Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution.
Background
Turner Entertainment Co. was established on August 4, 1986 as a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System to oversee its film library after its acquisition of MGM/UA (which is now owned by a consortium led by Sony Corporation of America). In addition to the studio, Turner got its library, which included nearly all of MGM's films up to that time, the former Associated Artists Productions catalog (the Warner Bros.' pre-1948 releases & the Fleischer/Famous Popeye cartoons), the U.S. rights to a majority of the RKO Radio Pictures library, and some United Artists material (Gilligan's Island, though originally post-1952 UA, is also a part of the package). Turner later re-sold United Artists and the MGM logo, keeping the pre-1986 library.
Turner Entertainment also played a huge part in film preservation and restoration, thus such classic films as Casablanca, Citizen Kane, King Kong, Easter Parade, and the original The Jazz Singer, can continue to be seen today via its various cable channels, as well as in revival movie houses and home video. The films are also internationally distributed and shown by many channels around the world. Turner Entertainment also distributes films from RKO Radio Pictures and New Line Cinema (1994-1996), and shows from TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, and PBS (1994-2004) on home video.
Turner also released World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events on video (via Turner Home Entertainment, and after 1996, Warner Home Video) until the demise of WCW in 2001 (see below.) Turner Home Entertainment also released films from its RKO library. It was absorbed into Warner Home Video after Time Warner bought Turner. Contractually, The MGM and Warner film libraries which Turner owned had been distributed by MGM/UA Home Video until their rights expired in 1999 at which point they were reassigned to Warner Home Video. This transaction also completed WB's re-acquiring of distribution rights to their pre-1948 library.Turner also had a television unit called Turner Program Services which had run until 1996 when it was changed to Telepictures Distribution which distributed Mama's Family and all TPS shows after 1996.In 2003 Telepictures Distribution was folded into Warner Bros. Television which meant Telepictures took over all series that were first run and distributed by TD.
The library itself
Today, as part of Time Warner, Turner Entertainment continues to oversee its inherited library, which also includes The Wizard of Oz, A Christmas Story, Gone With The Wind, and Tom and Jerry.
There are very few exceptions to this library, however.
- Most of the Hal Roach feature films are now with RHI Entertainment (with Genius Products/The Weinstein Company and Lionsgate handling video rights), while another Roach film, March of the Wooden Soldiers, is now back with original distributor MGM (by virtue of their acquisition of the pre-1996 library of former owners The Samuel Goldwyn Company);
- the Roach Our Gang shorts released by MGM before the studio took control of the series are now with RHI Entertainment (for theatrical distribution), Genius Products/The Weinstein Company (for home video distribution under license from RHI), and CBS Television Distribution (for television release);
- State of the Union is now owned by EMKA, Ltd./ NBC Universal;
- The WCW library (along with WCW itself) was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001.
- The Beastmaster is now mostly owned by the film's producers (while Warner Bros./Turner still holds television rights);
- While WB/Turner still owns theatrical and television rights to Pink Floyd The Wall, all other rights (including home video) are now with Sony BMG Music Entertainment;
- It's a Wonderful Life, originally from RKO, is now with Paramount Pictures via current copyright holder Republic Pictures--this went public domain for a time until its copyright was recaptured in the 1990s.
- The David O. Selznick pictures released originally by RKO are owned by ABC/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, with the video rights ironically held by MGM under ABC's license.
As a production company
Turner Entertainment, as a production company, also creates original in-house programming, such as documentaries about the films it owns, new animated material based on Tom & Jerry and other related cartoon properties, and once produced made-for-TV movies, miniseries, and theatrical films such as Gettysburg under the Turner Pictures banner.
The logo
The longtime logo used for Turner Entertainment was based on the logo used for Ted Turner's billboard company, which he owned prior to acquiring Atlanta's WTCG, which became the genesis of Turner's media empire.citation needed
External links
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