.

“We’re happy to have reached an agreement with Sinclair that includes several early renewals and enables us to continue serving millions of households with leading news, sports and entertainment programming,” said Ray Hopkins, president, U.S. Networks Distribution, ViacomCBS.

No financial details on the agreements were disclosed.

NEW YORK—ViacomCBS is expected to give a boost to the CBS All Access streaming service, with reports expecting the details of that plan to be announced by the company’s Feb. 20 earnings call.

CBS All Access, which was the first streaming service offered by a broadcast network, is expected to add legacy Viacom content, including Paramount and Showtime; some content is expected to go on a premium tier. CBS All Access is currently the home of content like “The Good Fight,” “Star Trek: Discovery” and its latest series, “Star Trek: Picard.”

There is currently no information on how much the new service may cost.

For more information, read a full write-up on TVT’s sister publication B&C.

NEW YORK & PHILADELPHIA—ViacomCBS owned stations and networks won’t be going away for Comcast customers anytime soon, as the two sides have come to terms on a renewed content carriage agreement.

The deal will continue retransmission consent of 23 CBS-owned TV stations in 15 markets across the U.S., including CBS-owned CW affiliates. It will also continue the distribution of entertainment and sports channels like Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, Pop TV and CBS Sports Network to Xfinity customers.

Something new to the deal is the addition of the CBS All Access digital subscription on-demand and livestreaming service to Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex platforms later in 2020. ViacomCBS says this is the first time the CBS All Access app will be available on an MVPD-based set-top box.

In addition, the agreement covers TV Everywhere availability of programming from CBS Television Network and CBS Sports Network to Xfinity customers on CBS.com, the CBS app and Xfinity Stream. Showtime Anytime will also continue to provide Xfinity Showtime subscribers with unlimited access to its content online and on mobile devices.

The markets impacted by the deal are: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Baltimore for CBS-owned stations; and Philadelphia, San Francisco, Atlanta, Tampa, Seattle, Detroit, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Baltimore for CW affiliates.

Also, two MyNetwork affiliates will be available in Boston and Miami, and the CBS-owned independent station will be available in New York.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

NEW YORK—The merger of CBS and Viacom will officially be completed on Dec. 4 the two companies announced, launching the rebranded company of ViacomCBS Inc.

The deal will be completed after market hours on Dec. 4, with ViacomCBS Inc. beginning to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Dec. 5.

This merger represents a reunification of CBS and Viacom, as the two companies split originally in 2006.

Bob Bakish will be the president and CEO of ViacomCBS Inc. Joe Ianniello will now serve as chairman and CEO of CBS, overseeing CBS-branded content.

ViacomCBS Inc. is now the parent company of CBS, CBS Sports, CBS News, Showtime, Comedy Central, BET, MTV, the Paramount Network, Ten Australia, Nickelodeon, CBS All Access, 5, Pop, PlutoTV, the CW and Paramount Studios.

NEW YORK—After multiple reports that a merger was on the horizon, CBS and Viacom have officially announced a finalized agreement that will combine the two companies once again after initially splitting in 2006. The combined company will go by ViacomCBS Inc.

As previously reported, Bob Bakish, president and CEO of Viacom, will serve in the same position for the combined company. CBS’ president and acting CEO Joe Ianniello will now have the title of chairman and CEO of CBS, where his responsibility will be to oversee all CBS-branded assets. Other leadership positions will be occupied by Christina Spade as executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Christa D’Alimonte as EVP, general counsel and secretary. Shari Redstone, who served as vice chair for both companies, will now be the chair of ViacomCBS Inc.

“Today marks an important day for CBS and Viacom, as we unite our complementary assets and capabilities and become one of only a few companies with the breadth and depth of content and reach to shape the future of our industry,” said Bakish in the company’s official press release.

“My father [Summer Redstone] once said ‘content is king,’ and never has that been more true than today,” said Redstone. “Through CBS and Viacom’s shared passion for premium content and innovation, we will establish a world-class, multiplatform media organization that is well-positioned for growth in a rapidly transforming industry.”

ViacomCBS Inc. now houses CBS, CBS Sports, CBS News, Showtime, Comedy Central, BET, MTV, the Paramount Network, Ten Australia, Nickelodeon, CBS All Access, 5, Pop, PlutoTV, the CW and Paramount Studios. According to the company’s release, ViacomCBS has a 22% share of the U.S. TV audience; production capabilities across five continents; a library of more than 140,000 premium TV episodes and 3,600 films; and a global reach of more than 4.3 billion cumulative TV subscribers across more than 180 countries.

Moving forward, the company has devised a three-part growth strategy that includes accelerating its direct-to-consumer strategy; enhancing distribution and advertising opportunities; and to create a leading producer and licensor of premium content to third-party platforms globally.

The merger is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, but the company expects the transaction to close by the end of 2019. It also forecasts that the merger will offer $500 million in cost savings within the first two years of closing.