Tres; plus oversight of all of Viacom’s international TV-related joint ventures, including Viacom18 in India and ViacomSBS in Korea, as well as channel ventures with BSkyB in the UK and Foxtel in Australia. In all, VIMN operations at the time of his appointment consisted of 145 television channels in 160 countries and territories, plus related digital properties and consumer products businesses. During his tenure, Bakish expanded Viacom's international footprint, and VIMN was Viacom's most successful division; revenue doubled, and VIMN grew to more than 200 television channels. Under his leadership, the Paramount Channel was launched, offering movies and television shows in Europe, Latin America and Russia. He oversaw the expansion of networks such as Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Spike to an increasing number of foreign markets, and helped orchestrate the acquisition of Channel 5 in the UK and Telefe in Argentina. He also oversaw the launch of apps, including the Viacom Play Plex suite of branded mobile TV apps and the BET Play direct-to-consumer subscription video-on-demand app for an adult audience. CEO In October 2016, Bakish was named acting President and CEO of Viacom effective November 15, replacing interim CEO Tom Dooley. Simultaneously, he was also appointed President and CEO of the newly created Viacom Global Entertainment Group, combining Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) with Viacom's Music and Entertainment group, which includes MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, Spike TV and Logo TV; two additional networks, TV Land and CMT, also joined the Global Entertainment Group. Optimistic that Bakish could make good on his plans to turn Viacom's core U.S. cable networks and its Paramount Pictures film studio around, the board of directors of Viacom Inc. made Bakish's appointment as President and CEO permanent on December 12, 2016. In early 2017, Bakish laid out a five-point plan to turn Viacom around and return the company to steady profitability. This consisted of focusing on Viacom's six flagship brands: BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and Paramount; revitalizing content and talent; deepening distributor and advertiser partnerships to drive traditional revenue; increasing digital offerings, consumer products and live experiences; and optimizing and energizing the organization. The strategy also included having Paramount Pictures develop films and franchises connected to Viacom television content; additionally, Spike TV would be rebranded as and converted to a broad-based general entertainment channel, the Paramount Network, in early 2018. By the fall of 2017 Bakish had restructured Viacom, replacing executives at