Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
as an American
television production
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
and
distribution company. It is the second name of Columbia Pictures' television division
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...
(SG) and the third name of Pioneer Telefilms. The company was active from 1974 until
New Year's Day
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...
2001, when it was folded into
Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company, which was active from 1994 until its reincorporation as Sony Pictures Television in 2002. It was the third iteration of what ...
(which is currently known as
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
), a merger between Columbia Pictures Television and
TriStar Television
TriStar Television, Inc. (first spelled Tri-Star, and abbreviated as TT) was an American television production studio that was a division of Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. TriStar Television was launched in Marc ...
. A separate entity of CPT continues to exist on paper as an intellectual property holder, and under the moniker "CPT Holdings" (the initials standing for Columbia Pictures Television) to hold the copyright for the television show ''
The Young and the Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
'', as well as old incarnations from the company's television library such as ''
What's Happening!!''.
History
Screen Gems (1948–1974)
Screen Gems was a television production company that was owned by
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
from November 1948 to May 6, 1974, best known for shows like ''
Bewitched'', ''
The Flying Nun
''The Flying Nun'' is an American fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series about a community of nuns, which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for American Broadcasting Comp ...
'', ''
The Partridge Family
''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...
'', ''
I Dream of Jeannie
''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Barbara Eden as a beautiful but guileless 2,000-year-old Jinn, genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut with whom s ...
'' and ''
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
'' It was one of the largest television producers in history, and it was around that time, one of the few television subsidiaries of a major movie studio that didn't carry the film studio's name. It was highly profitable until 1974, when it was changed its name to Columbia Pictures Television.
Re-incorporation as CPT and early years (1974–1982)
The studio changed its name from
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...
to Columbia Pictures Television on May 6, 1974, and was suggested by
David Gerber, who was producer on such CPT/Screen Gems shows, and was executive vice president of the studio, displacing Art Frankel when he was at Screen Gems. He announced plans to launch a separate unit to concentrate on movie-of-the-week titles. John H. Mitchell, who was president of the studio since 1958 when the studio was Screen Gems, said that they would take the division more closely to the parent company and to help achieve an interrelationship among all of its divisions.
As the successor in interest to Screen Gems, it assumed productions of the daytime soap operas ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
'' and ''
The Young and the Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
'', as well as the NBC police show ''
Police Story''. Its first produced series is the sitcom ''
That's My Mama
''That's My Mama'' is an American television sitcom that was the first series to be produced by Columbia Pictures Television and originally broadcast for 39 episodes on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 4, 1974, to December 24, ...
'' and was originally slated to be a Screen Gems production.
Other new productions that were slated to be Screen Gems productions were ''
Nakia'', ''
Born Free'' and ''
Police Woman''.
On May 27, 1974, Columbia Pictures Television planned to syndicate as early as 1975, ten one-hour musical specials that was set to be taped in Las Vegas nightclubs, and the programs was simulcasted on FM Radio to be set up by Yuri Zabran. In September 1974, Columbia had signed
Abby Mann
Abby Mann (December 1, 1927 – March 25, 2008) was an American film writer and producer.
Life and career
The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Mann was born as Abraham Goodman in Philadelphia. He grew up in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Dou ...
to develop long-form television projects, and the first project to came out of the deal was ''
Medical Story''.
In 1975,
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He was the List of awards and nominations received by Carl Reiner, recipient of many awards and ...
joined Columbia Pictures Television to serve as executive producer and host of the show ''
Good Heavens
''Good Heavens'' is an American Broadcasting Company, ABC comedy anthology series produced by Columbia Pictures Television that aired between February 29 and June 26, 1976. It ranked #17 in the Nielsen ratings during the 1975–76 United States n ...
'', which was for the ABC television network. Also, on July 1, 1975, former
NBC vice president Larry White had set up his own production company Larry White Productions with a deal at Columbia Pictures Television. On May 10, 1976, White then joined the studio to displace Gerber as his program chief, who subsequently restarted plans to launch its own CPT-based production company.
On June 13, 1977, CPT acquired worldwide distribution rights to ''
Barney Miller
''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...
