CBS and Viacom announced today that the two companies will combine under the new name ViacomCBS Inc. The companies said ViacomCBS will be a leading global, multiplatform, premium content company, with the assets, capabilities and scale to be one of the most important content producers and providers in the world.

Bob Bakish will lead the combined company as president and CEO, with Joe Ianniello to serve as chairman and CEO of CBS.

In the announcement, Bakish said: “Today marks an important day for CBS and Viacom, as we unite our complementary assets and capabilities and become one of only a few companies with the breadth and depth of content and reach to shape the future of our industry. Our unique ability to produce premium and popular content for global audiences at scale — for our own platforms and for our partners around the world — will enable us to maximize our business for today, while positioning us to lead for years to come. As we look to the future, I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities ahead for the combined company and all of our stakeholders — including consumers, the creative community, commercial partners, employees and, of course, our shareholders.”

Among the bullet points in today’s announcement:

• Portfolio of powerful consumer brands spanning all content categories and demographics
• Iconic library of 140,000+ premium TV episodes and 3,600+ film titles
• Production capabilities across five continents, including more than 750 series ordered to or in production
• One of a few major film studios operating on a global basis
• Among the biggest content spenders in the industry, with more than $13 billion spent in the last 12 months
• Diverse and fast growing portfolio of direct to consumer offerings
• Global reach of more than 4.3 billion cumulative TV subscribers in 180+ countries
• #1 share of broadcast and cable viewing across all key demographics in the U.S.
• First choice distribution and advertising partner with industry leading reach and capabilities
• Delivers financial benefits that will position the combined company to create significant value for all shareholders
• Increased financial scale for significant and sustained investment in programming and innovation
• Attractive growth outlook
• EPS accretive transaction with estimated run rate annual synergies of $500 million
• Highly cash flow generative
• Committed to maintaining an investment grade credit rating and modest dividend payment

Click here to read the announcement.