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 Logo used from 1973 to 1999 | |
| Formerly | ABC Film Syndication (1954–1973) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Television syndication Home video |
| Founded | March 27, 1954; 71 years ago (1954-03-27) (as ABC Film Syndication) March 30, 1973; 52 years ago (1973-03-30) (as Worldvision Enterprises) |
| Defunct | May 21, 1999; 26 years ago (1999-05-21) |
| Fate | Folded into Paramount Domestic Television |
| Successors | TV: Paramount Domestic Television (1999–2006) CBS Media Ventures (2006–present) Library: Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (Hanna-Barbera and pre-1991Ruby-Spears library only) Banijay Entertainment (Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd./Taft-Hardie Group Pty. Ltd. only) Worldvision Home Video: Republic Pictures Home Video (1994–2000) Paramount Home Entertainment (2000–present) CBS Home Entertainment (2006–present) |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Parent | American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres (1954–1973) Taft Broadcasting (1979–1987) Great American Broadcasting (1987–1989) Spelling Entertainment Group (1989–1999) |
| Divisions | Worldvision Home Video, Inc. |
| Website | www |
Worldvision Enterprises, Inc., formerlyABC Film Syndication, was an Americantelevision program andhome video distributor established on March 27, 1954 asABC Film Syndication, the domestic and overseas program distribution arm of theABC Television Network. It was renamed asWorldvision Enterprises on March 30, 1973, and was folded intoParamount Domestic Television on May 21, 1999. They primarily licensed programs from independent producers, rather than producing their own content.
In spring 1954,American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc. created ABC Films Syndication, Inc. (AFS), or ABC Films, a subsidiary headed by George Shupert, which specialized insyndication and in-house program production.[1] ByJanuary 1956, AFS formed a 50/50 joint venture production company, Rabco Productions, withHal Roach Jr.[2][3]
InJanuary 1956, AFS announced an expansion in production and sales staff for the year. Five new properties were acquired by the company and all received pilots, with two set for syndication if not placed nationally. Two were to be produced by John Gibbs and Meridian Pictures,Renfrew of the Mounted andRipley's Believe It or Not!, while Rabco's Bernard Fox was assigned withForest Ranger. The two pilots set for production wereThe Americano, directed by Martin Gosch and filmed in Spain, andThe Force produced byVictor Stoloff about the plain clothedCanadian Mounties division. Two shows,Code 3 andThe Three Musketeers were already under production for syndication.[2] One of AFS's earliest successes wasSheena, Queen of the Jungle, produced largely in Mexico byNassour Studios and starringIrish McCalla as the comic-book heroine. Even though only 26 episodes were filmed, the series ran for years in reruns on local stations, in kiddie-show time slots.
In 1959, ABC International created The Worldvision Corporation to syndicate programs for overseas markets.[citation needed]Henry G. Plitt, previously president of Paramount Gulf Theatres, became president of the company in February 1959, replacing Shupert after he left forMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).[4] Kevin O’Sullivan later became president of the company.[5]
In 1965, it became an international syndicator for theNBC seriesBranded, which marked one of a few times ABC distributed a series not actually airing on the network.[6]
In 1971, theFCCbarred the participation of networks in the syndication of their own programs, though this rule was eliminated by 1993. Worldvision Enterprises was formed by five former ABC Films executives to purchase the network's syndication assets[7] on March 30, 1973.[5][8] In 1974, Charles Fries and his Alpine Productions company had struck a distribution contract with the studio.[9]
Worldvision had obtained good relations fromthe Big Three networks who produced it, notably NBC, who producedLittle House on the Prairie, andCBS, who producedSpencer's Pilots, which Worldvision distributed for international syndication.[10]
Around the same time, Worldvision decided to return distribution rights to the game showThe Dating Game back toChuck Barris Productions, and to retain distribution rights toThe Newlywed Game until its completion of its network run.[11]
In 1977, Worldvision Enterprises had entered into an agreement with television producerMark VII Limited, who had disaffiliated fromUniversal Studios, and became an independent producer, to distribute its productions, includingProject U.F.O. andSam.[12]
On November 7, 1981, Worldvision launched a home video subsidiary Worldvision Home Video, Inc., which was enabled to distribute videocassette titles of content from the Taft Entertainment Company, most notably its Hanna-Barbera cartoon product, theJack Nicklaus'Golf My Way instructional video series, as well as the QM Productions library, with Albert Hartigan headed executive vice president and Martin Weinstein as the sales manager of the company.[13][14]
Worldvision has been owned by many companies over the years. The growth of itshome video division was primarily under the ownership ofTaft Broadcasting, which acquired the company in 1979.[5] The sale was first announced in November 1978.[15] As a result of Taft's purchase of Worldvision, Taft merged its syndicated arms Taft H-B Program Sales and Taft H-B International into the company.[16] In 1981, Worldvision launched subsidiary Evergreen Programs to generate sales of its own programming already aired by networks and stations.[17] In October 1987, Taft's assets, including Worldvision, were acquired by Great American Communications.[18]
Television producerAaron Spelling, attempting to find an outlet to distribute his programs, attempted to buy Worldvision from Great American, but chief company shareholderCarl H. Lindner told Spelling that he was not interested in selling the company.[19] Lindner did agree to sell Worldvision to Spelling Productions for 50% of Spelling, Inc., the combined company, in 1988.[18][19] The merger was finalized on March 1, 1989.[20]
In 1994, Worldvision's home video division was folded intoRepublic Pictures' Home Video division after Spelling Entertainment's purchase of Republic in the same year. Also that same year,Blockbuster Inc., operator of the now-defunct video store chain, briefly held a controlling interest in Spelling, and its logo appeared on programs alongside Worldvision's.
When Spelling Entertainment Group merged withViacom on May 26, 1999, Worldvision's operations were folded intoParamount Domestic Television, then given over toCBS Corporation at the end of 2005 when Viacom and CBS were split into different companies.
On December 4, 2019, CBS Corporation andViacomremerged into a single entity asViacomCBS (later Paramount Global and currently known asParamount Skydance Corporation), which currently distributes the Worldvision library throughCBS Media Ventures. The Hanna-Barbera library (including most of the pre-1991Ruby-Spears Enterprises library) is currently distributed byWarner Bros. Discovery throughWarner Bros. Animation.
