 | |
| Formerly | Bert Claster's Romper Room Inc. BV (1953–1969) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Television production Television syndication |
| Founded | 1953; 73 years ago (1953) |
| Founders | Bert Claster Nancy Claster |
| Defunct | 1999; 27 years ago (1999) |
| Fate | Folded intoHasbro |
| Successors | Allspark (formerly Hasbro Studios) Lionsgate Canada (formerly Entertainment One) Hasbro Entertainment |
| Headquarters | Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bert Claster (1953–1984) Nancy Claster (1953–1997) |
| Products | Television programs |
| Parent | Hasbro (1969–1999) |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
Claster Television, Inc. was aBaltimore, Maryland–based television distributor founded in 1953 by Bertram H. (Bert) Claster and Nancy Claster (née Goldman) as Romper Room Inc.[2] It was originally a producer of the children's showRomper Room, one of the firstpreschool children's programs.
Romper Room was fairly successful in its early years.CBS offered to pick up the show, but the Clasters instead decided tosyndicate and franchise it, by taping episodes and selling the tapes to local stations or giving the option to local stations to produce their own version of the show.[3]
In 1969,Hasbro bought Romper Room Inc. and renamed it Claster Television Productions.[4] Throughout the 1970s, Claster continued to makeRomper Room and did not distribute anything else until 1978 when it brought theanimeStar Blazers into the United States. It also developed the television seriesBowling for Dollars.
In the 1980s, Hasbro formed contracts with animation studios to make cartoons that would promote the sale of Hasbro's toys. In 1983, Claster distributed the animated seriesG.I. Joe, which was fairly successful. A year later, Claster distributedThe Transformers, which was a major success for Hasbro and Claster.[5]
G.I. Joe ended in 1987, whileThe Transformers left off airing new run episodes in the United States but continued to air for some time in Japan under the supervision ofTakara, the Japanese rightsholder to theTransformers franchise. Beginning in 1989, Claster distributed aG.I. Joe animated series sequel that was made byDIC Entertainment. This ended in 1991.Romper Room finally ended in 1994 due to a loss of interest and popularity, giving the program a run of 41 years.Romper Room had been the longest-running children's show in history to date, a record thatSesame Street passed in 2010.
In 1992, Claster Television made its only attempt at a teen/adult television programme,Catwalk, but it only lasted for two years.[6]
In 1996, Claster syndicatedReBoot, the first all-CGI television show, for a short time after it was canceled by ABC. At the same time, they distributed a CGI revival ofTransformers known asBeast Wars until 1999 (its sequel,Beast Machines, would air onFox Kids). Claster releasedThe Mr. Potato Head Show in 1998, which was another attempt to sell Hasbro toys.
The entire list of Claster shows ended in 1999 when Hasbro formed a central media division. This division eventually became known asAllspark (formerly Hasbro Studios), and eventually folded intoeOne (nowLionsgate Canada).[7]