The Program Exchange was a syndicator of television programs. It was founded as DFS Program Exchange in 1978, which became elongated to the DFS-Dorland Program Exchange from 1986 to 1987. From 1986 to 2008, it was a division of

Saatchi & Saatchi Saatchi & Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency gr ...

, an

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

(which acquired

Dancer Fitzgerald Sample Dancer Fitzgerald Sample (DFS and later DFS-Dorland) was a Madison Avenue advertising agency during the 20th century. It was founded in Chicago in 1923, and was acquired and merged into the Saatchi & Saatchi network in the 1980s. History The age ...

, the original owners), while merging with Dorland Advertising in 1986, and would later be acquired by

Publicis Publicis Groupe is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. One of the oldest and largest marketing and communications companies in the world by revenue, it is headquartered in Paris. After 1945, the little-known Paris ...

in 2000. In January 2008, Publicis transferred The Program Exchange from the Saatchi & Saatchi subsidiary to its ZenithOptimedia subsidiary, the logo was then changed to reflect this move. In 2016, the programexchange.com website was shut down; the shutdown coincided with

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primaril ...

's purchase of one of its most prominent clients,

DreamWorks Classics Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...

. The Program Exchange was a "barter syndicator," distributing programming on behalf of the shows' producers, many of them having their own cash distribution services. Instead of paying a cash fee, television stations who ran those programs agreed to a

barter In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists disti ...

exchange (hence the syndicator name), wherein the station agreed to air a certain number of commercials for various

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

products per program. This arrangement allowed for the programs to air on stations that may not have large budgets to acquire them. The Program Exchange typically distributed older programming that was no longer widely distributed in syndication, as well as programming designed to meet federal educational/information mandates. The Program Exchange continued to hold distribution rights to the

Jay Ward Productions Jay Ward Productions, Inc. (sometimes shortened to Ward Productions) is an American animation studio based in Costa Mesa, California. It was founded in 1948 by American animator Jay Ward. The Jay Ward Productions library and rights were previou ...

and

Total Television Total Television was an American animation studio founded in 1959 by Buck Biggers, Chester "Chet" Stover,p.478 Erickson,Hal ''Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003'' McFarland & Co., 2005 Joe Harris, and Trea ...

archives throughout the exchange's existence; both of those companies' programs were produced at the DFS-owned Gamma Productions studios in Mexico until that studio shut down in 1968. The Program Exchange handled distribution for all titles listed below. The dates listed are the dates that they were distributed, not the dates they originally aired.

History

From the company's beginnings as DFS Program Exchange, which was originally headquartered in Dallas, the company's initial product was to syndicate several shows that were abandoned by other syndicators, such as Hanna-Barbera and Gamma Productions archives, who had made them more successful, such as ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

'' and ''

The Jetsons ''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced ...

''. The company grew with ''Olympic Champions'', which starred

Bruce Jenner Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner; October 28, 1949) is an American media personality and retired Olympic Games, Olympic Olympic medal, gold medal-winning Decathlon, decathlete. Jenner played college football for the Graceland ...

, as its first ever live-action outing distributed by DFS themselves. In 1983, it purchased the exclusive syndication rights of '' Bewitched'' from

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

. It also acquired the rights from CPT, the exclusive syndication rights to two other Screen Gems shows '' I Dream of Jeannie'' and ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from S ...

''. These shows eventually grew into success that they wanted to came back to popularity. In 1985, DFS Program Exchange made its first bold move by syndicating their own straight barter strip '' Dennis the Menace'', as well as U.S. syndicated rights to '' Woody Woodpecker and Friends'', which came after the final

MCA TV NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV, is the television syndication division of NBCUnive ...

commitment expired in January 1988. In 1986, DFS was bought out by

, which was then merged with Dorland Advertising, another

subsidiary, and to reflect the organization, it was renamed to DFS-Dorland Program Exchange. In 1987, it was renamed shortly after to The Program Exchange. On March 14, 1988, it was moved to Hudson Street, New York. In 1990, Susan Radden was appointed vice president at the subsidiary. In 1993, the company made its major breakout hit when it picked up the off-net syndicated rights to the cartoon ''

Garfield and Friends ''Garfield and Friends'' is an American animated television series based on the comic strip ''Garfield'' by Jim Davis. The show aired on CBS as part of its Saturday morning children's lineup from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994. The sho ...

'', which was announced on January 20, 1992, and be available on a barter basis. In 1997, The Program Exchange secured the syndication rights to the first 65 episodes of the original English dub of '' Sailor Moon''. A year later, it helped DiC broadcast the remaining 17 episodes on Cartoon Network's programming block

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...

Children's programs

*'' All-New Dennis the Menace'' (1993-2016) *''

Around the World in 80 Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'' (1979-1983) *''

Beakman's World ''Beakman's World'' is an American educational children's television program. The program is based on the Universal Press Syndicate syndicated comic strip ''You Can with Beakman and Jax'' created by Jok Church. The series premiered on Wednesday, ...

