United Artists Television (UATV) was an

American television Television is one of the Mass media in the United States, major mass media outlets in the United States. In 2011, 96.7% of households owned television sets; about 114,200,000 American households owned at least one television set each in August ...

production/distribution studio of

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

Corporation that was formed on January 1, 1958. The company is remembered for producing series such as '' This Man Dawson'', '' World of Giants'', '' Stoney Burke'', '' The Outer Limits'', ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

'', ''

My Mother the Car ''My Mother the Car'' is an American fantasy comedy that aired for a single season on NBC between September 14, 1965, and April 5, 1966. Thirty episodes were produced by United Artists Television. The series is about a man whose deceased mother ...

'', '' The Fugitive'', ''

The Rat Patrol ''The Rat Patrol'' is an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers – three Americans and one British – who are part of a long-range deser ...

'', ''

thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust a ...

'', ''

The New Phil Silvers Show ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' is an American sitcom television series starring Phil Silvers which centers around a factory foreman who is always involved in get-rich-quick schemes. Original episodes aired from September 28, 1963, until April 25, 1 ...

'', ''

The Patty Duke Show ''The Patty Duke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Sidney Sheldon and William Asher. The series ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, to April 27, 1966. The series was developed as a vehicle for teenage star Patty Duke, who ha ...

'' and ''

The Pink Panther Show ''The Pink Panther Show'' is a showcase of animated shorts produced by David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng between 1969 and 1978, starring the animated Pink Panther character from the opening credits of the live-action films. The series was pr ...

''. In September 2014, the studio briefly returned to full-time television production under the new management of United Artists Media Group (UAMG), led in part by husband and wife producers

Mark Burnett James Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a British television producer who has won thirteen Emmy Awards including ten Primetime, one Sports Emmy Award and two Daytime Emmy Awards. His other accolades include five Producers Guild of America A ...

and

Roma Downey Roma Downey (born 6 May 1960) is an actress, producer, and author from Northern Ireland. She gained recognition for her role as Monica the angel, in the CBS television series ''Touched by an Angel'', which ran for nine seasons. Downey portray ...

. With its folding back into

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 ...

, UATV was temporarily dormant until 2020 when

was reincorporated.

History

UATV was formed on January 1, 1958, with Herb Golden, former vice-president of Banker's Trust, as its president, and Bruce Eells from

Television Programs of America Television Programs of America, Inc (TPA) was a New York-based United States, US television production company in the 1950s. TPA had a Canada, Canadian subsidiary, Normandie Productions. This television production and distribution company was be ...

as its top operating executive. In that same year, UATV purchased

Associated Artists Productions Associated Artists Productions, Inc. (a.a.p.) later known as United Artists Associated was an American distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. Associated Artists Productions was the copyright owner of the ' ...

(a.a.p.), giving access to the pre-1950''You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story'' (2008), p. 255.

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

' short subject library and the 231 ''

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...

and

Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was established as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contr ...

for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

between 1933 and 1957. With UATV's purchase, a.a.p. became

United Artists Associated Associated Artists Productions, Inc. (a.a.p.) later known as United Artists Associated was an American distributor of theatrical feature films and Short film, short subjects for television. Associated Artists Productions was the copyright owne ...

(u.a.a.) and became its distribution division. In 1960, UATV purchased

Ziv Television Programs Ziv Television Programs, Inc., was an American production company that specialized in productions for first-run Broadcast syndication, television syndication in the 1950s. History The company was founded by Frederick Ziv in 1948 and was a subsid ...

, including the 20% share still held by board chairman Frederick Ziv and his son-in-law and business partner president John L. Sinn, for $20 million. The newly merged production company was renamed Ziv-United Artists. UATV had never been very successful in the small screen, having placed only two series in

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

, '' The Troubleshooters'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

and ''

The Dennis O'Keefe Show ''The Dennis O'Keefe Show'' is an American sitcom produced by Cypress Production/United Artists Television which aired on CBS for sponsor General Motors' Oldsmobile division. It was not a ratings success during its original run and was canceled af ...

