Multimedia Entertainment, Inc. (formerly Avco Program Sales) was an American television production/distribution company originally formed in 1968.

History

The firm was launched as Avco Program Sales in 1968 as a television production/distribution company owned by the

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

-based Avco Corporation. Another company called Avco Embassy Television (which was sold to

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning ''All in the Famil ...

and Jerry Perenchio in 1982 and folded into Embassy Telecommunications) was originally responsible for television distribution of the

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 studio responsible for such films as ''The Graduate'', '' The Produ ...

film library. In addition, Avco Program Sales concentrated on its own in-house productions. One of its first programs was ''

The Phil Donahue Show ''The Phil Donahue Show'', also known as ''Donahue'', is an American television talk show hosted by Phil Donahue that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast on WLWD in Dayton, Ohio, and i ...

'' in 1970. In 1976, Multimedia, Inc., a Greenville, South Carolina-based newspaper publisher and broadcaster, purchased the production and syndication rights to ''The Phil Donahue Show'' and the regionally distributed '' Bob Braun Show'' from Avco, which was breaking up its media interests. Multimedia also acquired

WLWT WLWT (channel 5) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Young Street, and its transmitter is located on Chickasaw Street, both in the ...

in Cincinnati, Avco's flagship station, and initially based its syndication division there. For the next two decades Multimedia Entertainment specialized in audience-participation daytime talk shows with ''Donahue'' as its flagship program. In 1981, Multimedia acquired Show Biz Inc., syndicator of country music television programs such as '' Pop! Goes the Country''. Multimedia also received an agreement with Jim Owens Productions to distribute country-based programs. The company later used Multimedia's

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the f ...

station

KSDK KSDK (channel 5) is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Market Street in Downtown St. Louis, and its transmitter is located in Shrewsbur ...

as launching pad for '' The Sally Jessy Raphael Show'' in 1983, and WLWT as the original base for ''

The Jerry Springer Show ''Jerry Springer'' is an American scripted syndicated tabloid talk show that aired from September 30, 1991 to July 26, 2018. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Jerry Springer, it aired for 27 seasons and nearly 5,000 episodes. The television ...

'' in 1991. Multimedia Entertainment also created short-lived TV vehicles for conservative talk radio hosts

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...

and

Dennis Prager Dennis Mark Prager (; born August 2, 1948) is an American conservative radio talk show host and writer. He is the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show ''The Dennis Prager Show''. In 2009, he co-founded PragerU, which creates five- ...

. During this period, Bob Turner, New York Congressman, served as the company's CEO. On September 17, 1991, Multimedia acquired assets of Carolco's television distribution unit Orbis Communications. Included were first-run syndication rights to ''

The Joker's Wild ''The Joker's Wild'' is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. In the show, contestants answer questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's ...

'' and John Davidson's hosted version of ''

The $100,000 Pyramid ''Pyramid'' is the collective name of a series of American television game shows that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The original series, ''The $10,000 Pyramid'', debuted on March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequ ...

'' and TV movies. The Carolco Television Productions unit has been became Multimedia Television Productions, which was later known as Multimedia Motion Pictures, and Robert Turner has joined the studio as president. Neil Russell was then served as president of the studio several months later. Multimedia Entertainment was included in the sale of Multimedia to the

Gannett Company Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predec ...

in 1996 and a year later it was folded into Universal Television Enterprises in February. In 1998, Universal Television including the USA Networks were sold to

Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American businessman. He is Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. Diller was inducted into the Television Hall ...

and became part of Studios USA. The rights to the Multimedia Entertainment name were retained by Gannett, and were transferred to Tegna after Gannett split into two companies in 2015; it is now used for the Tegna subsidiary that holds the license for

WGRZ WGRZ (channel 2) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo, and its transmitter is located on Warner Hill R ...

in Buffalo, New York (which Gannett had acquired in a swap for WLWT in 1997, shortly after the Multimedia acquisition), while

KARE Kare or KARE may refer to: * Kare (Žitorađa), a village in Serbia * Kare language, several languages with the name * Kare (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Kare Kauks (born 1961), Estonian singer * Kåre or Kaare, ...

KPNX KPNX (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Mesa, Arizona, United States, serving the Phoenix area as an affiliate of NBC. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios at the Republic Media building on Van Buren Street ...

KUSA Kusa or KUSA may refer to: * Kusa, Russia, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia * Kusa, Latvia, a village in Madona District, Latvia * Kusa, Oklahoma, United States * Kusa, indigenous name of Beles River (in Gumuz language) * Kusa, Afghanistan * ...

, KTVD,

WTLV WTLV (channel 12) is a television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Orange Park–licensed ABC affiliate WJXX (channel 25). Both stations share studios on East Adams S ...

, and WJXX operate as Multimedia Holdings Corporation. Tegna, Multimedia's successor, re-entered the syndication business in 2017 with the series '' Daily Blast Live'' and ''

Sister Circle A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

''.

Syndicated programs

This is a listing of programs which were either produced or distributed by Multimedia Entertainment: * '' Almost Live!'' (late 1990s) * ''

Crook & Chase ''Crook & Chase'' is an American television talk show hosted by Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase, focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on country music. The pair had first worked together on the weekly syndicated program "This Week In Count ...

'' (1996-1997) * '' The Pat Bullard Show'' (1996-1997) * '' The Phil Donahue Show / Donahue'' (1970–1996) * '' Rush Limbaugh: The Television Show'' (1992–1996) * '' The Dennis Prager Show'' (1994–1995) * '' The Sally Jessy Raphael Show / Sally'' (1983–1997) * '' Big Break (1990-1991) * ''

'' (1991–1997) * '' Sweethearts'' (1988–1989) * ''

'' (1991, season 2) * ''Young People's Specials'' (1984–1985)

References

External links

Avco Embassy TelevisionMultimedia Entertainment
{{Authority control Television production companies of the United States Defunct film and television production companies of the United States Entertainment companies established in 1968 Mass media companies established in 1968 Mass media companies disestablished in 1997 Universal Television Former Gannett subsidiaries American companies established in 1968 American companies disestablished in 1997

History

Syndicated programs

See also

References

External links