'' and ''
Fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
'' from
Danny Arnold
Danny Arnold (born Arnold Rothmann; January 23, 1925 – August 19, 1995) was an American producer, writer, comedian, actor and director known for producing '' Barney Miller'', '' That Girl'', and '' Bewitched''.
Early life
Born in New York C ...
,
Quinn Martin
Quinn Martin (born Irwin Martin Cohn; May 22, 1922 – September 5, 1987) was an American television producer. He had at least one television series running in prime time every year for 21 straight years (from 1959 to 1980). Martin is a memb ...
's ''
Barnaby Jones'', and ''
Soap
Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...
'' from
Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions.
On June 27, CPT bought domestic distribution rights to four series made by
Spelling-Goldberg Productions including ''
S.W.A.T.'', ''
Starsky & Hutch
''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a '' Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired ...
'', ''
Charlie's Angels
''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...
'', and ''
Family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
'' from
Metromedia
Metromedia, Inc. (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio station, radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in ...
.
Later on in 1977, former
MGM Television
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, formerly known as MGM/UA Television, is the television studio arm of the American film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), specializing in broadcast syndication and the production and distribution of television sh ...
president Harris Katleman and
Universal Television
Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...
producer
Harve Bennett
Harve Bennett (born Harvard Bennett Fischman; August 17, 1930 – February 25, 2015) was an American television and film producer and screenwriter.
Early years
Bennett was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930, the son of Kathry ...
joined forces to form Bennett/Katleman Productions with a deal at the studio. Also in 1978, Larry White was then promoted to president of the studio.
From 1978 to 1986, CPT co-produced series with Spelling-Goldberg including ''
Fantasy Island'', ''
Hart to Hart'', and ''
T. J. Hooker''. On February 19, 1979, CPT acquired TOY Productions, whose output included ''
What's Happening!!'' and ''
Carter Country''.
In 1981, Richard Dawson has signed a joint development contract with Rastar Television and Columbia Pictures Television to produce television shows. On August 13, 1981, CPT acquired the television assets of
Time Life. A year later, Columbia (which Time-Life Television became a part of its sisters television company) joined with
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
and
CBS to form
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation.
The compan ...
.
On May 17, 1982, Columbia Pictures acquired
Spelling-Goldberg Productions for more than $40 million.
Around the same year, former ABC executive
Barbara Corday started a new Columbia-affiliated production company Can't Sing Can't Dance Productions.
The Coca-Cola Years (1982–1987)
The 1980s brought significant changes to CPT. On June 22, 1982, beverage company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...
bought
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
for $750 million. In 1983, Coca-Cola formed CPT Holdings and demerged CPT from Columbia Pictures Industries in 1984 and transferred CPT to CPT Holdings. In 1983, actress Suzanne Somers through Hamel/Somers Productions had signed a deal with the studio. Also that same year that producer
Roy Huggins struck a deal with the studio. Also that year, Columbia Pictures Television entered into an agreement with producer Centerpoint to co-produce two miniseries ''
Sadat'' and ''
The Last Days of Pompeii''.
On January 30, 1984, CPT joined forces with
Lexington Broadcast Services Company by creating a joint venture between the two companies called
Colex Enterprises to distribute library shows such as ''
Father Knows Best
''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young (actor), Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray (actor), Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six ...
'' and ''
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
'',
while throughout the 1980s and 1990s, other shows such as ''
Bewitched'', ''
I Dream of Jeannie
''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Barbara Eden as a beautiful but guileless 2,000-year-old Jinn, genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut with whom s ...
'', and ''
The Partridge Family
''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...
'' were licensed to
The Program Exchange. The same year, CPT acquired distribution rights to ''
Benson''. In late 1984,
Barbara Corday took over as president of the studio. Another high-profile deal at CPT arrived in August 1984 when two of the high-profile independent producers North Ave. Productions (backed by Michael S. Baser and
Kim Weiskopf) signed with CPT after leaving 20th Century Fox Television (now
20th Television
20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...
