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| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television |
| Predecessor | TVX Broadcast Group |
| Founded | 1991; 34 years ago (1991) |
| Defunct | 2001; 24 years ago (2001) |
| Fate | Folded into the Viacom Television Stations Group in 2001 (later renamedCBS Television Stations in 2006) |
| Successor | CBS News and Stations |
| Headquarters | , US |
| Owner |
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| Parent |
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Paramount Stations Group, Inc. (sometimes abbreviated as PSG) was a company that controlled a group of American broadcast television stations. The company existed from 1991 until 2001.
Paramount Communications, the then-parent company ofParamount Pictures, formed the Paramount Stations Group in 1991 after buying out the remaining stake inTVX Broadcast Group that it did not already own.[1][2] At the time of the transition in 1991, the group consisted of six outlets:Fox affiliates KRRT (nowKMYS) in theSan Antonio area,WLFL-TV inRaleigh, andWTXF-TV inPhiladelphia; andindependent stationsKTXA inFort Worth,KTXH inHouston, andWDCA inWashington, D.C. Shortly thereafter, the group began its expansion with its purchase of then-Fox affiliateWKBD-TV inDetroit fromCox Enterprises in 1993.[3][4]
Theoriginal incarnation of Viacom purchased Paramount in 1993, with the deal closing in March 1994; Viacom's existing group ofCBS- andNBC-affiliated stations continued to be run separately from the Paramount stations until December 1995, when they were folded into PSG.[5] Viacom also included its part-time LMA withWVIT, that ofWTXX.[6] Shortly afterward, Viacom entered into a joint venture withChris-Craft Industries, which owned several television stations as part of its United Television subsidiary, to launch theUnited Paramount Network (UPN). Four of PSG's original six stations, along with several acquisitions such asWSBK-TV inBoston,[7] and WTXX inWaterbury, which Viacom operated through a LMA with WVIT,[6] became charter affiliates of the network when UPN launched in January 1995.
PSG sold off three of its original six stations as well; WLFL, KRRT, and WTXF were sold to other companies, with the latter becoming a Fox-owned station. To make up for the loss of its Philadelphia-owned station, PSG acquired Philadelphia independent station WGBS-TV and its call letters were changed toWPSG-TV, and the UPN affiliation was moved there. The company eventually divested itself of the CBS and NBC stations it held and purchased more UPN affiliates as the 1990s continued.
Airing since 1992 in Sweden and other European countries, 4 of the group's independent stations began in late December 1993 testingVideo Games Challenge, interactive via the phone game show produced by Invisible Cities of Los Angeles and Big Band Productions of Sweden.[8] In February 2000, Paramount Stations Group andACME Communications reached an agreement.[9]
In 2000, PSG acquired Chris-Craft's stake in UPN, shortly thereafter, Chris-Craft exited broadcasting and sold most of its stations toNews Corporation'sFox Television Stations unit.
PSG was folded the next year after Viacom completed its merger with CBS. The remaining PSG stations were merged with the CBS owned-and-operated stations to form theViacom Television Stations Group. Today, that group is calledCBS News and Stations.
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