Well This Is Interesting For Zen's Licensing Future...

[shutyertrap]

There is a merger happening between CBS and Viacom that just got approved. Why should this perk up our interest? I'll let this quote do the talking...

A new company called ViacomCBS will emerge (pending the finalization of the deal), and brands like Paramount Pictures, CBS, Showtime, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and more will all be under the same umbrella.

That is freaking huge. Do you even get how many pinball licenses this will cover? If Zen can enter a deal with ViacomCBS for even just one table, a Star Trek, an Addams Family, a Twilight Zone, the floodgates might open. This could even signal getting the South Park tables back and into FX3. Not to mention all the potential licenses they could snag as suddenly TMNT or Ren & Stimpy or Beavis and Butthead would be prime for the Zen originals picking.

Will be keeping my eyes open on this one for sure.

 

[dmil666]

That sounds too good to be true - I hope it happens.

 

[trash80]

What this really means is that all the stuff they control that is currently on Hulu, Netflix and Amazon will get pulled and pushed over to CBS All Access.

Plus, many of the properties in question regarding pinball (like those you mention) aren't just owned/managed by ViacomCBS, there are many other entities involved too.

 

[Citizen]

Neat.

This would also bring distribution rights for the Star Trek series and movies under one banner.

 

[shutyertrap]

Plus, many of the properties in question regarding pinball aren't just owned/managed by ViacomCBS, there are many other entities involved too.

It’s consolidation, often making it easier to strike licensing deals. All properties will most likely go through one department for licensing, with it more than likely that all prior developed merch being covered under a new all encompassing agreement. Yes there will be loose threads to tie up, but significantly less now.

 

[trash80]

It’s consolidation, often making it easier to strike licensing deals. All properties will most likely go through one department for licensing, with it more than likely that all prior developed merch being covered under a new all encompassing agreement. Yes there will be loose threads to tie up, but significantly less now.

Not in this case. Almost all the parts are retaining their current infrastructure. There are quite a few business articles posted that go into detail about it. This is nothing like the Fox/Disney deal as CBS and Viacom are structured very uniquely and while there will be some departments that become redundant, there isn't going to be one department for licensing just as there isn't, and has never been a single 'department' for licensing when dealing with these properties.

Mel will still "have a contact" at wherever no matter the underlying structure. This merger may actually cause delays in getting things approved.

p.s. CBS was absorbed by Viacom in 2000, which then changed the name back to CBS and spun off parts to create Viacom in 2005, and with this new merger, we seem to mostly be back to where we were in 2000.

 

[shutyertrap]

Not in this case. Almost all the parts are retaining their current infrastructure. There are quite a few business articles posted that go into detail about it. This is nothing like the Fox/Disney deal as CBS and Viacom are structured very uniquely and while there will be some departments that become redundant, there isn't going to be one department for licensing just as there isn't, and has never been a single 'department' for licensing when dealing with these properties.

Mel will still "have a contact" at wherever no matter the underlying structure. This merger may actually cause delays in getting things approved.

p.s. CBS was absorbed by Viacom in 2000, which then changed the name back to CBS and spun off parts to create Viacom in 2005, and with this new merger, we seem to mostly be back to where we were in 2000.

Good info. Next time I talk to Mel I'll have to ask if this makes things easier or more difficult for them.