King World Productions
Encyclopedia
King World Productions, Inc. (also known as King World Entertainment, King World Enterprises, or simply King World) was a production company and a syndicator of television programming in the United States
until its eventual 2007 incorporation into CBS Television Distribution
. The last vestiges of this company is as a credited copyright holder (under the moniker KWP Studios--the initials standing for King World Productions) for the TV show Rachael Ray
.
Our Gang
shorts. When Roach lost the rights to the name Our Gang (it was retained by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, who bought the series from Roach in 1938), the shorts were retitled
as The Little Rascals. It was through this acquisition that the comedy shorts from 1929 through 1938 have been made available to audiences for the past forty years. King World later co-produced an animated version of the shorts
with Hanna-Barbera
.
In 1982, King World formed an ad-sales barter division called Camelot Entertainment Sales. A year later, company chairmen, brothers Roger King
(who died in December 2007), Michael King, and Robert King acquired the syndication rights to Merv Griffin
's game show Wheel of Fortune
when no other studio would step in. The acquisition paid off, and Wheel became the most popular show in the history of syndication, and has continued to be for over a quarter of a century. At one point, the program was generating a 21% national rating. The same year, the company also acquired the syndication rights of The Merv Griffin Show
from Metromedia Producers Corporation
.
A year later, King World bought the syndication rights to another Griffin show, Jeopardy!
, and the latest version of the series (with Alex Trebek
) has since become the number-two show in syndication. Originally, the company produced two pilots of the game show; one in September 1983 and the other on January 9, 1984. Robert King, the president of King World left the company to form The Television Program Source
; a television syndication company that was founded on on October 15 as a joint venture between King, Alan Bennett, and Columbia Pictures Television
. Shortly after this, King World launched Harpo Productions
' successful Oprah Winfrey Show, which eventually led to the creation of the spin-off series Dr. Phil
, as well as the latest Harpo contribution, Rachael Ray
. Oprah Winfrey was originally a local talk show host in Chicago prior to her King World launch. Dr. Phil is co-produced by Winfrey's Harpo Productions
(CBS Paramount Domestic Television
co-distributed for a time).
One thing that made the company incredibly successful in the 1980s was its landmark advertising and promotional campaigns. Michael King hired David Sams. Sams helped to turn Pat Sajak
and Vanna White
of Wheel of Fortune
into well-known names, made Jeopardy!
a mega-hit, and launched a massive campaign to introduce Oprah Winfrey
to the American public. Sams' creativity and the Kings' promotional war chest paid off. The three programs garnered the top three positions in the syndicated ratings race. CBS' 60 Minutes
did a full report on the success of King World's marketing and promotional strategies.
In the 1990s, King World operated an "As Seen On TV" VHS service called King World Direct.
Stuart Hersch, a lawyer by trade, was the financial expert who helped to take the company public, making it one of the hottest stocks on Wall Street at the time. The company traded as "KWP". King World had virtually no debt and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues after going public.
Television stations that broadcast King World programming had first choice on any series King World offered to distribute. CBS Enterprises was bought by Viacom, Inc. around the time of CBS's acquisition of King World, thus becoming owned by the post-split CBS Corporation
as well as all of Viacom's former TV production and distribution operations.
In its latter days, King World was considered the syndication branch of the CBS network - a role Viacom actually first served upon its creation. King World, however, distributed newer CBS shows, while the older shows were syndicated by corporate affiliate CBS Paramount Television
, the successor to the original distributor Viacom Enterprises
. Additionally, from 2000 to 2006, King World distributed several programs from Westinghouse Broadcasting
, such as The Mike Douglas Show
.
-produced series for syndication, such as
Everybody Loves Raymond
(ancillary rights to this series are owned by HBO), CSI
and CSI: Miami
. King World turned part of its attention to producing in-house newsmagazines including American Journal
, The Vicki Lawrence Show, Rolonda
, Hollywood Squares
, The Ananda Lewis Show, and Inside Edition
.
Group (CTD). Roger King was announced as CEO of the new entity. However, he died on December 8, 2007, after suffering a stroke the previous day. Today, John Nogawski is now president of CTD.
For one year, the King World on-screen identity was kept for the programs it distributed at its closure. However, most of the programs handled by King World were distributed under the name CBS Television Distribution. On August 20, 2007, CBS Television Distribution introduced a new closing logo to replace the old logos of King World, CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Paramount Television, and others. As previously mentioned, KWP Studios (the copyright holder for Rachael Ray) represents the last remnants of King World.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
until its eventual 2007 incorporation into CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
. The last vestiges of this company is as a credited copyright holder (under the moniker KWP Studios--the initials standing for King World Productions) for the TV show Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray (TV series)
Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is a talk show starring Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006....
.
History
The division was started in 1964 by Charles King. It was a company that expressly handled television distribution of the classic Hal RoachHal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
shorts. When Roach lost the rights to the name Our Gang (it was retained by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, who bought the series from Roach in 1938), the shorts were retitled
as The Little Rascals. It was through this acquisition that the comedy shorts from 1929 through 1938 have been made available to audiences for the past forty years. King World later co-produced an animated version of the shorts
The Little Rascals (animated TV series)
The Little Rascals was a 1982-1984 Saturday morning cartoon series produced jointly by Hanna-Barbera Productions and King World, and broadcast on ABC...
with Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
.
In 1982, King World formed an ad-sales barter division called Camelot Entertainment Sales. A year later, company chairmen, brothers Roger King
Roger King (producer)
Roger Monroe King was an American television and media executive for King World Productions and CBS. He was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 1992 and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2004 and is credited with launching the careers of such top...