'' (2008-2013) *'' The Berenstain Bears'' (1997-1999) *''

The Biskitts ''The Biskitts'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1983 to 1984 and aired on CBS. The series lasted for only one season; only 13 episodes were produced. '' Shirt Tales'' replaced the show in its ...

'' (1989-1994) *'' Buford and the Galloping Ghost'' (1989-1994) *'' ''The Bullwinkle Show'', ''The Rocky Show'' and ''Rocky and His Friends'''' (1979-2016) *'' Dennis the Menace'' (1986-2016) *'' Devlin'' (1979-1988) *''

Dino Babies ''Dino Babies'' is a 1994–1996 children's animated television series about six baby dinosaurs who share stories and adventures. Production and airings Originally produced between 1991 and 1994, ''Dino Babies'' was first aired on the BBC in th ...

'' (1996-1999) *''Dive Olly Dive'' (2008-2015) *'' Dragon Ball Z'' (1999-2000) *'' Dudley Do Right and Friends'' (1979-2016) *''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

'' (1981-1997) *''

'' (1993-2008) *''

Go Go Gophers ''Go Go Gophers'' is an animated series set in the Old West that appears as a 4-5 minute long segment within 48 episodes of the ''Underdog'' TV series. It was then spun off as a separate series on CBS that aired from September 14, 1968 to Septembe ...

'' (1979-2016) *''

Goober and the Ghost Chasers ''Goober and the Ghost Chasers'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, broadcast on ABC from September 8, 1973, to August 30, 1975. A total of 16 half-hour episodes of ''Goober and the Ghost Chasers'' were prod ...

'' (1989-1995) *''

The Harveytoons Show ''The Harveytoons Show'' is a television series presenting theatrical animated cartoons produced by Famous Studios from 1950 until 1964, which were acquired by Harvey Entertainment. History This show features Harvey Comics characters and series inc ...

'' (2003-2005) *''

Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling ''Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling'' is an American animated television series that originally aired on CBS Saturday mornings from September 14, 1985 to October 18, 1986, with reruns airing until June 27, 1987. History ''Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wres ...

'' *'' Inch High, Private Eye'' (1979-1993) *'' Inspector Gadget's Field Trip'' (2007-2011) *''

Jana of the Jungle ''Jana of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series created by comic strip artist Doug Wildey and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions which aired on NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1978. It was originally broadcast as a half-h ...

'' (1989-1994) *''

Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks ''Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks'' (or simply ''Jakers'' in Europe) is a computer-animated children's television series. The series was broadcast on PBS Kids in the United States, and on CBBC and CBeebies in the United Kingdom. It was a ...

'' (2008-2014) *''

'' (1979-1985) *''

Jonny Quest ''Jonny Quest'' is a science fiction-adventure media franchise that revolves around the titular boy named Jonny Quest, who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964–1965 television serie ...

'' (1979-1984) *''

King Leonardo and His Short Subjects ''King Leonardo and His Short Subjects'' (also known as ''The King and Odie Show'') is a 1960–1963 American Saturday-morning animated television series that aired on NBC, sponsored by General Mills. It was created by Total Television (which wou ...

'' (1979-2016) *'' Knights of the Zodiac'' (2003-2009) *'' Korg: 70,000 B.C.'' (1979-1984) *'' The Mr. Magoo Show'' (2004-2005) *''

Picture Pages ''Picture Pages'' is a 1978–1980 American educational television program aimed at preschool children, presented by Bill Cosby—teaching lessons on basic arithmetic, geometry, and drawing through a series of interactive lessons that used a wo ...

'' (1984-1987) *''

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest ''The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest'' (also known as ''Jonny Quest: The Real Adventures'') is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and broadcast on Cartoon Network from August 26, 1996, to April 16, 1997. A continuati ...

'' (1997-2001) *''

The Roman Holidays ''The Roman Holidays'' is a half-hour Saturday morning animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1972. It ran for 13 episodes before being cancelled, and reruns were later shown on ...

'' (1979-1988) *'' Sailor Moon'' (1997-2004) ( DIC/Optimum Productions dub) *'' Sealab 2020'' (1985-1986) *''

'' (1979-1993) *'' Space Kidettes and Young Samson'' (1979-2016) *''

Sport Billy ''Sport Billy'' is a 1980 animated television cartoon made by Filmation Associates, initially for broadcast in Germany. The series was a single 26 episode saga that premiered in Germany and other parts of Europe from 1980 to 1981. In 1982, Filma ...

'' (1982-1985) *'' The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' (1998-2000) *'' Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales'' (1979-2016) *''

Uncle Waldo's Cartoon Show ''Hoppity Hooper'' is an American animated television series produced by Jay Ward, and sponsored by General Mills, originally broadcast on ABC from September 12, 1964 until 1967. The series was produced in Hollywood by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, ...

