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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | August 4, 1986; 39 years ago (1986-08-04) |
| Founder | Ted Turner |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products |
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Number of employees | 137+ (2020) |
| Parent |
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Turner Entertainment Co.[1] is an American multimedia company founded byTed Turner on August 4, 1986. Purchased byTime Warner on October 10, 1996, as part of its acquisition ofTurner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing the TBS library for worldwide distribution. In recent years, this role has largely been limited to being the copyright holder, as it has become an in-name-only subsidiary[1] ofWarner Bros., which currently administers their library.[2]
On March 25, 1986,Ted Turner and hisTurner Broadcasting System purchasedMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) fromKirk Kerkorian for $1.5 billion, and renamed itMGM Entertainment Company, Inc. However, due to concerns in the financial community over the debt-load of his companies, on August 26, 1986, he was forced to sell the MGM name, all ofUnited Artists (UA), and the MGMCulver City studio lot back to Kerkorian for approximately $300 million after months of ownership.[3] But in order to still go about his plans to broadcast the MGM/UA assets as "originals" on his TBS and upcoming TNT channels, Turner struck a deal with Kerkorian; Turner kept the studio's film, television and cartoon library as well as a small portion of the UA library, formingTurner Entertainment Company during the exchange.[4][5] The company was headed byRoger Mayer, who was a former executive of MGM, and formed a development division with the intention of making movies and television shows.[6] The library also included most of the pre-1950Warner Bros. library (including all colorLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies cartoons released before August 1948), theFleischer Studios/Famous StudiosPopeye cartoons originally released byParamount Pictures, the US/Canadian/Latin American/Australian distribution rights to theRKO Radio Pictures library (not including any films produced byWalt Disney andSamuel Goldwyn), and most of theGilligan's Island television franchise (not counting the television movie sequels owned by other companies), all of which were owned by UA.[7]
In order to save funds, Turner instituted a policy that they would pass on making sequels to now-Turner-owned properties in favor ofcolorization of old black-and-white movies.[8] On December 2, 1987, Turner Entertainment had entered into an agreement with American Film Technologies to computer-colorize three films from the MGM library that were originally in black-and-white:Boom Town,They Were Expendable andCatered Affair, and Turner would have the option to have AFT colorize additional 22 films and has a second option for another 24 films by 1992.[9] On December 10, 1987, Turner acquired the worldwide licensing rights to 800 of RKO's films from its then-parent companyWesray Capital Corporation.[10]
On October 3, 1988, Turner Broadcasting System launched theTNT network. This was followed by the April 14, 1994 launch ofTurner Classic Movies, which airs films from the Turner Entertainment libraries (among others) uncut and without commercial interruptions or colorization.[11][12] In doing so, Turner has played a major part infilm preservation and restoration. By broadcasting such classic films asKing Kong,The Wizard of Oz,Gone with the Wind,Citizen Kane,Casablanca,Meet Me in St. Louis,Singin' in the Rain and the originalThe Jazz Singer, on numerous Turner affiliated cable channels, as well as in showing them in revival movie houses and home video worldwide, Turner introduced a new generation to these films.
On November 29, 1989, Turner made another attempt to buy MGM/UA, but the deal failed, and they formed Turner Pictures and Turner Pictures Worldwide instead.[13]
On October 29, 1991, Turner acquiredHanna-Barbera Productions and most of the pre-1991Ruby-Spears Productions library fromGreat American Broadcasting for $320 million.[14] Shortly after the acquisition, on October 1, 1992, Turner Broadcasting System launchedCartoon Network, and laterBoomerang, to serve as the primary broadcaster of its vast animation library.
On August 17, 1993, Turner purchasedCastle Rock Entertainment andNew Line Cinema for over $650 million.[15][16][17]
Turner Entertainment self-distributed much of its library for the first decade of its existence, but on October 10, 1996, Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner, with the latter doing a large integration of its distribution functions into Warner Bros. As a result, Turner Entertainment is now an in-name-only subsidiary of Warner Bros., serving merely as a copyright holder for a portion of their library. Hanna-Barbera's current purpose as the in-name only unit ofWarner Bros. Animation is to serve as the copyright holder for its creations such asThe Flintstones,Scooby-Doo andYogi Bear while Warner Bros. handles sales and merchandising.
