CBS Television Distribution

CBS Television Distribution

CBS Television Distribution (CTD) is an American television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment. The division, the main distribution arm of CBS Paramount Network Television (now CBS Television Studios) and of the CBS television network, was formed on September 26, 2006 by CBS Corporation and was headed by Roger King, the CEO of King World. King died on December 8, 2007 after suffering a stroke in his home the previous day.

The company handles distribution rights to acquired series, mini-series, and made-for-TV films from the Paramount Television libraries (such as those of Desilu Productions, Paramount Television, Viacom Productions and Enterprises, Republic Pictures Television, Big Ticket Entertainment, Spelling Television, and Worldvision Enterprises), and series, mini-series, and made-for-TV films from the CBS television libraries (such as those by CBS Productions, King World Productions, the majority of those by Group W Productions, and its own first-run broadcast syndication and off-network television series). CBS also handles the TV rights to much of its own theatrical films. The company formerly distributed the film libraries from Paramount Pictures and Republic Pictures, among others. The company is also responsible for international television distribution rights to series by Rysher Entertainment including certain HBO series through its CBS Studios International division.

This would mark the sixth distribution name for CBS as CBS Television Film Sales was the first (1952–1958), CBS Films, Inc. was the second (1958–1967), CBS Enterprises was the third (1968–1971), Eyemark Entertainment was the fourth (1995–2000), and CBS Paramount Domestic Television was the fifth (2006–2007).

From 2006-2008, CTD distributed the DreamWorks Television and DreamWorks Pictures libraries in conjunction with Tribune Entertainment, after Viacom's acquisition of DreamWorks in February 2006, but before the studio was spun off. These distribution rights are now held by Disney-ABC Domestic Television (for live-action TV series and post-9/2005 live-action films) and Trifecta Entertainment & Media (for earlier live-action films and all animated productions).

Until May 2009, CTD distributed the Paramount Pictures library on television. By then, CBS also dropped the name "Paramount" from television for good, renaming CBS Paramount Television to CBS Television Studios. Paramount has also joined up with Trifecta. However, CTD continues to distribute films currently copyrighted by CBS (or a subdivision thereof), including those films from Cinema Center Films and CBS Theatrical Films, along with a few select entries to which CBS bought ancillary rights in later years, such as My Fair Lady.

The current moniker for CTD's overseas distribution arm is CBS Studios International (since 2009). Its predecessors were CBS Broadcast International and CBS Paramount International Television.

In 2012, CBS Television Distribution ceased to be a corporate entity, becoming a division of CBS Studios, Inc.