National Amusements
Formerly | Northeast Theater Corporation (1936–1959) |
---|---|
Company type | Private |
Industry | Entertainment |
Founded | 1936Dedham, Massachusetts | in
Founder | Michael Redstone |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | Shari Redstone (president) |
Products | Movie theaters |
Owner | Shari Redstone |
Number of employees | 23,900 (2017) |
Divisions | Showcase Cinemas |
Subsidiaries | Paramount Global (9.76% of total shares and 77.4% of total voting power)[1] UCI Cinemas (Brazil) |
National Amusements, Inc. is an American privately owned movie theater operator and mass media holding company incorporated in Maryland and based in Norwood, Massachusetts.[2]
The company owns more than 1,500 cinema theaters throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and Latin America under several brands, such as Showcase Cinemas, Multiplex Cinemas, and Cinema de Lux. It is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global.
History
1912 | Famous Players Film Company is founded |
---|---|
1913 | Lasky Feature Play Company is founded |
1914 | Paramount Pictures is founded as a film distributor |
1916 | Famous Players and Lasky merge as Famous Players–Lasky and acquire Paramount |
1920 | Westinghouse Broadcasting forms with the launch of KDKA-AM |
1927 | CBS is founded; Famous Players–Lasky assumes Paramount's name |
1929 | Paramount buys 49% of CBS |
1932 | Paramount sells back shares of CBS |
1950 | Desilu is founded and CBS distributes its television programs |
1952 | CBS creates the CBS Television Film Sales division |
1958 | CBS Television Film Sales renamed to CBS Films |
1966 | Gulf+Western buys Paramount |
1968 | Gulf+Western acquires Desilu and renames it Paramount Television; CBS Films becomes CBS Enterprises |
1970 | CBS Enterprises renamed to Viacom |
1971 | Viacom is spun off from CBS as a separate company |
1985 | Viacom buys full ownership of Showtime and MTV Networks |
1987 | National Amusements buys Viacom |
1989 | Gulf+Western renamed to Paramount Communications |
1994 | Viacom acquires Paramount Communications |
1995 | Westinghouse buys CBS |
1997 | Westinghouse renamed to CBS Corporation |
2000 | Viacom buys CBS Corporation |
2001 | Viacom buys BET Networks |
2005 | Viacom splits into second CBS Corporation and Viacom |
2019 | CBS Corporation and Viacom re-merge as ViacomCBS |
2022 | ViacomCBS renamed to Paramount Global |
The company was founded by Michael Redstone in 1936 in the Boston suburb of Dedham as Northeast Theater Corporation, operating a chain of movie theaters in the region. In 1959, when the founder's son Sumner Redstone joined the company, it was renamed National Amusements, the present name.
On June 10, 1987, the company became the majority owner of
In March 2005, due to Viacom's declining stock price, National Amusements announced that it would split its media subsidiary into two companies that would remain under its control, which was completed on December 31.[6][7] The original Viacom became the second CBS Corporation as it kept CBS, Simon & Schuster,[8] and Paramount Network Television (now CBS Studios), among other assets, while MTV Networks, BET Networks, and Paramount Pictures were spun-off to a sister company under the Viacom name. The second iterations of Viacom and CBS Corporation commenced trading on January 3, 2006.[9]
At the end of 2008, due to financial troubles, owners
In 2019, it was announced that the multinational media conglomerates controlled by National Amusements — Viacom and CBS Corporation — would
In January 2024, it was reported that film producer David Ellison was interested in buying National Amusements from Shari Redstone. If the acquisition would be closed, the company would be placed under Ellison's Skydance Media.[20]
Current operations
The company operates more than 1,500 movie screens across the
National Amusements owns a 9.7% equity stake and 79.9% voting interest in
Sumner Redstone, who was National Amusements' chairman, CEO and owner, died on August 11, 2020.[23][24][25]
References
- ^ "Inline XBRL Viewer".
- ^ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2018-03-26). "U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR".
- ^ "Viacom Inc. acquires Viacom International Inc". Los Angeles Times. June 10, 1987. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ "CBS And Viacom Complete Merger". www.cbsnews.com. April 26, 2000. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ^ "Viacom buys BET for $2.3B in stock - Nov. 3, 2000". money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ Friedman, Wayne (June 15, 2005). "Viacom, CBS Set To Split--Again". MediaPost. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ^ Wilkerson, David B. (October 18, 2005). "Viacom moves up split date". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ "Bertelsmann buys Simon & Schuster for $2.2 billion in U.S. publishing play". Reuters. 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ Alfano, Sean (January 3, 2006). "CBS, Viacom Formally Split". CBS News. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- LA Times. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
- ^ "Report: Shari Redstone Rejected $1 Billion Buyout Offer of Her Stake in Family Empire". Variety. 21 December 2015.
- ^ Edward B. Colby (2009-10-14). "National Amusements Inc. to sell nearly $1B of its Viacom, CBS stock". The Daily News Transcript. Archived from the original on 2010-04-24.
- ^ Nikki Finke (2009-12-07). "Rave To Acquire 35 Of Redstone's National Amusements Theater Complexes". Archived from the original on 2013-02-15.
- ^ Korby, Boris; Maheshwari, Sapna (November 23, 2010). "National Amusements Plans to Sell $390 Million of Notes to Refinance Debt". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
- ^ "Media giants to merge in latest mega-deal". 2019-08-13. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
- ^ "CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc. Announce Expected Closing Date of Merger". Business Wire. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- ^ "CBS and Viacom Reveal December Merger Date – Mark Your Calendars". November 25, 2019.
- ^ Weprin, Alex (December 4, 2019). "Bob Bakish's Memo to ViacomCBS Staff: Merger "A Historic Moment"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Mullin, Benjamin; Chin, Kimberly (15 February 2022). "ViacomCBS Renames Itself Paramount". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "David Ellison Makes Offer for Redstone Family's Media Empire". Bloomberg.com. 2024-01-24. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "2021 Proxy Statement". ViacomCBS, Inc. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
- ^ "CBS Sets Radio Division Merger With Entercom". Variety. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (2020-08-12). "Sumner Redstone, Towering Media Mogul Who Helped Shape Modern Entertainment Industry, Dies at 97". Variety.
- ^ James, Meg (2020-08-12). "Media mogul Sumner Redstone, whose empire included Viacom and CBS, dies at 97". Los Angeles Times.
- ISSN 0362-4331.
Further reading
- Stewart, James B.; Rachel Abrams (2023). Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy. New York: Penguin Press. OCLC 1365390478.