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We arrive now at Paramount Television's boutique label, Desilu. Name History: Desilu Productions, Inc. (1950-1975) Desilu TV (1975-1986) Desilu (1996-present) Short History: Desilu was founded in 1950 by the acting duo Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball as Desilu Productions, Inc. (known on screen as Desilu). Its first logo didn't debut until 1952. The company was designed to produce content exclusively for television. Arnaz left the company in 1962, leaving Lucille Ball as the sole owner, becoming the first woman to own a major production studio. From its founding until 1963, Desilu's shows were distributed by CBS Films (now known as Viacom) Paramount Pictures would acquire a majority stake in Desilu in 1963, turning it into an independently ran division of Paramount Television. The company would launch Desilu Sales, Inc. that same year, which took over the distribution rights to Desilu's library. In 1967, Gulf and Western acquired Paramount Pictures. After the sale, Desilu was morphed into a label of Paramount Television specializing in high-budget television shows and pre-existing Desilu properties. Desilu Productions became Desilu TV in 1975, in order to distinguish it from its feature film arm, Desilu Films. Desilu would close initially in 1987, with its remaining shows being moved over to Paramount Network Television. Desilu was revived in 1996 under Paramount's then-owner Viacom-IFE as a boutique label to Paramount Television, producing high-quality television shows for premium cable networks like HBO, Showtime and Starz. Viacom-IFE would change its name to Viacom, its previous name in 2006.
