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Selected Articles
/1
Warner Bros. Television is the television division of Warner Bros. Pictures, founded on March 21, 1955 by studio vice president Jack L. Warner and headed by TV producer and actor William T. Orr (credited as "Wm. T. Orr"). The studio made its small screen debut with Warner Bros. Presents on September 20, 1955. Around circa 1960, WBTV formed Warner Bros. Television Distribution. Then, in 1989, WBTVD formed the current syndication arm of WBTV, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, after acquiring Lorimar-Telepictures.
/2
FremantleMedia (doing business as
Fremantle) is a British-based media conglomerate company founded in 2000 as a merger of Pearson Television and CLT-UFA; the companies merged to become "RTL Group" and by renaming the production arm to FremantleMedia, who currently owns the All American, Mark Goodson, and Reg Grundy libraries, among other formats. In 2003, FremantleMedia acquired Australian production company Crackerjack Productions, who merged with Grundy Television to form "FremantleMedia Australia". On September 7, 2018, the company changed its onscreen name to simply "Fremantle," though FremantleMedia remains its legal name.
/3
On September 16, 2002, Sony Corporation decided to retire the Columbia TriStar Television name and logo from its television division, renaming it "
Sony Pictures Television". For the first time since 1974, the Torch Lady or anything resembling Columbia's symbol is nowhere to be seen; instead, the corporate logo for Sony Pictures was introduced to television viewers for the first time. In late 2019, SPT announced a new in-production name called "Sony Pictures Television Studios", in order to further make use of production in the SPT library and rolls out for current and future titles throughout the rest of the year and 2020.
/4
20th Television (spelled as "Twentieth Television") started out as the television syndication arm of
20th Century Fox Television. Previously under
Fox Television Stations, it was launched in 1989 originally as an in-name-only brand of TCFTV (and structurally officialized in 1995). 20th Television also produced their own programs and distributed them worldwide. Sometime in 2020, a year after
The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of
21st Century Fox, the original 20th Television was merged into
Disney Media Distribution, and TCFTV was rebranded to the name of the former on August 10, 2020 as part of a corporate restructuring.
/5
Universal Television has its roots going back to 1947 when they entered the television market via United World Films. But after very little success, they shifted into producing TV commercials under Universal-International Television, with the United World Name being renamed Universal Television by 1956.
/6
NBC Universal was first formed on May 11, 2004 by the merger of the General Electric Company's
NBC and the entertainment division of Vivendi
Universal Entertainment. The day after its founding, the television production and distribution arms of Universal Television (
Universal Network Television,
Universal Domestic Television, and
USA Cable Entertainment) and
NBC Studios and the distributor
NBC Enterprises were merged, forming
NBC Universal Television Studio and
NBC Universal Television Distribution.
/7
Desilu Productions was a production company founded in 1950 by then-husband-and-wife comedy duo,
Desi Arnaz and
Lucille Ball (hence the name of the company), producing TV shows and films between the 1950s and 1960s. In 1960, Desi Arnaz sold the pre-1960 shows to CBS since Ball and Arnaz couldn't work with each other anymore. They later divorced the same year. In 1962, Arnaz sold his holdings of Desilu to Ball. In 1967, she sold Desilu to Gulf+Western Industries, which merged Desilu with
Paramount Pictures. Desilu became the television arm of Paramount in July, renaming it to "
Paramount Television" (now "
CBS Studios") months later, while Lucille Ball formed her company "
Lucille Ball Productions, Inc." and Desi Arnaz formed his own company named "Desi Arnaz Productions".
/8
MTM Enterprises, Inc. (also known as "MTM Productions, Inc.") was an independent production company established in 1969 by actress
Mary
Tyler
Moore (hence the initials of the company) and her then-husband Grant Tinker. The company was formed as a result of an agreement with Moore and the CBS network to produce 22 episodes of a new sitcom, which would become
The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In 1986, MTM launched "MTM Television Distribution". MTM titles had previously been distributed by
Viacom Enterprises (now "
CBS Media Ventures"), and then
Victory Television. MTM was sold to TVS Entertainment (the then-parent company of now-defunct
ITV franchise holder
TVS Television) in July 1988. In 1992, after TVS lost its ITV franchise to
Meridian Broadcasting, it was sold to International Family Entertainment, Inc., owners of The Family Channel, which in turn was sold and merged into Fox Family Worldwide (now "ABC Family Worldwide") in 1997. MTM ceased operations the following year, and its library assets were folded into
20th Century Fox Television (now "
20th Television").
