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Telepictures (also known as Telepictures Productions; formerly known as Telepictures Distribution and Telepictures Corporation) is an American television show and filmmaking company, currently operating as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Television Studios. Telepictures was established in 1979 by
David Salzman David Elliot Salzman (born December 1, 1943) 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 musica ...
,
Michael Jay Solomon Michael Jay Solomon (born January 20, 1938) is an American businessman, and entertainment executive. Solomon's career spans more than 50 years in the media and content distribution business. He is the founder and president of several publicly and p ...
, and Michael Garin as a television syndication firm.


History


Early years

The company syndicated Rankin-Bass's programming and specials that were produced from 1974 to 1988, including new and successful animated series, such as '' ThunderCats'' and ''
SilverHawks ''SilverHawks'' is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass Productions and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were ...
''. Telepictures bought Rankin-Bass outright in 1983. In addition, Telepictures had syndicated numerous television programs such as '' My Favorite Martian'', ''
Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's thir ...
'', '' Love Connection'', and the original '' The People's Court'' with Judge
Joseph Wapner Joseph Albert Wapner (November 15, 1919 – February 26, 2017) was an American Judge and Television Personality. He is best known as the first presiding judge of the ongoing reality court show ''The People's Court''. The court show's first ...
. Telepictures also operated a small publishing arm, which published magazines, such as '' The Muppets Magazine'' and ''
Challenge of the GoBots ''Challenge of the GoBots'' (or ''GoBots'' for short) is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, based on the GoBots toyline released from Tonka. The show was first broadcast in syndication on September 8, 1984, then the show joine ...
Magazine''. In 1983,
Frank Konigsberg Frank Konigsberg (March 10, 1933 – November 12, 2016) was an American lawyer, television producer and agent. He became the second largest shareholder of ICM Partners, and he subsequently served as the president of Telepictures. He was nominated ...
's Konigsberg Co. was merged into Telepictures. On March 21, 1984, it signed a distribution deal with
Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces award shows and other music en ...
in order to expand its activities in order to distribute virtually all of the Dick Clark productions and TV specials.


Lorimar-Telepictures

In January 1986, the company merged with Merv Adelson and Lee Rich's
Lorimar Television 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. Televisio ...
, creating
Lorimar-Telepictures Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation 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) ...
and assumed production and distribution of shows like '' Dallas'' and ''
Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...
''. The company also began distribution of first-run episodes of '' Mama's Family'' in June
1986 in television For 1986 in television, see: *1986 in Albanian television *1986 in American television *1986 in Australian television * 1986 in Austrian television *1986 in Belgian television * 1986 in Brazilian television * 1986 in British television *1986 in C ...
. The company briefly dabbled into owning television station by purchasing charter
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
affiliate WPGH-TV in Pittsburgh and attempted to purchase then- CBS affiliate WTVJ in Miami. However, after CBS made a half-hearted attempt to purchase Fox affiliate WCIX from Taft Broadcasting (CBS would later make a more serious attempt to purchase the station two years later and succeeded; it is now CBS
owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
WFOR-TV WFOR-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WBFS-TV (channel 3 ...
), Telepictures backed off from purchasing WTVJ. ( NBC eventually purchased the station; it remains an NBC O&O today.) The company would then subsequently sell WPGH-TV to
Renaissance Broadcasting Renaissance Broadcasting, founded in 1982 by Michael Finkelstein, was a company that owned several UHF television stations, it was sold to Tribune Broadcasting in 1997. The company was headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. History Renaissan ...
after only a year in ownership; WPGH-TV, which went through several owners in the 1980s, would not have stable ownership until current owner Sinclair Broadcast Group (which had been outbid by Telepictures for the station in 1986) bought the station from Renaissance in 1990.


Purchase by Warner Communications

In 1987, Lorimar Television was created as a separate production entity of Lorimar Telepictures. Around this time, the company purchased a 9% stake in Warner Communications (now Warner Bros. Discovery), which set off talks about a possible merger between two entertainment entities. The following year, Warner Communications finally purchased the company. Lorimar Television became a separate subsidiary of Warner Bros. Television Studios until 1993, while Lorimar-Telepictures unit was folded into
Warner Bros. Television Distribution Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
. Telepictures became Telepictures Productions in 1990, a producer of syndicated programming that Warner Bros. Television would distribute. Later on that year, David Salzman, founding partner left Lorimar to start Warner-affiliated production company with Millennium Productions, covering affiliated houses like
Lorimar Television 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. Televisio ...
and Telepictures Productions. Beginning in 1994, certain Telepictures shows, such as ''Extra'', were co-produced by then-sister company Time Inc., under the name Time-Telepictures Television. Most shows produced by them bore a copyright for "TTT West Coast", while '' Sports Illustrated'' videos released during the timeframe bore a copyright for "TTT East Coast" instead. The joint venture ceased in 2003 and TTT productions were brought under the main Telepictures name. In 2004, John Rieber and Alex Duda via Streamroller Entertainment set up an overall deal with the Telepictures company.


Telepictures Distribution

In 1995,
Time Warner Entertainment Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...
formed Telepictures Distribution as a itself division of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, running over the oversight of then-EVP Scott Carlin. The company distributed non- Warner Bros. produced programming to which the syndication rights have been licensed to Warner and/or Turner as well as Warner properties. Upon Time Warner's purchase of Turner in 1996, some of the key assets of
Turner Program Services Turner Program Services was the former syndication arm of Turner Broadcasting. It served the same purpose as Turner Entertainment's distribution unit, with the exception that TPS was more involved in distributing television series rather than fil ...
was folded into the company. In 2003, Telepictures Distribution was folded into Warner Bros. Television Distribution.