As a production company, Turner Entertainment also created original in-house programming, such as documentaries about the films it owns, new animated material based onTom & Jerry and other related cartoon properties, and once produced made-for-television films, miniseries, and theatrical films such asGettysburg,Tom and Jerry: The Movie,Fallen,The Pagemaster andCats Don't Dance under theTurner Pictures banner. In 1995, the Turner Pictures production company developed a film slate.[18] Turner also had an international distribution sales unit, accordingly namedTurner Pictures Worldwide Distribution, Inc. Turner Pictures was folded into Warner Bros. after the Turner-Time Warner merger, and currently holds the distribution rights to the films made by the production division. Time Warner transferred some of Turner's leftover projects likeCity of Angels andYou've Got Mail intoWarner Bros.[19]
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| Company type | Animation studio |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation |
| Predecessor | |
| Founded | Early 1991; 34 years ago (1991) |
| Founders | David Kirschner Paul Gertz |
| Defunct | 1997 (1997) |
| Fate | Folded intoWarner Bros. Feature Animation |
| Successor | Warner Bros. Feature Animation |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
| Products | Animated films |
| Parent | Turner Broadcasting System |
Turner Feature Animation was Turner's animation unit headed byDavid Kirschner and Paul Gertz.[20] The two animated moviesThe Pagemaster andCats Don't Dance were produced under Turner's animation unit. Spun off from the feature film division ofHanna-Barbera Productions, Turner Feature Animation was folded intoWarner Bros. Feature Animation, which was then merged into Warner Bros. Animation.
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In the first decade of its existence, Turner released most of its own catalogue on home video throughTurner Home Entertainment (THE). However, the MGM and Warner Bros. film libraries which Turner owned were still distributed byMGM/UA Home Video along with THE until their rights expired in 1999, while THE handled the home video distribution of titles from the RKO library. THE released films produced by Turner Pictures on home video with their distributors and independently released the Hanna-Barbera cartoon library on home video.
THE also releasedWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) pay-per-view (PPV) events, wrestler profiles, and "Best Of" packages on video until the demise of WCW in 2001; the WCW video library, along with the rights to the WCW name and certain talent contracts, were sold tothe World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) in March 2001.[21][22][23] In 1987, THE had signed a distribution deal with theVideo Institute of the Soviet Union to release 10 titles from the pre-May 1986 MGM library in Russian videocassette rental shops, and the deal with Turner would be a first for the Soviet home video market, where officials indicate that there are 660,000 VCR recordings, and films includeZabriskie Point, and other titles, none of them were colorized.[24]
From early 1995 to early 1997, THE also distributed home video releases fromNew Line Home Video, taking over from Columbia TriStar Home Video as well as distributing PBS programs on home video the year before (taking over from the defunctPacific Arts). NLHE distributed New Line films on video by itself from 1997 until New Line Cinema merged with Warner Bros. in 2008.[25][26][27] PBS shows are now distributed on video and DVD by PBS's own distribution company,PBS Distribution.
In 1995, THE entered a distribution deal withColumbia TriStar Home Video in France, Britain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland,[28] the deal expired in 1997 (although some films released on VHS by THE are distributed in the United Kingdom byFirst Independent Films).
Upon the Turner-Time Warner merger, THE was absorbed intoWarner Home Video as an in-name-only unit in December 1996.[29] However, Turner Classic Movies does release special edition DVD boxsets of films from both the Turner and Warner catalogs under the TCM label. (Some magazines, most notablyStarlog, when listing upcoming releases from Warner related to Cartoon Network programming listed it as being released by THE, likely to differentiate it from other, adult-oriented titles.)[30]
Turner Entertainment's current library includes:
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