Paramount Television
The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, which was active from December 15, 1966 until April 24, 2006, when it was renamed as CBS Paramount Television.
History
Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions was an American production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, best known for shows such as I Love Lucy, Star Trek, and The Untouchables. Until 1962, Desilu was the second-largest independent television production company in the United States behind MCA Inc.'s Revue Productions until MCA bought Universal Pictures, and Desilu became and remained the number-one independent production company until it was sold in 1967. Ball and Arnaz jointly owned the majority stake in Desilu from its inception until 1962, when Ball bought out Arnaz and ran the company by herself for several years. Ball had succeeded in making Desilu profitable again by 1967, when she sold her shares of Desilu to Gulf+Western for $17 million. Gulf+Western then transformed Desilu into the television production arm of Paramount Pictures, rebranding the company as Paramount Television.Paramount's early involvement in television
The Paramount Television Network was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s. The company built television stations KTLA in Los Angeles and WBBM-TV in Chicago; it also invested US$400,000 in the DuMont Television Network, which operated stations WABD in New York City, WTTG in Washington, D.C., and WDTV in Pittsburgh. Escalating disputes between Paramount and DuMont concerning breaches of contract, company control, and network competition erupted regularly between 1940 and 1956, and culminated in the dismantling of the DuMont Network. Television historian Timothy White called the clash between the two companies "one of the most unfortunate and dramatic episodes in the early history of the television industry."The Paramount Television Network aired several programs, including the Emmy Award-winning children's series Time for Beany. Filmed in Hollywood, the programs were distributed to an ad-hoc network of stations across the United States. The network signed network affiliation agreements with more than 50 television stations in 1950; despite this, most of Paramount's series were not widely viewed outside the West Coast. The Federal Communications Commission, which filed suit against Paramount for anti-trust violations, prevented the studio from acquiring additional television stations. Paramount executives eventually gave up on the idea of a television network, and continued to produce series for other networks.
Paramount Pictures had made one attempt in the mid-1950s to produce a show themself under the Paramount Television banner: Sally starring Joan Caulfield, was a short-lived series on NBC during the 1957–58 season. The spun-off theater chain purchased control of the ABC, and due to legal requirements sold WBKB-TV to CBS.
Another attempt by Paramount was known as Paramount Pictures Television. One of the series was Destination Space, a pilot to a proposed series that never got off the ground, produced in association with the CBS Television Network in 1959.
The 1960s
In 1966, Paramount was on the verge of bankruptcy, when the studio was bought out by Gulf+Western. By that point, Paramount had largely distanced itself from television, having stopped production of its early shows, closed down its networks, and sold off the stations it owned. It also sold most of the early half of its sound-era theatrical library to such companies as EMKA, Ltd.—a wholly owned subsidiary of MCA, U.M. & M. TV Corporation, Associated Artists Productions – also called a.a.p. for short, Harvey Films, and National Comics Publications.Formation and Desilu merger
On December 15, 1966, CBS president John T. Reynolds left his role and became president of Paramount Pictures' new Paramount Television division. In 1967, Paramount Television Enterprises began distributing Portfolio I, a package of 60 Paramount films for syndication.Charles Bluhdorn's Gulf+Western bought Desilu in 1967, which was merged into Paramount, who had been Desilu's next door neighbor since the closure of RKO Pictures. The sale resulted in Paramount Television assuming production of Desilu programs in December of that year. The three Desilu lots the original RKO Studios and two Culver City locations were included in the sale, but the Justice Department forced Bluhdorn to sell the Culver Studios to avoid a monopoly. The old RKO globe is still in place at the corner of Gower and Melrose in the Paramount lot.
The first PTV production to premiere after the re-incorporation was Here's Lucy. Paramount only produced the first season however, selling their stake in the show to Ball after the season finale. Throughout that, Paramount started good relations with ABC, allowing it to produce several shows in the 1960s and the 1970s, with The Brady Bunch and The Odd Couple becoming the biggest hits for the studio.
