Industry | Entertainment |
---|---|
Founded | 1985 |
Defunct | 1989 |
Fate | Purchased and absorbed into Warner Communications |
Successors | Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Warner Communications Telepictures Productions |
Headquarters | 10202 West Washington Boulevard, , |
Services |
|
Parent | Warner Communications |
Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation, Inc. was an entertainment company established in 1985 with the merger of Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Telepictures Corporation. Headquartered at the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (now Sony Pictures Studios) in Culver City, California, its assets included television production and syndication (which operated under the Lorimar-Telepictures name), feature films, home video, and broadcasting.
The merger of Lorimar-Telepictures was announced on October 7, 1985, by Merv Adelson. [1] [2] On February 19, 1986, the merger was complete. [3] Lee Rich, one of the other founders of Lorimar, sold his shares in 1986 and left the company.
In 1987, Lorimar-Telepictures decided to launch separate divisions with brand logos, which are Lorimar Television for network television production, Lorimar Syndication for broadcast and off-net syndication, and Lorimar International for television distribution, with Lorimar-Telepictures being the parent company of the groups. Both had used Lorimar as operating names starting on January 19, 1987. [4] It is reported that Robert Rosenbaum was named vice president of production at the Lorimar Television unit. [5] Also that year, it faced a $21.7 million loss from the studio. [6]
In June 1988, Warner Communications acquired Lorimar-Telepictures after shaking off the hostile takeover of the company. [7]
Note: All series listed here are now owned and distributed by Warner Bros. Television Studios with a few exceptions.
Lorimar-Telepictures also distributed most of the pre-1990 DIC Entertainment and Saban Entertainment series in international markets; most of the DIC series are currently distributed by WildBrain, and most of the Saban series are currently distributed by Disney–ABC Domestic Television, as well as some of the Universal Pictures films that Lorimar distributed are currently distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios via its Universal Television division.
Lorimar-Telepictures also held ownership interests in several television stations via predecessor Telepictures, mostly based in smaller markets and Puerto Rico. [8] The company made a failed $1 billion offer in 1985 for Multimedia, Inc., which owned eight television stations and fifteen radio stations. [9] On May 21, 1986, Lorimar-Telepictures agreed to purchase from private equity firm KKR WTVJ (channel 4) in Miami, along with Storer Communications stations WAGA-TV in Atlanta, WITI in Milwaukee, WJBK in Detroit, WJW-TV in Cleveland, WSBK-TV in Boston and KCST in San Diego, in a $1.85 billion group deal. [10] WTVJ, including the studio building and surrounding land, was itself sold for $405 million. [11] Also included was Storer's program production company, advertising sales division and Washington news bureau. [12] Lorimar-Telepictures also made purchase offers for WPGH-TV in Pittsburgh and WTTV in Bloomington–Indianapolis. [13]
By October 22, 1986, Lorimar-Telepictures requested to exclude WTVJ from the Storer deal [14] after learning that CBS, of which WTVJ was affiliated with, inquired with the owners of WCIX (channel 6) about a purchase, putting the valuation of WTVJ in peril and ultimately collapsing the entire deal. [15] Other financial market analysts argued that Lorimar grossly overpaid for WTVJ, as the $405 million price was nearly 21 times WTVJ's cash flow (typical station purchase prices were 10 to 14 times cash flow) [16] and made it difficult to cover interest serviced on $2 billion in high-yield bonds. [17] [18] KKR sold WTVJ to NBC in January 1987, [19] ultimately initiating a complicated six-station affiliation swap in Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida, on January 1, 1989. [20] The Storer stations were also sold to George N. Gillett Jr. in 1987. [21]
The purchase offer for WTTV failed to close, with the station instead being sold to Capitol Broadcasting Company. WPGH-TV, which was successfully purchased by Lorimar, was sold to Renaissance Broadcasting in 1987. [22] [23] KCPM, KSPR and KMID were sold to Goltrin Communications in 1988. [24]
City of license / Market | Station | Channel | Years owned | Current status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chico–Redding, California | KCPM [lower-alpha 1] | 24 | 1985–1988 | NBC/Telemundo affiliate KNVN, owned by Maxair Media, LLC [lower-alpha 2] |
Springfield–Branson, Missouri–Harrison, Arkansas | KSPR [lower-alpha 1] | 33 | 1985–1988 | Defunct, off the air since 2017 [lower-alpha 3] |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | WPGH-TV | 53 | 1986–1987 | Fox affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
San Juan–Ponce–Mayagüez, Puerto Rico | WLII-DT | 11 | 1986–1991 [lower-alpha 4] | Univision affiliate owned by Liberman Media Group |
WSUR-TV | 9 | 1986–1991 [lower-alpha 4] | Univision affiliate owned by Liberman Media Group | |
Odessa–Midland, Texas | KMID [lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 1985–1988 | ABC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
Lorimar Productions, Inc., later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993, when it was folded into Warner Bros. Television. It was founded by Irwin Molasky, Merv Adelson, and Lee Rich. The company's name was a portmanteau of Adelson's then wife, Lori and Palomar Airport.
