Columbia Pictures Television

Columbia Pictures Television was the television production and distribution division associated with Columbia Pictures. It was created on May 6, 1974, when Columbia renamed its long-running television operation Screen Gems. Screen Gems had been active since 1948 and had produced or distributed influential programs including Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, The Flying Nun, and The Partridge Family. The 1974 change brought the television unit closer to the Columbia Pictures identity while preserving the production infrastructure and program library inherited from Screen Gems. During its first period under the Columbia Pictures Television name, the studio produced series, made-for-television projects, miniseries, daytime serials, and syndicated programming. Its inherited and continuing portfolio included Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and Police Story. The first series launched under the CPT name was That's My Mama. The company also developed long-form projects with producers such as Abby Mann and entered production and distribution relationships with a broad range of independent companies and creators. CPT expanded particularly strongly during the 1970s through acquisitions and distribution agreements. It acquired or distributed programs including Barney Miller, Fish, Barnaby Jones, Soap, S.W.A.T., Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, Family, and other properties. It also co-produced or worked with Spelling-Goldberg Productions on series such as Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart, and T. J. Hooker. The acquisition of TOY Productions added properties including What's Happening!! and Carter Country to its business interests. The company underwent major structural changes after The Coca-Cola Company acquired Columbia Pictures in 1982. Coca-Cola created CPT Holdings and reorganized the relationship between the studio, its production activities, and its distribution operations. CPT participated in barter syndication through Colex Enterprises, a joint venture with Lexington Broadcast Services Company, and licensed portions of its classic library through other distribution arrangements. Coca-Cola's later acquisition of Embassy Communications and Merv Griffin Enterprises substantially broadened the corporate television portfolio surrounding CPT, even though those businesses retained distinct identities for portions of the period. In 1987, Coca-Cola's entertainment assets were sold to Tri-Star Pictures. The resulting corporate structure became Columbia Pictures Entertainment, and Columbia/Embassy Television and Tri-Star Television were reorganized. The Columbia name was generally associated with dramatic programming, while Embassy was retained for comedy-related output. Distribution operations were consolidated under Columbia Pictures Television Distribution. Sony acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment in 1989, bringing CPT into the Sony entertainment group. The CPT operating identity ended on January 1, 2001, when Columbia Pictures Television was folded into Columbia TriStar Television. That successor later became Sony Pictures Television. A separate company known as CPT Holdings continued to exist in name as a rights-holding entity for selected programs, including The Young and the Restless and older Screen Gems and Columbia library titles such as What's Happening!!. CPT is therefore best understood as a historical studio brand and corporate production unit rather than a currently operating television network.

Columbia Pictures Television's history began with Screen Gems, the television arm of Columbia Pictures from 1948 to 1974. Screen Gems was unusual among major film-studio television subsidiaries because it did not use the Columbia name, but it became one of the most productive and profitable television producers of its era. Its credits included Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, The Flying Nun, and The Partridge Family. On May 6, 1974, Columbia renamed the operation Columbia Pictures Television, creating a more direct connection with the parent film studio. The new studio inherited a substantial production and distribution business. It continued involvement with Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and Police Story, and launched new projects including That's My Mama. Management also pursued made-for-television films, musical specials, miniseries, and producer agreements. The division developed a broad network of relationships with independent producers, including arrangements involving Abby Mann, Carl Reiner, Larry White, Roy Huggins, Richard Dawson, and other production companies. CPT grew rapidly during the second half of the 1970s. It acquired worldwide or domestic distribution rights to programs such as Barney Miller, Fish, Barnaby Jones, Soap, S.W.A.T., Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, and Family. It worked with Spelling-Goldberg Productions on several successful series, including Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart, and T. J. Hooker. The 1979 acquisition of TOY Productions expanded its holdings with programs such as What's Happening!! and Carter Country. These activities made CPT both a production studio and an important syndication distributor. The acquisition of Columbia Pictures by The Coca-Cola Company in 1982 produced a period of corporate restructuring. Coca-Cola established CPT Holdings and altered the relationship between the television studio, library rights, and distribution businesses. CPT and Lexington Broadcast Services Company created Colex Enterprises in 1984 to distribute selected programs through barter syndication. Other library titles were licensed through The Program Exchange and related arrangements. CPT also acquired or handled distribution for programs from Benson, Stephen J. Cannell Productions, and other producers. Coca-Cola's acquisition of Embassy Communications in 1985 and Merv Griffin Enterprises in 1986 enlarged the surrounding television portfolio. Columbia, Embassy, and Merv Griffin operations were reorganized into Coca-Cola Television and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. Distribution of programs including What's Happening Now!!, The Real Ghostbusters, Punky Brewster, and Dinosaucers was shifted or planned within the new structure. At the same time, Columbia revived the Screen Gems name as a label for syndicated classic television programming. In December 1987, Coca-Cola sold its entertainment holdings to Tri-Star Pictures. Tri-Star was renamed Columbia Pictures Entertainment, and its television operations were reorganized. Columbia/Embassy Television and Tri-Star Television were combined into a new Columbia Pictures Television, while Embassy's remaining corporate identity became ELP Communications for copyright purposes. Columbia Pictures Television Distribution was created from the relevant distribution businesses. The reorganization also resulted in significant executive turnover, with several Columbia and Embassy executives leaving and Tri-Star personnel taking key positions. Sony acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment in November 1989. CPT subsequently operated within Sony's entertainment structure while continuing to produce, distribute, and exploit television properties. The studio's separate operating identity ended on January 1, 2001, when it was folded into Columbia TriStar Television. Columbia TriStar Television later became Sony Pictures Television. CPT Holdings survived as a rights-holding entity for selected programs, meaning that the CPT name continued to appear in copyright and ownership contexts even after the production studio itself had disappeared.