/9
CBS Productions was the production arm of the CBS Television Network, formed in 1952 to produce shows in-house, instead of relying solely on outside productions. Its first production was
CBS Television Workshop, a drama anthology series that featured an early appearance of Audrey Hepburn. On January 17, 2006, it was merged with Paramount Television to form "
CBS Paramount Television", whose main production division, CBS Paramount Network Television, continued to produce the former CBS Productions shows that were still running. On September 2, 2008, CBS Productions was revived as an in-name-only unit of CBS Paramount Network Television (later known as "CBS Television Studios") by producing non-CBS network produced programs such as
90210 for The CW. On October 8, 2020, as part of a brand unification of all of the CBS divisions, CBS Productions was folded into the then-newly renamed
CBS Studios.
/10
King World Productions, Inc. was a television company established in 1964 by Charles
King when they gained the distribution rights to the
Our Gang (later re-titled
The Little Rascals) shorts. Years later, after King's death, the company was ran by his children, Roger, Michael, Robert, Diana, Richard, and Karen King. In 1982, King World joined forces with
Merv Griffin Enterprises to handle all of Griffin's nightly syndicated programming. King World later formed an ad-sales barter division "
Camelot Entertainment Sales", which would become "King World Media Sales" (and later "CBS Television Distribution Media Sales") in 1997. In 1987, King World and Camelot entered into an ad-sales barter partnership with
Buena Vista Television. In 2000, King World was acquired by CBS and was made part of "
CBS Enterprises" under Viacom, Inc. (now "Paramount Global"). On September 26, 2006, King World merged with
CBS Paramount Domestic Television,
CBS Paramount International Television (later "
CBS Studios International" and "
ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group", now "
Paramount Global Content Distribution"), and
CBS Home Entertainment to form
CBS Television Distribution.
/11
On March 1, 1976, Avco sold their
broadcasting division to media company Multimedia, Inc., who renamed it to
Multimedia Entertainment (initially as "Multimedia Program Productions, Inc."). Multimedia, Inc. was sold to
Gannett in 1995, who then sold Multimedia Entertainment a year later to
Universal Pictures. Multimedia Entertainment was folded into
Universal Television Enterprises (now "
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios") in 1997.
/12
Columbia TriStar Television was a merger of
Columbia Pictures Television and
TriStar Television (after the re-branding of
Columbia TriStar Home Video). It was founded on February 21, 1994 and the same day, SPE renamed Columbia Pictures Television Distribution to
Columbia TriStar Television Distribution. With
Columbia TriStar International Television (formerly "Columbia Pictures International Television", now
Sony Pictures Television International) already in operation since the early 1990s, all three became part of Sony Television Entertainment umbrella (which was later renamed to the
Columbia TriStar Television Group in July 1995).
/13
19 Entertainment is the production company behind the
Idol franchise, as well as
So You Think You Can Dance, founded in 1985 by Simon Fuller. 19 Entertainment (with the rights to the shows mentioned above) was sold to CKX, Inc. in 2005 (later renamed to CORE Media Group in 2012, then Industrial Media in 2018) for $210 million. Five years later, the company moved its headquarters from London to Los Angeles. In March 2022,
Sony Pictures Television purchased Industrial Media for $350 million, with 19 Entertainment becoming a subsidiary of its nonfiction division.
/14
In 1992, Aaron
Spelling's
Spelling Entertainment was again renamed to
Spelling Television. In 1993, Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation acquired a 67% stake in Spelling Entertainment Group and established "
Big Ticket Television" (a.k.a. "Big Ticket Entertainment" and "Big Ticket Pictures") in 1994. In 1994, Blockbuster merged with
Viacom, Inc. (later renamed "CBS Corporation" in 2006, and later "
ViacomCBS" in 2019 and "
Paramount Global" in 2022). In 1999, Viacom acquired the rest of the Spelling Entertainment Group, making it a division of the
Paramount Television Group, but Spelling continued producing shows until his death on June 23, 2006, at the age of 83. Today, most of the Spelling Television library is owned by Paramount Global through
CBS Media Ventures, while the company still survives as an in-name-only unit of
CBS Studios (formerly "
CBS Paramount Network Television" and "CBS Television Studios").
