| Genre | Televisionproduction company, music management, record label |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder | Richard H. Frank, Jeff Kwatinetz, Peter Katsis |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Parent | The Firm, Inc. (2015–present) |
Prospect Park is a Hollywood entertainment production company, founded in 2008 byRichard H. Frank, a former executive at theWalt Disney Television, andJeff Kwatinetz, former CEO of the talent agencyThe Firm, Inc.,[1] and music managerPeter Katsis. Based in Century City, California, and embodies three distinct business units: music management, television production, and a record label. On May 3, 2011, formerABC executive Josh Barry joined the company to lead the production company.
The production company producedUSA Network television seriesRoyal Pains, as well as theFX Network seriesWilfred and theWGN America series,Salem. The music division is divided into the management department, which guides the careers of music artists, and Prospect Park Records, an independent record label which has served as the label home to artists such asFive Finger Death Punch,Korn, andMindset Evolution. In 2014, it added British chart toppersYou Me at Six and New York rapperAzealia Banks to its roster.[2][3]
In 2013, Prospect Park launched its own web channel, The Online Network, with revivals of the long-running daytimesoap operasOne Life to Live andAll My Children. Later that year it filed a lawsuit against ABC, the licensee of those series, and the Prospect Park Networks division filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014. The production and music divisions remained unaffected, and in 2015 were positioned as subordinate entities to a reactivated The Firm, Inc.
 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 720p (HD)Widescreen |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Prospect Park |
| History | |
| Launched | 29 April 2013 |
| Links | |
| Website | theonlinenetwork.com, toln.com (both inactive) |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Hulu | TOLN |
| Blog Talk Radio | TOLN |
On July 7, 2011, ABC announced the licensing of its soaps to Prospect Park, who intended to continue production of the shows in a new paidonline TV and interactive media network.[4]
On September 27, 2011, Prospect Park announced that it would produce new episodes of the two daytime soap operas, which would air on its new Internet channel starting in January 2012.[5][6]
On November 10, 2011, it was announced that the relaunch ofAll My Children had been indefinitely delayed and that Prospect Park would focus solely on the relaunch ofOne Life to Live.[7][8] On November 23, 2011, Prospect Park suspended its plans altogether to launch an online channel withAll My Children andOne Life to Live.[9] A year later, it was announced the plans were revived.[10]
On January 7, 2013, it was confirmed via press release that Prospect Park's The Online Network would launch and thatAll My Children andOne Life to Live would serve as anchor programming. Production of the shows resumed on February 25, 2013.[11][12] The soap operas premiered with new 30 minute episodes onHulu,Hulu Plus andiTunes on April 29, 2013.[11] TOLN also produced a series of behind the scenes promotional "episodes" calledMORE All My Children andMORE One Life to Live,[13][14] as well as a radio talk show centered on the programs, calledTOLN SOAPS Live withMichael Fairman.[15]
On April 18, 2013, Prospect Park filed a $25 million lawsuit against ABC overOne Life to Live, alleging ABC failed to honor its part of the licensing agreement. Among the issues named in the lawsuit are allegations of ABC's attempts to sabotage Prospect Park's revival of the soaps by killing offOne Life to Live characters loaned toGeneral Hospital, failure on ABC's part to consult Prospect Park on storylines involvingOne Life to Live characters, and claiming that oneOne Life to Live character was actually aGeneral Hospital character.[16]
On June 6, 2013, production of both shows was halted due to a labor dispute with theInternational Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees labor union, which was resolved two months later.[17] On September 3, 2013, Prospect Park announced production ofAll My Children andOne Life to Live would be suspended until the lawsuit with ABC was resolved.[18] On November 11, 2013, severalAll My Children cast members announced that Prospect Park had closed production and canceled the series again.[19][20]
On March 10, 2014, Prospect Park Networks announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while it continued its lawsuit against ABC.[21] ABC subsequently filed a countersuit seeking unpaid licensing fees.[22] TOLN was dissolved later that year.The Firm, Inc. was reactivated in August 2015, with Prospect Park Productions as a subordinate entity continuing to produce its series, includingRoyal Pains andSalem, and the music divisions similarly unaffected.[23][24][25]
ABC's countersuit was dismissed in October 2016, and Prospect Park's lawsuit was dismissed in December 2016, with the rights toAll My Children andOne Life to Live reverting to ABC.[26]