WSVN is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is the flagship station of locally based Sunbeam Television. WSVN's studios are located on 79th Street Causeway in North Bay Village, and its transmitter is located in Miami Gardens, Florida.
WPLG is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by Berkshire Hathaway as its sole broadcast property. WPLG's studios are located on West Hallandale Beach Boulevard in Pembroke Park, and its transmitter is located in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Telepictures is an American television show and filmmaking company, currently operating as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Television Studios. Telepictures was established in 1978 by David Salzman, Michael Jay Solomon, and Michael Garin as a television syndication firm.
KMID is a television station licensed to Midland, Texas, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Permian Basin area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to Odessa-licensed Fox affiliate KPEJ-TV under a shared services agreement (SSA) with Mission Broadcasting. Both stations share studios on Windview Street in southwestern Odessa, while KMID's transmitter is located on FM 1788 in rural southeastern Andrews County.
WFOR-TV is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WBFS-TV. The two stations share studios on Northwest 18th Terrace in Doral; WFOR-TV's transmitter is located in Andover, Florida.
WBFS-TV is an independent television station in Miami, Florida, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS outlet WFOR-TV. The two stations share studios on Northwest 18th Terrace in Doral; WBFS-TV's transmitter is located in Andover, Florida.
Storer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the Northeastern United States. It was incorporated in Ohio 1927, and was broken up in 1986.
KGHZ is a defunct television station in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Owned by Schurz Communications, the station was operated by Gray Television under a local marketing agreement (LMA) for its last four months on the air before its license was returned to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on May 31, 2017, as a result of the FCC's 2016 spectrum auction. KGHZ's transmitter was located on Switchgrass Road, north of Fordland. For most of its history, it served as the Springfield–Branson market's ABC affiliate, a role now served by KSPR-LD.
WTVJ is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Fort Lauderdale–licensed WSCV, a flagship station of Telemundo. The two stations share studios on Southwest 27th Street in Miramar; WTVJ's transmitter is located in Andover, Florida.
WSCV is a television station licensed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, serving as the Telemundo outlet for the Miami area. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network. WSCV is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside NBC station WTVJ. The two stations share studios on Southwest 27th Street in Miramar; WSCV's transmitter is located in Pembroke Park, Florida. The station also serves as the de facto Telemundo outlet for the West Palm Beach market, as that area does not have a Telemundo station of its own.
TVX Broadcast Group was an American media company that owned a group of mostly UHF television stations during the 1980s and early 1990s.
New Line Television was the television production arm of the film studio of the same name. It was active for about 20 years from 1988 to 2008.
Sunbeam Television Corporation is a privately held broadcasting company based in Miami, Florida, that owns three television stations in the United States. Since the company's founding in 1953, it has been under the control of the Ansin family.
CBS News and Stations is a division of the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global that owns and operates a group of American television stations along with CBS News. As of January 2021, the division owns 28 stations: 14 are the core stations of the CBS television network, thirteen independent stations, and one primary-channel affiliate of the digital subchannel network Start TV. It also maintains a half-interest in Start TV, which is co-owned with Weigel Broadcasting.
Wometco Enterprises is an American company headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida; a suburb of Miami. It was once a large media company with diversified holdings, but slowly sold off its assets during the early 1980s, and owned the Miami Seaquarium until it was sold in 2014.
KNVN is a television station licensed to Chico, California, United States, serving the Chico–Redding market as an affiliate of NBC and Telemundo. It is owned by Maxair Media, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Allen Media Broadcasting, owner of dual CBS/CW+ affiliate KHSL-TV, for the provision of certain services. Both stations share studios at the McClung Broadcast Center at the intersection of Eaton Road and Silverbell Road on the northwest side of Chico, while KNVN's transmitter is located northeast of Red Bluff.
The Lorimar Sports Network, or LSN, was an American ad hoc television network providing syndicated college football and basketball. It was based at Lorimar's original headquarters in Culver City, California, with an additional office in Dallas, Texas. It was in operation from 1983 until 1986.
David Elliot Salzman is an American television producer and businessman. Salzman has been involved in a number of industries that include television news and entertainment, feature films, live theater, sports, and musical events.
On January 1, 1989, six television stations in the Miami–Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Florida, markets, exchanged network affiliations. The event, referred to in contemporary media coverage as "The Big Switch", was described as "Miami's own soap opera" and at times compared to Dallas and Dynasty because of the lengthy public disputes between multiple parties that preceded it. Approximately three million television viewers in both markets were affected.
Lorimar-Telepictures makes a ton of money producing and distributing such TV hits as Dallas and The People's Court. Unsatisfied, chief Merv Adelson is trying to expand in theatrical films. The profits are potentially huge – but a lot less certain.