In 1971, Douglas S. Cramer, who served as vice president in charge of production at the studio had left, to start out his production company affiliated with Columbia Pictures and Screen Gems. In 1972, Thomas Miller, who was vice president of program development and Edward Milkis, who served in charge of post-production would leave the studio to start their own production company Miller/Milkis Productions with a development deal at the studio. Happy Days would go on to be a hit for both the studio and Miller/Milkis, with subsequent spin-offs that were served to launch a franchise. In 1977, Gary Nardino then become president of the studio.
Gulf+Western had plans to launch a television network in the late 1970s, the Paramount Television Service, with a new Star Trek series as the cornerstone of the network. But these plans were scrapped, and Star Trek: Phase II was reworked into Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
In 1979, Terry Keegan, Paramount employee, joined with former QM Productions production executive Arthur Fellows to launch a Paramount-affiliated production company The Fellows/Keegan Company, who was worked until 1983, when it went alternative deals with the company. In 1983, Gary Nardino had left the company to start out a company affiliated with Paramount, Gary Nardino Productions, of which they stayed for six years until 1989.
In 1984, former MGM producer Leonard Goldberg joined Paramount to serve as production agreement with the studio via Mandy Films. In 1986, Eddie Murphy, who had success with starring films for Paramount's own movie studio, launched Eddie Murphy Television Enterprises with a deal at Paramount Television for their own projects. In 1988, Murphy signed a contract with CBS to develop their own television projects.
Ownership changes and library expansion
In 1989, Gulf+Western was re-incorporated as Paramount Communications, named after the company's prime asset, Paramount Pictures. That firm was sold to Viacom in 1994. In 1990, Paramount had signed Arsenio Hall to a multi-year exclusive production contract for film and television projects, and let his talk show to be renewed through 1994.In 1992, Paramount had struck a deal with various talent writers and producers. The talent were Don Johnson, Kathy Speer and Terry Grossman, Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan, Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, Tim O'Donnell, Janet Leahy, John Mankiewicz, Christopher Crowe and Jacob Epstein and Ken Solarz. Also that year, Donald P. Bellisario had left Universal Television after 12 years to sign with Paramount Television.
The Viacom merger gave Paramount a larger television library as well, since Viacom had television production and distribution units as well prior to the Paramount acquisition. The distribution company, Viacom Enterprises, was merged into Paramount Domestic Television while the production company, Viacom Productions, continued as a division of Paramount Television until 2004.
The first major hit from Viacom Productions to debut after becoming a division of Paramount Television was Sabrina the Teenage Witch, based on the Archie Comics of the same name. Starring Melissa Joan Hart as the title character, the series lasted four seasons on ABC and three on The WB between 1996 and 2003.
In 1995, Paramount struck a program deal with Procter & Gamble for a three-year period. It also expanded with a first-look partnership with NBC to obtain their projects created by the partnership that year. Also that year, it entered into a partnership with the Fox Broadcasting Company to launch a joint partnership with Television Production Partners to help them advertise their projects, and also include support from Fox's production partners.
In 1994, the Paramount Television Group and MTV Productions signed a deal to develop projects commissioned by MTV, and gave Paramount the right of first refusal on projects developed by MTV. For the 1997-98 season Paramount Network Television collaborated with Viacom sister MTV Productions, to produce the NBC comedy Jenny, the UPN comedy Hitz, and the WB drama Three, but none of them got success beyond its first season.
In 1996, producer Barry Kemp had signed a multi-year overall deal with Paramount to produce their projects under the Bungalow 78 Productions banner, and had plans for a series with a 13-episode commitment for CBS. Paramount then turned around, along with Kemp, with part ways, to turn the project over to Warner Bros. Television with new showrunners Ed Decter and John J. Strauss on the board.
Paramount continued to build its television library. In 1999, Viacom acquired full interest in Spelling Entertainment Group, and the rights to Rysher Entertainment's television holdings. Also in 1999, Steven Bochco, being lured from CBS was recruited by Paramount Television for a production/distribution agreement. In 2003, Big Ticket was absorbed into Paramount, but Big Ticket continued to be used as an in-name only unit. In late 2005, Spelling Television has laid off its employees, transitioning from a separate studio to a pod development deal within the studio.