/15
Big Ticket Television (also known as "Big Ticket Entertainment" and "Big Ticket Pictures, Inc.") was created by the
Spelling Entertainment Group in 1994 as a low-budget unit that produced half-hour sitcoms and reality shows. Founder Larry Lyttle wanted to name the company Blockbuster Television after Blockbuster, who at the time owned the Spelling group and was owned by
Viacom; however, Viacom vetoed the idea, so Lyttle went with "Big Ticket" instead, after Blockbuster's logo. They produced
Moesha and its spin-off
The Parkers for UPN (now The CW) as well as the daily syndicated court shows
Judge Judy,
Judge Joe Brown and
Hot Bench. When Viacom acquired Spelling in 1999, Big Ticket Television became a label of the
Paramount Television Group. Today, Big Ticket Television is an in-name-only unit of
Paramount Global's
CBS Studios.
/16
Dick Clark Productions was an entertainment production company established in 1957 by entertainer
Dick Clark, producing television shows, television specials, and television movies. In 2007, it was sold to Daniel Snyder, owner of American football team Washington Redskins and former chairman of amusement park company Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, for $175 million. Around September 2016, Chinese family-owned conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group (which owns a controlling interest in
AMC Theatres and fully owns
Legendary Entertainment) was in talks of acquiring the company for $1 billion. The transaction was confirmed on November 4th; however, the Wanda Group called off the deal in March 2017. On February 1, 2018, the company merged with
Media Rights Capital and Billboard-Hollywood Media Reporter Group to form Valence Media.
/17
Searchlight Television is the television division of
Searchlight Pictures, launched in April 2018 to broaden the variety of projects produced under the company's banner. It will produce original content; as well as some based on other productions. The division didn't have an official logo until 2021.
/18
When Universal Television, USA Network, and the Sci-Fi Channel were sold to Barry Diller's HSN Inc. from The Seagram Company in 1998 (though they kept a 45% interest in Diller's operations), the company was renamed to
Studios USA Television LLC. However in 1998, Universal Studios acquired
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and then folded PolyGram into Universal, forming Universal Studios Network Programming when the acquisition was completed in 1999. In 2001, USA Networks' entertainment assets were purchased by Vivendi Universal, reuniting Studios USA with Universal Studios, and renaming Studios USA to "
Universal Network Television" and Studios USA Television Distribution to "
Universal Domestic Television". In September 2002, the Universal Network Television and Universal Domestic Television logos replaced the Studios USA logo.
/19
Foxstar Productions was the documentary television production arm of
20th Century Fox Television, Inc. that was originally formed in 1993 as a TV movie and mini-series unit under Steve Bell, the former TCFTV network president. The first series was the
Alien Nation TV movie series. In 1998, Foxstar was made a unit of
Fox Television Studios. Although
20th Century Fox has produced documentaries since 1987, a standard logo wasn't used until 1994.
/20
After
Lorimar-Telepictures was folded into
Warner Bros. Television Distribution and became Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution on January 12, 1989,
Telepictures Productions became a producer of syndicated programming that Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution would distribute starting in 1990 after a two-year hiatus. It is also involved in online areas, including operating the TMZ celebrity blog (until 2021), amongst others.
/21
Wolf Entertainment is the production company of Dick
Wolf, best known as the creator of the
Law & Order franchise. In addition to
L&O, the company is responsible for the
Chicago (a.k.a.
One Chicago) and
FBI (a.k.a.
The FBIs) franchises, among other shows created by Wolf. The company was founded in 1988. Until 2019, it was known as "
Wolf Films".
/22
Originally formed in 1981,
Amblin Entertainment did not enter TV production until 1985, when the sci-fi show
Amazing Stories premiered on NBC.
/23
In early 2019,
Universal Cable Productions has been renamed to
Universal Content Productions to move to the streaming area. In October 2019, Universal Content Productions and
Universal Television was moved to NBCUniversal Content Studios. A month later, the company had set up
UCP Audio as a podcast division to produce scripted and unscripted content.
/24
Peacock Productions was the documentary division of the NBC News division of NBCUniversal News Group, formed on July 15, 2007. The studio was shut down on March 2, 2020, with NBC News citing changes to its strategies on documentaries.