Shows produced by Telepictures

* '' The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (2003–2022) * '' Extra'' (1994–present) * ''
Judge Mathis ''Judge Mathis'' is an American syndicated arbitration-based reality court show presided over by Judge Greg Mathis, a former judge of Michigan's 36th District Court and Black-interests motivational speaker/activist. The courtroom series premi ...
'' (1999–present) * '' The People's Court'' (1981–1993, 1997–present) * '' TMZ on TV'' (2007–2021; sold to Fox Corporation and now distributed through Fox First Run) * '' The Real'' (2013–2022) * ''
Let's Ask America ''Let's Ask America'' is an American interactive game show which debuted on September 17, 2012. The show features contestants who play from their homes via webcams, answering trivia questions relating to current events. On November 4, 2013, it was ...
'' (2012–2015) * '' Love Connection'' (1983–1994, 1998–1999, 2017–2018) * '' Rituals'' (1984–1985) * '' The All New Let's Make a Deal'' (1984–1986) * '' Catchphrase'' (1985–1986) * '' ThunderCats'' (1985–1989) * ''
SilverHawks ''SilverHawks'' is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass Productions and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were ...
'' (1986) * '' Trump Card'' (1990–1991) * '' Fun House'' (1990–1991, for
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
) *'' The Jesse Jackson Show'' (1990) * '' The Jenny Jones Show'' (1991–2003) * ''
The Jane Whitney Show ''The Jane Whitney Show'' is a 1992 broadcast syndication tabloid talk show A tabloid talk show is a subgenre of the talk show genre that emphasizes controversial and sensationalistic topical subject matter. The subgenre originated in the Un ...
'' (1992–1994) * '' Carnie!'' (1995–1996) * '' The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' (1996–2002, not to be confused with ''
The Rosie Show ''The Rosie Show'' was an American evening television talk show starring and produced by Rosie O'Donnell, airing on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. The first episode premiered on October 10, 2011, on the stage that was formerly home to ''The Oprah ...
'' on OWN) * '' In Person with Maureen O'Boyle'' (1996–1997) * '' Change of Heart'' (1998–2003) * '' The Queen Latifah Show'' (1999–2001) * ''
Street Smarts ''Street Smarts'' is an American game show that featured two in-studio contestants trying to predict the outcome of interviews of people who were found on the street. The show, which was hosted by Frank Nicotero, aired in syndication from 2000 t ...
'' (2000–2005) * ''
The Caroline Rhea Show ''The Caroline Rhea Show'' is a short-lived American syndicated variety/talk show hosted by actress and comedian Caroline Rhea. It premiered on September 2, 2002, and ran until May 21, 2003. The show was regarded as the successor to ''The Rosi ...
'' (2002–2003) * '' Celebrity Justice'' (2002–2005) * '' SlamBall'' (2002-03) * '' Are You Hot?'' (2003) * ''
The Sharon Osbourne Show ''The Sharon Osbourne Show'' is an American talk show that ran for one season (2003–2004) on various US channels. Cancellation The show was eventually canceled due to poor ratings and scathing attacks by critics as being too focused on Os ...
'' (2003–2004) * '' The Larry Elder Show'' (2004–2005) * '' The Tyra Banks Show'' (2005–2010) * ''
The Dr. Keith Ablow Show Keith Russell Ablow (born November 23, 1961) is an American author, television personality, and psychiatrist. He is a former contributor for Fox News Channel and TheBlaze. Formerly an assistant clinical professor at Tufts University School of ...
'' (2006–2007) * '' The Bonnie Hunt Show'' (2008–2010) * ''
The Jennifer Hudson Show ''The Jennifer Hudson Show'' is an American syndicated daytime talk show. Hosted by singer and actress Jennifer Hudson, the series premiered on September 12, 2022. Production In November 2021, ''Deadline'' reported that Warner Bros. Televisio ...
'' (2022–present) * ''
Judge Jeanine Pirro ''Judge Jeanine Pirro'' (known simply as ''Judge Pirro'' since the premiere of its second season) is an American arbitration-based reality court show, presided over by retired Westchester County, New York, District Attorney Jeanine Pirro. The se ...
'' (2008–2011) * '' Lopez Tonight'' (2009–2011) * '' Dr. Drew's Lifechangers'' (2011–2012) * '' Anderson Live'' (2011–2013) * ''
Bethenny Bethenny Frankel (born November 4, 1970) is an American businesswoman, television personality, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author. She starred in the Bravo television series ''The Real Housewives of New York City'', having appeared in eight ...
'' (2013–2014) * '' Just Keke'' (2014) * '' Crime Watch Daily'' (2015–2018) * '' Mad TV'' (2016 revival series) * '' Ellen's Game of Games'' (2017–2021) * ''
RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...
'' (2019)


Television stations formerly owned by Telepictures


References


External links

* * {{Warner Bros. Discovery 1978 establishments in California 1989 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1978 Companies based in Culver City, California Film distributors of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Entertainment companies established in 1978 Mass media companies established in 1978 Television syndication distributors Warner Bros. divisions Warner Bros. Television Studios