), while
George Schenck
George William Schenck (February 12, 1942 – August 3, 2024) was an American television writer and producer. His credits included '' Futureworld'', the TV-movie '' The Phantom of Hollywood'' and numerous episodes of '' NCIS'', where he was its ...
and Frank Cardea through Schenck/Cardea Productions reupped its contract with CPT.
On June 18, 1985,
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...
and
Jerry Perenchio sold their company, Embassy Communications, Inc. (
Embassy Pictures
Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was active from 1942 to 1986. Embassy was responsible ...
,
Embassy Television,
Tandem Productions, and Embassy Home Entertainment) to Coca-Cola. The company gained the rights to such shows as ''
All in the Family
''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...
'', ''
Sanford and Son'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
Good Times'', ''
Maude'', ''
Diff'rent Strokes
''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which originally aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and ...
'', ''
Archie Bunker's Place'', ''
The Facts of Life'', ''
One Day at a Time'', ''
Who's the Boss?'', and ''
Silver Spoons
''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for th ...
'', among others. ''AITF'' at the time however, was still distributed by
Viacom Enterprises but under license by Embassy. Coke also made plans to spin off Embassy Pictures and Embassy Home Entertainment.
[Coke buys Embassy: 485 million.](_blank)
, normanlear.com Under Coca-Cola's ownership, Embassy saw success with ''
227'' and ''
Married... with Children''. The same year, Columbia and
LBS Communications launched ''
What's Happening Now!!
''What's Happening Now!!'' is an American sitcom sequel to the original American Broadcasting Company, ABC 1976–1979 sitcom ''What's Happening!!'' focusing on its main characters as independent people. It aired in first-run broadcast syndicati ...
'' in
first-run syndication
Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...
. The show was a sequel to the 1970s
ABC sitcom ''
What's Happening!!''. Also that year,
Barney Rosenzweig via his The Rosenzweig Company banner had signed a three-year, distribution deal with the studio to distribute their own projects. During that year, the company revived the previous Screen Gems brand name to market classic television shows for syndication.
Major changes took place in 1986. On May 5, Coke acquired
Merv Griffin Enterprises
Merv Griffin Enterprises was an American television production company founded by Merv Griffin, in operation from March 7, 1963, to June 4, 1994.
History
The company was first established as Milbarn Productions on March 7, 1963, and later as M ...
, producer of the popular series, ''
Dance Fever'', ''
The Merv Griffin Show'', and the two game shows, ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...
'' and ''
Wheel of Fortune''; (the nighttime versions were distributed by
King World, which is now handled by successor
CBS Media Ventures
CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Paramount Domestic Television and CBS Television Distribution) is the television broadcast syndication arm of CBS Studios, a division of the CBS Entertainment Group, in turn a division of Paramount Global, ...
).
However,
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
handles off-net syndication reruns by broadcasting them on
Game Show Network
Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by the television network division of Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along wit ...
, while sister company
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony.
Background
SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
owns DVD rights, though, as game shows, are unlikely to get a proper release). On May 21, 1986, Joe Indelli was re-signed as president of Columbia Pictures Television Distribution, in order to launch a new company that was owned by
MTM Enterprises
MTM Enterprises (also known as MTM Productions) was an American independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' for CBS. The name for the produc ...
to syndicate its own programs and Robert King, who was partner of The Television Program Source, would replace it as CPTD's president of the studio.
Also in 1986, the former Lear units (Embassy Television, Embassy Telecommunications, and Tandem Productions) were merged into Embassy Communications; the Tandem unit ceased production to be used after the cancellation of ''Diff'rent Strokes'' but remained in-name-only, while the Columbia and Embassy units continued to exist separately. Also on the same year on August 28, CPT acquired Danny Arnold's Four D Productions, Inc. for $50 million. On November 24, 1986, Coca-Cola regrouped CPT, Embassy Communications, and Merv Griffin Enterprises into Coca-Cola Television, which was a division of the entertainment sector of
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...
, and Coke formed a new first-run syndication unit;
Coca-Cola Telecommunications due to Coca-Cola merging the distribution unit of Columbia Pictures Television and The Television Program Source (a syndicator that was a joint venture between Alan Bennett, former King World president Robert King, and CPT that was created on October 15, 1984, which Coca-Cola had a small investment in originally, and notably distributed the 1985–1986 nighttime syndicated version of ''
The Price Is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...