(who died in December 2007), Michael King, and Robert King acquired the syndication rights to Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
's game show Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
when no other studio would step in. The acquisition paid off, and Wheel became the most popular show in the history of syndication, and has continued to be for over a quarter of a century. At one point, the program was generating a 21% national rating. The same year, the company also acquired the syndication rights of The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to September 26, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in...
from Metromedia Producers Corporation
Metromedia
Metromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
.
A year later, King World bought the syndication rights to another Griffin show, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, and the latest version of the series (with Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
) has since become the number-two show in syndication. Originally, the company produced two pilots of the game show; one in September 1983 and the other on January 9, 1984. Robert King, the president of King World left the company to form The Television Program Source
Coca-Cola Telecommunications
Coca-Cola Telecommunications was a short-lived first-run syndication unit of Columbia Pictures Television created in 1986 that was a merger between CPT's first-run syndication department and The Television Program Source...
; a television syndication company that was founded on on October 15 as a joint venture between King, Alan Bennett, and Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
. Shortly after this, King World launched Harpo Productions
Harpo Productions
Harpo Productions, Inc. is an incorporated US-based multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey . It also includes Harpo Films & Harpo Radio, Inc....
' successful Oprah Winfrey Show, which eventually led to the creation of the spin-off series Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, as well as the latest Harpo contribution, Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray (TV series)
Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is a talk show starring Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006....
. Oprah Winfrey was originally a local talk show host in Chicago prior to her King World launch. Dr. Phil is co-produced by Winfrey's Harpo Productions
Harpo Productions
Harpo Productions, Inc. is an incorporated US-based multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey . It also includes Harpo Films & Harpo Radio, Inc....
(CBS Paramount Domestic Television
CBS Paramount Domestic Television
CBS Paramount Domestic Television was an American television distribution company/production that was formed on January 17, 2006 and owned by CBS Corporation...
co-distributed for a time).
One thing that made the company incredibly successful in the 1980s was its landmark advertising and promotional campaigns. Michael King hired David Sams. Sams helped to turn Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak is a television personality, former weatherman, actor and talk show host, best known as the host of the American television game show Wheel of Fortune.-Early life:...
and Vanna White
Vanna White
Vanna White is an American television personality and film actress best known as the hostess of Wheel of Fortune since 1982.-Early life:...
of Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
into well-known names, made Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
a mega-hit, and launched a massive campaign to introduce Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
to the American public. Sams' creativity and the Kings' promotional war chest paid off. The three programs garnered the top three positions in the syndicated ratings race. CBS' 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
did a full report on the success of King World's marketing and promotional strategies.
In the 1990s, King World operated an "As Seen On TV" VHS service called King World Direct.
Stuart Hersch, a lawyer by trade, was the financial expert who helped to take the company public, making it one of the hottest stocks on Wall Street at the time. The company traded as "KWP". King World had virtually no debt and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues after going public.
Television stations that broadcast King World programming had first choice on any series King World offered to distribute. CBS Enterprises was bought by Viacom, Inc. around the time of CBS's acquisition of King World, thus becoming owned by the post-split CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
as well as all of Viacom's former TV production and distribution operations.
In its latter days, King World was considered the syndication branch of the CBS network - a role Viacom actually first served upon its creation. King World, however, distributed newer CBS shows, while the older shows were syndicated by corporate affiliate CBS Paramount Television
CBS Paramount Television
CBS Television Studios is an American television production/distribution company that was formed on January 17, 2006 by CBS Corporation merging Paramount Television and CBS Productions...
, the successor to the original distributor Viacom Enterprises
Viacom Enterprises
Viacom Enterprises was a television distribution company formed in 1971 as the successor to CBS Enterprises, and spun off in 1973 due to now-repealed FCC bylaws prohibiting networks from syndicating their own shows....
. Additionally, from 2000 to 2006, King World distributed several programs from Westinghouse Broadcasting
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
, such as The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
.
Library
King World was responsible for the highest rated shows in syndication for over two decades. They also had the television rights to a large library of theatrical films. When it was acquired by CBS Enterprises in 2000, it distributed a number of CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
-produced series for syndication, such as
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
(ancillary rights to this series are owned by HBO), CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
and CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
. King World turned part of its attention to producing in-house newsmagazines including American Journal
American Journal
American Journal was a syndicated television newsmagazine program that ran from 1993 to 1998. The series was distributed by King World Productions...
, The Vicki Lawrence Show, Rolonda
Rolonda
Rolonda was a syndicated daytime talk show that aired from January 17, 1994 to September 1997. It featured Rolonda Watts as the host, and was produced and distributed by King World Productions .-Background:...
, Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
, The Ananda Lewis Show, and Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
.
Closing
On September 26, 2006, CBS announced that KingWorld and CBS Paramount Television's syndication operations would be combined to form the CBS Television DistributionCBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
Group (CTD). Roger King was announced as CEO of the new entity. However, he died on December 8, 2007, after suffering a stroke the previous day. Today, John Nogawski is now president of CTD.
For one year, the King World on-screen identity was kept for the programs it distributed at its closure. However, most of the programs handled by King World were distributed under the name CBS Television Distribution. On August 20, 2007, CBS Television Distribution introduced a new closing logo to replace the old logos of King World, CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Paramount Television, and others. As previously mentioned, KWP Studios (the copyright holder for Rachael Ray) represents the last remnants of King World.
External links
- www.kingworld.com - Archive Copy at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- CBS Press Release concerning the new distribution group - Gilligan's IslandGilligan's IslandGilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
is erroneously mentioned as one of the series from CTD, when it is actually owned by Turner Entertainment Co.Turner EntertainmentTurner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. (commonly known as Turner Entertainment Co.) is an American...
and Warner Bros. TelevisionWarner Bros. TelevisionWarner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...