/25
MGM Television was established on June 30, 1956 by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer under Loews, Inc. It was initiated to have MGM to distribute 770 of its films, 900 shorts, produce network series, and acquire TV stations after its first program,
The M-G-M Parade, was canceled by ABC in the spring.
The M-G-M Parade first used the 1953 version of Jackie at the beginning rather than the end of the program. Most of the pre-1986 library is owned by
Warner Bros. Entertainment through
Turner Entertainment Co., while
Amazon MGM Studios owns the rest of the library.
/26
Warner Horizon Television is a cable network and reality television production company formed by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. in 2006. Two divisions existed between 2006 and 2020:
Warner Horizon Scripted Television (focused on production of scripted comedic and dramatic programs for cable networks and subscription-based streaming platforms) and
Warner Horizon Unscripted Television (focused on production of reality television programs, documentaries and other alternative programming formats for broadcast and cable networks, and subscription-based streaming platforms). In 2020, Warner Horizon Scripted Television was merged into
Warner Bros. Television as part of a restructure of Warner Bros.' TV studios at Warner Bros. Discovery. However, Warner Horizon Unscripted Television was not affected.
/27
Universal Television Alternative Studio was established by
NBCUniversal in June 2016 to develop alternative and unscripted programming. All of their productions have aired on its own networks as well as streaming services.
/28
Debmar-Mercury is a syndication company that was formed in 2006 as a merger between
Debmar Studios and
Mercury Entertainment. The company was bought on July 12, 2006 by
Lionsgate and became a wholly-owned subsidiary.
/29
After
Columbia TriStar Television (now "
Sony Pictures Television") folded
Merv Griffin Enterprises and took over the shows from
Merv Griffin's former company on July 7, 1994,
Merv Griffin Entertainment was formed on May 13, 1996 by Griffin as his new production company initially known as
Merv Griffin Productions, a subsidiary of The Griffin Group.
/30
The Tannenbaum Company is the production company of Eric and Kim
Tannenbaum, founded in 2002 with a deal at
Warner Bros. Television until 2010. Prior to that, Eric was the president of
Columbia TriStar Television while Kim was senior vice president of comedy development of the studio. In 2010, the company signed a deal with
CBS Studios to produce programming with the studio. In April 2018, the company later moved to
Lionsgate Television for an overall deal, which was later renewed in 2021.
/31
On May 15, 2009, the post-2006 CBS Corporation (formerly the "old"
Viacom) ended its three-year licensing rights to the Paramount name and logo from the post-2006
Viacom, which owned
Paramount Pictures. As a result, the
CBS Paramount Television Group and its network television arm were rebranded as "
CBS Television Studios". On October 8, 2020,
ViacomCBS (now
Paramount Global) announced that CBS Television Studios would be rebranded to simply "
CBS Studios", as part of a major rebrand that unifies all CBS operations and divisions.
/32
On March 4, 2013, former
Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman announced the relaunch of
Paramount Television, although its parent company
Paramount Pictures had previously co-produced the
Entertainment One series
The Firm a year earlier. The revived Paramount Television didn't use an official on-screen logo until 2015. In January 2020, the division was rebranded to its current name in order to avoid confusion with the
Paramount Network cable channel.
/33
DreamWorks Television was a television production arm of
DreamWorks, LLC, established with the studio in 1994. Its first production,
Champs, a series co-executive produced by DreamWorks founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg, and David Geffen, aired in 1996, more than a year before the first DreamWorks movie was released.
/34
Studio T was the official production arm of the Turner Broadcasting System. It was founded in 2016 after Turner merged
TBS Productions and
TNT Productions into one entity. It folded into WarnerMedia Entertainment shortly after the AT&T acquisition. The company is possibly named after the
TNets, the name of Turner's network group for TBS, TNT, and TruTV.
/35
ABC Signature Studios was established in 2013 to separate ABC productions airing on other networks from
ABC Studios. On August 10, 2020, as part of a television division restructuring, Disney combined ABC Signature Studios and ABC Studios into one entity that took the Signature name. The Signature name has been phased in on former Studios productions since the restructuring.
/36
AMC Studios is the in-house production unit of the AMC Television Network, a unit of AMC Networks Inc.