1. 2001CPT is folded into Columbia TriStar Television

   On January 1, Columbia Pictures Television ceased separate operations and was absorbed into Columbia TriStar Television.

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2. 1989Sony acquires Columbia Pictures Entertainment

   Sony purchased Columbia Pictures Entertainment, placing CPT within the corporate lineage that became Sony Pictures Entertainment.

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3. 1987Columbia Pictures Entertainment reorganizes television operations

   Following the sale of Coca-Cola's entertainment holdings to Tri-Star Pictures, Columbia/Embassy Television and Tri-Star Television were reorganized and distribution functions consolidated.

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4. 1986Coca-Cola Television is created

   Coca-Cola consolidated Columbia, Embassy, and Merv Griffin-related television activities into a new organizational structure that included Coca-Cola Telecommunications.

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5. 1985Coca-Cola acquires Embassy Communications

   The acquisition brought Embassy's production and distribution assets into Coca-Cola's wider television portfolio.

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6. 1984Colex Enterprises is formed

   CPT and Lexington Broadcast Services Company established Colex Enterprises for barter syndication of selected Columbia library programs.

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7. 1982Columbia Pictures is acquired by Coca-Cola

   The Coca-Cola Company purchased Columbia Pictures, beginning a major period of ownership and structural changes for CPT.

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8. 1979TOY Productions is acquired

   The acquisition added TOY Productions titles, including What's Happening!! and Carter Country, to Columbia's television interests.

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9. 1977Major syndication rights expand the library

   CPT acquired or secured distribution rights to properties including Barney Miller, Fish, Barnaby Jones, Soap, S.W.A.T., Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, and Family.

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10. 1974The studio adopts the Columbia Pictures Television name

    On May 6, Columbia renamed Screen Gems as Columbia Pictures Television, aligning the television division with its film-studio parent.

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11. 1948Screen Gems begins Columbia's television operation

    Screen Gems became Columbia Pictures' television studio and established the production base that later operated as Columbia Pictures Television.

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A major American studio television operation focused on producing, acquiring, packaging, and distributing scripted series, daytime programs, television films, miniseries, and syndicated programming. Its business combined in-house production with extensive relationships with independent producers and exploitation of the Screen Gems and Columbia television libraries.

• Charlie's AngelsDrama and action television series

  A CPT-distributed series from the Spelling-Goldberg portfolio. Its domestic distribution rights were among the high-profile properties Columbia Pictures Television acquired in the 1970s, helping establish the studio's importance in the American television syndication market.

• Starsky & HutchAction television series

  A police-action series whose domestic distribution rights were acquired by CPT from Spelling-Goldberg Productions in the 1970s. It formed part of the studio's expanding package of commercially valuable network programming.

• The Young and the RestlessDaytime soap opera

  A long-running daytime serial inherited from the predecessor Screen Gems operation and associated with CPT's production and rights-holding history. CPT Holdings continued to hold copyright interests in the program after the CPT studio was folded into Columbia TriStar Television.

• What's Happening!!Situation comedy

  A comedy property added to Columbia's television interests through the acquisition of TOY Productions. The program was later part of the library associated with CPT Holdings and was also connected to Columbia's classic-program syndication activities.

• Fantasy IslandDrama and fantasy television series1978

  One of the programs CPT co-produced with Spelling-Goldberg Productions between 1978 and 1986. The series illustrates CPT's strategy of combining studio resources with independent production partnerships.