'' and was slated to distribute a new version of ''
Match Game
''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...
'' for syndication in 1987).
It was headed by Gary Rosenthal, who was leading Embassy Telecommunications, and also inserted was a new subsidiary Coca-Cola Television Operations. On September 9, 1986, Columbia Pictures Television's European division expanded its branch, producing programming for ITV franchisee holders, such as
HTV, and added new co-productions from other ITV franchisees such as
Anglia Television and
Yorkshire Television
ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
.
Coca-Cola Telecommunications also took some programs that were or slated to be distributed under the Columbia Pictures Television banner including ''
What's Happening Now!!
''What's Happening Now!!'' is an American sitcom sequel to the original American Broadcasting Company, ABC 1976–1979 sitcom ''What's Happening!!'' focusing on its main characters as independent people. It aired in first-run broadcast syndicati ...
'', ''
The Real Ghostbusters'', ''
Dinosaucers
''Dinosaucers'' is a 1987 animated television series co-produced in the United States and Canada; developed and produced by DIC Animation City in association with Lightyear Entertainment and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. The show was created b ...
'', and ''
Punky Brewster
''Punky Brewster'' is an American Situation comedy, sitcom television series about a young girl (Soleil Moon Frye) being raised by a foster parent (George Gaynes) in Chicago. The show ran on NBC from September 16, 1984, to March 9, 1986, and ag ...
'' as well as taking the US distribution rights of ''
Hardcastle and McCormick'' from Colex. Columbia acquired the rights to ''Punky'', a former
NBC in-house production, because
Financial Interest and Syndication Rules prevented the network from producing more episodes for syndication after they cancelled it. During the fall of 1986, the sitcom ''
Designing Women'' began a successful seven-year run on CBS. The same year,
Tri-Star Pictures formed
Tri-Star Television and produced the short-lived series ''
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
''. Tri-Star produced more series in 1987, ''
Take Five'', ''
Nothing in Common'', ''
My Two Dads'', ''
Werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
'', and ''
Buck James''. Also that same year,
Clyde Phillips joined the studio as an independent television producer.
In 1987, a major reorganization shook up at Columbia/Embassy Television, whereas Embassy employee Glenn Patrick resigned to start his own film and television production company, and
Barbara Corday was appointed president at the organized studio. The Columbia name would now be used for dramatic shows, while the Embassy name would be used for comedic output. Owing to the association with
Castle Rock Entertainment
Castle Rock Entertainment is an American independent film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick (September 8, 1947 – February 27, 2025) and Alan Horn.
Histo ...
with the movie studio, CPT signed on to handle international distribution and off-net syndication of Castle Rock's programs, because Columbia had a 40% interest in the studio.
Columbia Pictures Entertainment (1987–1989)
On December 21, 1987, Coca-Cola spun off their entertainment holdings and sold it to Tri-Star Pictures, Inc. for $3.1 billion. Tri-Star was renamed as Columbia Pictures Entertainment (which they partially owned) after the film ''
Ishtar
Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...
'' turned out to be a notorious failure both critically and financially. CPT Holdings then became a stand-alone division from CPT.
In January 1988, Columbia/Embassy Television and Tri-Star Television were formed to create the new Columbia Pictures Television and Embassy Communications was reduced as in-name-only and was renamed as ELP Communications as the copyright holder for the shows by Embassy. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Telecommunications and Embassy Communications (the distributor arm) were merged into the new Columbia Pictures Television Distribution. All shows in the era ended with the Columbia logo between 1988 and 1991.