/37
Telepictures Distribution was founded in 1995 by Time Warner Entertainment (now Warner Bros. Discovery) as a spin-off of
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. Telepictures Distribution handled the syndication of smaller first-run series and reruns of older shows, as well as non-WB/
Turner products. On November 26, 2003, Telepictures Distribution was folded into "Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution".
/38
This division of
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution licensed
Warner Bros. feature films, television series, miniseries, TV films, and specials to the pay television and basic cable markets, as well as feature films to the broadcast networks. Formed in 1994, It was re-organized in 2001 as Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution, before folding into Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution in 2008.
/39
On May 6, 1974,
Screen Gems was reincorporated as "
Columbia Pictures Television". The name change was announced on May 1 and was suggested by David Gerber, who was president of Columbia's television division. On February 21, 1994, Columbia Pictures Television merged with
TriStar Television by becoming "
Columbia TriStar Television (now
Sony Pictures Television)" and Columbia Pictures Television Distribution was renamed to "Columbia TriStar Television Distribution". On January 1, 2001, Columbia Pictures Television was folded into Columbia TriStar Television in a failed attempt to become a network television syndication division, Columbia TriStar Network Television. However, CTNT's formation was blocked due to FCC-related television and syndication laws (also known as the "Fin-Syn" laws) prohibiting network participation in the financial interest of the television programs they aired beyond first-run exhibition and the creation of in-house syndication arms, especially in the domestic market. Another reason why CTNT's formation failed was due to its Japanese ownership (Sony). Ultimately, on October 25, 2001, CTNT was replaced by Columbia TriStar Domestic Television. Currently, the division of what was known as Columbia Pictures Television is known today since September 16, 2002 as
Sony Pictures Television.
/40
On October 7, 1991,
TriStar Television was relaunched under Sony Pictures Entertainment and renamed to its current name after acquiring several television shows from
New World Television. Jon Feltheimer, who was the president of New World Television became the new president of TriStar Television. On February 21, 1994, TriStar Television merged with
Columbia Pictures Television and became
Columbia TriStar Television. Both studios still produced its series independently, but in 1999, TriStar Television was folded into CTT before
The Nanny and
Mad About You ended on CBS & NBC, but kept its name in credit until 2000 on
Early Edition. However,
Malcolm & Eddie used the CTT credit. During that time, TriStar Television operated as in-name-only under
Sony Pictures Television.
/41
Toei TV Production Co., Ltd. (株式会社東映テレビ・プロダクション), also known as Toei TVP, is the television production division (with occasional ventures in theatrical films) of Toei Company.
/42
The
Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (callsign
JOIX-DTV) signed on August 28, 1958, by a number of investors, including the
Yomiuri Shimbun. Based in Osaka, YTV serves as the NNN/NNS affiliate for the Kansai region and is one of the dual network's major contributors (alongside NTV), producing and/or distributing a number of programs.
/43
United Plankton Pictures, Inc. is a former vanity card of Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of
SpongeBob SquarePants. Its name comes from Sheldon J.
Plankton, one of the characters from said series. In 1998, Hillenburg formed United Plankton Pictures Inc., a television and film production company, but never used an actual logo until the first
SpongeBob episode, "Help Wanted". Hillenburg died on November 26, 2018, at the age of 57, due to a case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); however, the company remains active.
/44
JOTX-DTV is the main callsign of television station
TV Tokyo, serving as the Kanto region flagship of the TX Network, which TV Tokyo also controls. JOTX-TV existed since 1951, the TV Tokyo Corporation then started to emerge 17 years later. Its early years were mostly for general-purpose programming but now mostly airs programs for various demographics.
/45
Chuck Lorre Productions is the production company of
Chuck Lorre, founded in the 1990s, but incorporated on January 10, 2000 in Los Angeles, California, responsible for producing Lorre's television shows. Lorre's earliest shows were produced by
The Carsey-Werner Company, which Lorre had an overall deal with from 1994 to 1995, while
Dharma & Greg was produced by
20th Century Fox Television through a four-year overall deal from 1995 to 1999 (the show ran until 2002); all of his shows from
Two and a Half Men onward have been produced by
Warner Bros. Television Studios through an overall deal since 1999.
/46
Nickelodeon Productions is the New York-based production arm of American cable channel
Nickelodeon, that provides original sitcoms, animated shows and game-related programs for the channel.
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