• Hart to HartMystery and drama television series1979

  A CPT and Spelling-Goldberg production relationship title from the late 1970s and 1980s. It belonged to the studio's commercially oriented slate of network dramas and contributed to its profile as a major television partner.

• T. J. HookerPolice drama television series

  A police drama associated with CPT's co-production relationship with Spelling-Goldberg Productions. It represents the studio's role in producing mainstream serialized and episodic dramas for American networks.

• What's Happening Now!!First-run syndicated situation comedy1985

  A sequel to What's Happening!! launched in first-run syndication by CPT and Lexington Broadcast Services Company. Its distribution was later associated with Coca-Cola Telecommunications during the corporate reorganizations of the mid-1980s.

• The Real GhostbustersAnimated television series

  An animated program whose distribution was shifted from CPT to Coca-Cola Telecommunications during the 1986 restructuring of Coca-Cola's television businesses.

• Punky BrewsterSituation comedy

  A program for which CPT acquired distribution rights after its original network run. The arrangement reflected the financial-interest and syndication environment that shaped studio distribution in the 1980s.

• 2001Fold CPT into Columbia TriStar TelevisionM&A

  Sony's television businesses were being consolidated under a unified Columbia TriStar structure.

  What changed. Columbia Pictures Television ceased operating as a separate studio on January 1, 2001, when it was folded into Columbia TriStar Television.

  Aftermath. The successor organization later became Sony Pictures Television. CPT Holdings continued in a rights-holding capacity for selected programs.

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• 1987Reorganize Columbia, Embassy, and Tri-Star television operationsStrategy

  The sale of Coca-Cola's entertainment holdings to Tri-Star Pictures created Columbia Pictures Entertainment and required the integration of overlapping television businesses.

  What changed. Columbia/Embassy Television and Tri-Star Television were combined into a new Columbia Pictures Television, while distribution operations were consolidated under Columbia Pictures Television Distribution.

  Aftermath. The restructuring produced substantial staff turnover and placed former Tri-Star executives in important positions before the business continued under Sony ownership.

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• 1984Create Colex Enterprises for barter syndicationStrategy

  CPT sought a dedicated mechanism for distributing older Columbia television programs in the domestic syndication market.

  What changed. CPT and Lexington Broadcast Services Company formed Colex Enterprises to distribute selected library properties, including programs from the Screen Gems and Columbia catalogues.

  Aftermath. The joint venture became one of several distribution channels used for Columbia's classic television library during the 1980s and 1990s.

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• 1974Rename Screen Gems as Columbia Pictures TelevisionStrategy

  Columbia's television operation had been known as Screen Gems since 1948. Management sought a closer relationship between the television division and the Columbia Pictures parent brand.

  What changed. The studio adopted the Columbia Pictures Television name on May 6, 1974, while continuing the predecessor company's production and distribution activities.

  Aftermath. The renamed division became Columbia's principal television production and distribution identity until its later combination with Tri-Star Television and eventual absorption into Columbia TriStar Television.

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• 2001Columbia Pictures Television folded into Columbia TriStar Television

  The CPT operating unit ceased as a separate studio on January 1, 2001, when it was merged into Columbia TriStar Television.

  M&A
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• 1989Sony acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment

  Sony purchased Columbia Pictures Entertainment, bringing Columbia Pictures Television into the corporate family that would later operate Sony Pictures Television.

  M&A
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• 1987Columbia Pictures Entertainment reorganized its television divisions

  After Coca-Cola transferred its entertainment assets to Tri-Star Pictures, Columbia/Embassy Television and Tri-Star Television were reorganized and distribution activities were consolidated under Columbia Pictures Television Distribution.

  Leadership change
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• 1986Coca-Cola reorganized its television holdings

  Coca-Cola grouped Columbia, Embassy, and Merv Griffin-related television operations under Coca-Cola Television and created Coca-Cola Telecommunications for first-run syndication activities.

  M&A
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• 1984CPT participated in the creation of Colex Enterprises

  Columbia Pictures Television and Lexington Broadcast Services Company formed Colex Enterprises to handle barter syndication of selected Columbia library programs.

  M&A
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• 1982Coca-Cola acquired Columbia Pictures

  The Coca-Cola Company purchased Columbia Pictures, placing Columbia Pictures Television within a new corporate ownership structure and initiating extensive reorganization of its television assets.

  M&A
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• 1974Screen Gems renamed Columbia Pictures Television

  Columbia Pictures changed the name of its television studio from Screen Gems to Columbia Pictures Television, making the division more visibly consistent with its film-studio parent.

  Leadership change
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1. Columbia Pictures Television