As a result, many of the staff, including
Barbara Corday, who had been as president of the studio since 1984 has been laid off, as well as former
Coca-Cola Telecommunications presidents Herman Rush and Peter Seale, who had also been laid off and replaced mostly by Tri-Star alumnus, such as
Scott Siegler, who was president of the studio, and former Columbia/Embassy executives were assigned to the new unit, namely Gary Lieberthal, who had the same title as Columbia/Embassy, would assume the position of the new CPT, and Barry Thurston, president of CET, will have the same title for the new CPT. Other executives retained by CPE were Arnold Mesnser, who was previously president of Tri-Star Telecommunications, who took over the responsibilities of Rush and Seale will have still have an unspecified corporate operation at CPE's headquarters for the New York area, allowing Herman Rush and Peter Seale had plans to set up a new syndicated company to handle the former CCT product. On February 2, 1988, Barry Thurston; vice-president of Columbia/Embassy Television, became president of Columbia Pictures Television Distribution.
On December 26, 1988, writer
Pamela Pettler signed a deal with the studio.
On February 2, 1989, Columbia Pictures Television formed a joint-venture with Norman Lear's
Act III Communications called Act III Television to produce television series instead of managing.
The Sony years to the end (1989–2001)
On November 8, 1989,
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
bought Columbia Pictures Entertainment for $3.4 billion, and the next day, Sony acquired The Guber-Peters Entertainment Company (formerly game show production company
Barris Industries
Barris Industries, Inc. was an American game show production company that was founded by Chuck Barris.
History
Barris founded his company on June 14, 1965 as Chuck Barris Productions. The company's first series was an unsold pilot called ''Peopl ...
with the library of game shows including ''
The Newlywed Game'', ''
The Dating Game'', and ''
The Gong Show'') for $200 million after hiring film producers
Peter Guber and
Jon Peters to run the company. On November 5, 1990, CPE folded its first-run syndication unit Guber-Peters Television into Columbia Pictures Television Distribution.
On August 7, 1991, CPE changed its name to Sony Pictures Entertainment
[She Holds Torch for Sony Pictures Entertainment](_blank)
latimes.com and TriStar Television was relaunched on October 10. That year, the company signed a deal with
Brillstein-Grey Entertainment
Brillstein Entertainment Partners (formerly known as Brillstein/Grey Entertainment and Brillstein/Grey Communications) is a talent management firm and television production company formed by the 1986 addition of Brad Grey to The Brillstein Compa ...
to distribute programming.
Throughout the 1990s, the studio launched such successful shows for Columbia such as ''
Beakman's World'' on
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
and
CBS in 1992, ''
Ricki Lake'' in syndication which lasted 11 years, ''
Party of Five
''Party of Five'' is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 epis ...
'' on
Fox, ''
NewsRadio
''NewsRadio'' is an American television sitcom 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, Stephen R ...
'' on NBC, and the short-lived
cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
animated series ''
The Critic
''The Critic'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as w ...
'' on ABC and Fox in 1994, and for TriStar such as ''
Mad About You'' on NBC in 1992, ''
Forever Knight
''Forever Knight'' is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight (Forever Knight), Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern-day Toronto, Ontario. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks ...
'' on CBS, first-run syndication, and USA in 1992, ''
The Nanny
''The Nanny'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish wikt:fashionista, fashionista from Flushing, Queens, who becomes the nanny of three children ...
'' on CBS in 1993, ''
Malcolm & Eddie'' on
UPN in 1996, and ''
Early Edition'' on CBS in 1996. One of the most successful by far was ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'', a
Castle Rock Entertainment
Castle Rock Entertainment is an American independent film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick (September 8, 1947 – February 27, 2025) and Alan Horn.
Histo ...
production which Columbia distributed in off-net syndication years later.
On August 21, 1992, Columbia's subsidiary CAT Holdings, Inc. (Columbia Act III Television) and
Franklin/
Waterman Entertainment created a joint venture called Franklin/Waterman 2. On December 7, 1992, SPE acquired the
Barry & Enright Productions game show library. In 1992, CPT has the potential by possibly going off-net syndication rights to a company backed by a joint venture between
RHI Entertainment and Trilogy Entertainment Group. Later that year, director
Jonathan Lynn
Jonathan Adam Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English film director, screenwriter, and actor. He directed the comedy films '' Clue'', '' Nuns on the Run'', '' My Cousin Vinny'', and '' The Whole Nine Yards''. He also co-created and co-wrote the ...
had signed a deal with the studio to develop their own television projects, including an NBC series commitment.