'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, both of the 1959–1960 season. This negative pattern continued after the merger. Ziv-UA produced a dozen of TV

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

during the first year of operation, but failed to sell any of them, although Aubrey Schenck's '' Miami Undercover'' only lasted one season in 1961. After an experiment that tried in 1961 with the signing of outside producers like Chrislaw Productions, David Wolper Productions and Jack Douglas, in 1962, the studio stopped filming its own shows and went to independent producers under creative control, and later on, on September 1, 1962, phased out Ziv Television Programs and reverted its name to United Artists Television. In that same year, ABC premiered a successful

television film show called '' The ABC Sunday Night Movie'' in competition to NBC's successful motion picture program '' Saturday Night at the Movies''. The first season featured releases of many United Artists' films with some episodes containing featurettes promoting the upcoming UA's cinema releases. UATV had several shows such as '' Stoney Burke'' (1962), ''

'' (1963), '' The Outer Limits'' (1963), '' The Fugitive'' (1963), ''

Hollywood and the Stars Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

'' (1963), ''

The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hourlong American television variety show broadcast Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it aired on Tuesday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Titled ''The Satur ...

'' (1964), and ''

'' (1964). In 1965, he attempted a deal with Aaron Spelling Productions to produce movies and TV shows, but the deal never materialized. In 1967, UATV was purchased by

Transamerica Corporation Transamerica Corporation is an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms operating primarily in the United States, offering life and supplemental health insurance, investments, and retirement services. The ...

and, the following year, United Artists Associated was reincorporated as United Artists Television Distribution (UATD). After '' The Mothers-in-Law'' was cancelled on NBC in 1969, the studio decided to focus in presenting their movie library on television and rerunning their classics after years of still being unsuccessful in TV production. The company tried to return to television production in late 1978 when United Artists licensed its film library to television producer

Lorimar Productions Lorimar Television, formerly Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969

for adaptation to television series and miniseries, but it never materialized. In 1981,

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

merged with UA to create MGM/UA Entertainment Co.; as a result, their respective television units combined as well became MGM/UA Entertainment Co. Television or simply ''MGM/UA Television'' the following year. The United Artists Television name was eventually phased out around 1983 in favor of the MGM/UA Television banner, although UATV continued itself producing television shows until 1995. In 1985, United Artists Television was returned after Turner bought out MGM, to be headed by John J. McMahon, only to be combined into MGM/UA Television Productions within a year, when Turner sold off MGM/UA.

Return to television

In September 2014, MGM acquired a 55% controlling interest in One Three Media and

Lightworkers Media Lightworkers Media is an American independent Christian media and Christian film, film production company helmed by President Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnett and owned by Amazon MGM Studios. LightWorkers Media produced the Emmy-nominat ...

, both operated by husband/wife Hollywood producers

and

(''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...

'' fame). The two companies were consolidated into a new film and television company, United Artists Media Group (UAMG). Burnett is UAMG's CEO and Downey is president of Lightworkers Media Hearst Entertainment, an investor in Burnett and Downey's entertainment assets, has also acquired a minority stake in United Artists through this deal. Through this acquisition, UAMG held the production rights to Burnett's reality show franchises '' The Voice'', ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

'', '' The Apprentice'', '' On the Menu'', ''

Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business Reality television#Investments, reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 2012)Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank ...

'', '' Beyond the Tank'' and ''

Lucha Underground Lucha Underground was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by United Artists, United Artists Media Group. ''Lucha Underground'' also refers to its weekly television program, which featured List of former Lucha Underground p ...

''. When it was folded back into MGM Television, UATV's current incarnation ended. Although since then, MGM/UA Television was reformed (as of February 2020), most new UATV material is produced either by MGM's digital unit or MGM itself.

Filmography

Television series

United Artists Television (UATV)

United Artists Media Group (UAMG)

Television specials

* '' The Incredible World of James Bond'' (television special, 1965) * '' Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond'' (1967, television special) * '' The Pink Panther in: A Pink Christmas'' (1978, television special) * ''James Bond: The First 25 Years'' (1983, television special)

References

{{Authority control

Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

Television production companies of the United States Former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer subsidiaries Entertainment companies based in California Entertainment companies established in 1958 Mass media companies established in 1958 Mass media companies disestablished in 1981 1958 establishments in California 1981 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1958