'' (1979-2016) *'' The Underdog Show'' (1979-2016) *'' Valley of the Dinosaurs'' (1982-1992) *''

The Wacky World of Tex Avery ''The Wacky World of Tex Avery'' ( French: ''Le Monde Fou de Tex Avery'') is a short-lived animated television series created by Robby London and co-produced by DIC Productions, L.P., Les Studios Tex SARL, Milimetros, M6 and Telcima. Both the ...

'' (1997-2007) *'' Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch'' (1979-1993) *''

Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? ''Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?'' is an American animated television series based on the series of computer games. The show was produced by DIC Productions L.P. and originally aired from 1994 to 1999, on Saturday mornings during FOX's Fox ...

'' (2001-2016) *''

Where's Huddles ''Where's Huddles?'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that premiered on CBS on July 1, 1970. It ran for ten episodes as a summer replacement show for ''Hee Haw'', until September 2. It was similar in style to ...

'' (1989-1995) *''

The Woody Woodpecker Show ''The Woody Woodpecker Show'' is a long-running 30-minute American television series mainly composed of the animated cartoon shorts of Woody Woodpecker and other Walter Lantz characters including Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, The Beary Family and Inspe ...

'' (1987-1998) *''Zoo Clues'' (2015-2016)

Sitcoms

*'' 227'' (2005-2012) *'' 3rd Rock from the Sun'' (2008-2016) *''

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over ...

'' (2004-2016) *''

The Abbott and Costello Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1987-2006) *''

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and ...

'' (1995-2002) *'' Benson'' (2005-2010) *'' Bewitched'' (1983-1997, 2010–2014) *''

Bosom Buddies ''Bosom Buddies'' is an American television sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller and Chris Thompson ( Miller-Milkis-Boyett Productions). It aired on Thursday nights for two seasons on ABC fr ...

'' *''

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, afte ...

'' (1990-1998) *'' Charles in Charge'' (1998-2008) *'' Coach'' (1995-2016) *''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...

'' (2012-2015) *'' Dear John'' (1998-2004) *''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom (and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show'') television series that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) a ...

'' (2015-2016) *''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. ...

'' (2003-2006) *'' Gimme a Break!'' (2006-2016) *'' I Dream of Jeannie'' *''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

'' (2015-2016) *''

Just Shoot Me! ''Just Shoot Me!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 4, 1997, to November 26, 2003, with a total of 145 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive ...

'' (2007-2012) *''

Laverne and Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' (originally ''Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney'') is an American sitcom television series that played for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' sta ...

'' (1990-1998) *'' Leave It to Beaver'' (1998-2001) *''

Mork & Mindy ''Mork & Mindy'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 14, 1978, to May 27, 1982. A spin-off after a highly successful episode of ''Happy Days'', "My Favorite Orkan", it starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extraterrest ...

'' (1990-1992) *''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anoth ...

'' (2000-2016) *''

NewsRadio ''NewsRadio'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995 to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Steph ...

'' (2006-2015) *'' The Odd Couple'' (1990-2007) *''

'' *''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

'' (2001-2007) *''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single room ...

'' *''

Too Close for Comfort ''Too Close for Comfort'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from November 11, 1980, to May 5, 1983, and in first-run syndication from April 7, 1984, to February 7, 1987. Its name was changed to ''The Ted Knight Show'' w ...

'' *'' Webster'' (1999-2004) *''

What's Happening!! ''What's Happening!!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, until April 28, 1979, premiering as a summer series. Due to other shows being cancelled across the network, and good ratings and reviews from ...

'' (2005-2010) *''

What's Happening Now!! ''What's Happening Now!!'' is an American sitcom sequel to the original ABC 1976–79 sitcom '' What's Happening!!'' focusing on its main characters as adults. It aired in first-run broadcast syndication from September 7, 1985 until March 26, 19 ...

'' (2005-2010) *'' Who's the Boss?'' (2003-2016)

Dramas

*'' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' (1997-2002) *'' Ironside'' *''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, ...

Reality/Lifestyles

*''B. Smith: Simply Style'' (2008-2016) *'' Funniest Pets & People'' (2008-2016) *''That Teen Show'' (1986-1987) *''The Greats of the Game'' (1985-1989) *''Sale of the Century'' (1973-1974) *''Olympic Champions'' (1979-1980)

Short-form

*''B. Smith Cooking Vignettes'' *'' Cartoon Network Short Cartoons'' *''Dr. Bob Arnot: Eat Better America'' *''Healthy Break by

Jake Jake may refer to: Name * Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer * Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach Animals * Jake (rescue dog), a ...

'' *''Medical Minute'' *''Nutrition Minute''

References

External links

Archive of The Program Exchange's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Program Exchange, The Television syndication distributors Defunct mass media companies of the United States Defunct companies based in New York City Entertainment companies based in New York City American companies established in 1973 Mass media companies established in 1973 Mass media companies disestablished in 2016 General Mills Jay Ward Productions Total Television Publicis Groupe