On May 10, 1993, CPT and
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 (stylized as NBCUniversal SYNDICATION STUDIOS) is t ...
formed their barter divisions. CPT's barter division was called Columbia Pictures Television Advertising Sales (a.k.a. "Columbia Television Advertising Sales"). The sales division handled series by TriStar Television and Merv Griffin Enterprises; as well as off-net series by
Castle Rock Entertainment
Castle Rock Entertainment is an American independent film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick (September 8, 1947 – February 27, 2025) and Alan Horn.
Histo ...
,
HBO Independent Productions, and
Brillstein-Grey Entertainment
Brillstein Entertainment Partners (formerly known as Brillstein/Grey Entertainment and Brillstein/Grey Communications) is a talent management firm and television production company formed by the 1986 addition of Brad Grey to The Brillstein Compa ...
. CPT used other companies such as
Group W Productions for ''Beakman's World'',
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's One World Entertainment for ''Married... with Children'', and
Tribune Entertainment for ''Designing Women''.
From 1994 until March 1996, the company distributed programming made by the CapCities/ABC-Brillstein-Grey joint venture Brillstein-Grey Communications until MCA purchased an investment made by the parent company.
Merger with TriStar Television, restructuring, and expansion (1994–2001)
On February 21, 1994, after takeover by
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
, Columbia Pictures Television and TriStar Television merged under the leadership of
Jon Feltheimer and the two combined studios became
Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company, which was active from 1994 until its reincorporation as Sony Pictures Television in 2002. It was the third iteration of what ...
. After the merger, Columbia Pictures Television Distribution was renamed as Columbia TriStar Television Distribution.
During that year, SPE acquired a vast back catalog of independently produced game shows with the acquisition of
Stewart Television. Along with the Merv Griffin, Chuck Barris, Barry & Enright, and CPT game shows they had already owned, these were part of the basis of the Game Show Network, launched on December 1, 1994. In 1998, ELP Communications became an in-name unit of Columbia TriStar Television. In 1997, most new shows, as well as some existing CPT shows like ''
Party of Five
''Party of Five'' is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 epis ...
'', dropped the CPT logo and begin putting the CTT logo in its place, and also in January 1997, changed monikers from Sony Television Entertainment to Columbia TriStar Television Group.
On July 1, 2000, Barry Thurston stepped down as president of Columbia TriStar Television Distribution after 17 years and was succeeded by then-current president, Steve Mosko. On January 1, 2001, Columbia Pictures Television officially dropped its separate logo and it was replaced by that of Columbia TriStar Television, with ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
'' being the last known show to feature the separate CPT logo, just in time when
NBC started using split-screen credits. On October 25, 2001, CTT and CTTD merged to form Columbia TriStar Domestic Television.
["The Free Library]
Sony Pictures Entertainment Unveils Realignment of Columbia TriStar Domestic Television Operations.
thefreelibrary.com, Retrieved on July 3, 2012
On September 16, 2002, Sony Pictures changed the name of its television division to
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
.
[Sony Pictures Entertainment Renames Television Operations; Domestic and International Divisions Take Sony Name](_blank)
prnewswire.com
See also
*
List of Sony Pictures Television programs
*
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
*
Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company, which was active from 1994 until its reincorporation as Sony Pictures Television in 2002. It was the third iteration of what ...
*
TriStar Television
TriStar Television, Inc. (first spelled Tri-Star, and abbreviated as TT) was an American television production studio that was a division of Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. TriStar Television was launched in Marc ...
*
Screen Gems (1948–1974)
*
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
*
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation.
The compan ...
*
Triumph Films
Notes and references
Bibliography
* Perry, Jeb H. (1991). ''Screen Gems: A History of Columbia Pictures Television from Cohn to Coke, 1948-1983''. .
{{Authority control
Television production companies of the United States
Television syndication distributors
Columbia Pictures
Sony Pictures Television
Predecessors of Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Former Sony subsidiaries
Entertainment companies based in California
Companies based in Culver City, California
Entertainment companies established in 1974
Mass media companies established in 1974
Mass media companies disestablished in 2001
1974 establishments in California
2001 disestablishments in California