Tribune Entertainment

Tribune Entertainment

Tribune Entertainment was founded in 1964 as Mid-America Video Tape Productions as a subsidiary of television station WGN-TV in Chicago, in order to syndicate National Barn Dance to several television markets.^[1] In 1966, it formally became WGN Continental Productions, as a videotape subsidiary of WGN Continental Broadcasting Company.^[2] In 1975, Dale M. Juhlin left WGN Continental Productions in order to start out his own production company which was based in Chicago.^[3]


Over the years, the company grew that in 1980s that Tribune's first successful program that was distributed for syndication were the agricultural news program U.S. Farm Report, which debuted in 1975; and Independent Network News, a syndicated news program designed for Independent station that was produced by Tribune's New York City station WPIX and debuted in 1980.


In 1982, Tribune picked up newspaper film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel under the show name of At the Movies before losing the hosts four years later to Buena Vista Television.^[4] Later on that year, WGN Continental Productions had become Tribune Productions, and Sheldon Cooper, who was previously of Tribune's own television station WGN-TV had assumed president of the unit.^[5] In 1983, it became Tribune Entertainment Company, and received agreements to develop two-hour movies for syndication.^[6] It gradually expanded its programming to include British programs, and mini-series, as well as a television movie co-production deal.^[7]


In 1984, it purchased the television syndication rights to the motion picture The Smurfs and the Magic Flute for use in the syndication market, via Tribune stations, as well as other TV stations on a cash and barter basis.^[8] In 1985, another long-running program that Tribune had distributed was the syndicated musical Soul Train, just 9 years after it moved to WGN-TV, from syndication, which debuted in 1971.^[9] Also that year, it picked up the rights to the British cop show Dempsey and Makepeace for American screening, produced by ITV weekend franchisee London Weekend Television.^[10] In 1987, Tribune partnered with rival syndicatior Coca-Cola Telecommunications on an aborted effort of two projects, namely Gunfighter, which was set for a two-hour telefilm on the Tribune stations on a barter basis, but it never realized.^[11]


In 1987, it entered into an agreement with Paramount Domestic Television to handle sales of Geraldo, with Tribune producing the series.^[12] That year, Tribune Entertainment Company announced that they would move production of two in-house series, At the Movies and The Farm Report, from the WGN-TV studios in Chicago, to indie production company Polycom in order to make the move a cost-cutting move for the studio, and retains its own crew of producers and distributors in the Chicago area and many engineers at the studio had been laid off too.^[13] In 1988, Bud Grant, who had just left CBS partnered with Tribune to start Grant/Tribune Productions to produce TV shows.^[14] In 1989, Tribune signed comedienne Joan Rivers to host the daytime syndicated talk program, The Joan Rivers Show, five years before doing Can We Shop?.^[15] In 1990, it split their association with Paramount, with Tribune taking sales of both Geraldo and The Joan Rivers Show.^[16] On March 1, 1991, Tribune had its Geraldo show as the first US program in the USSR under the recent Glasnost policy.^[17]


In January 1994, Tribune Entertainment started a country music initiative across broadcast television, concert touring, direct marketing, home video distribution, pay-per-view and radio syndication. Under the initiative, programming would start in the fall 1994 with a weekly syndicated country music television and companion radio program then home video releases and pay-per-view events in 1995.^[18] With Nashville Country Club Inc., Tribune announced as a part of this initiative to operate "Road" performance clubs and restaurants with the first to open in 1995.^[19] In July 1995, Tribune sold 22 episodes of "Road", their canceled country music show, to The Nashville Network for broadcast starting in January 1996.^[20] In 1996, it entered into an agreement with King World Productions to distribute Geraldo, which would remain on the air until 1998 via a joint first-run development pact deal, and Tribune to continue handling barter advertising sales of the show.^[21]


In January 2003, Tribune Entertainment was signed on as distributor of the DIC Kids Network, which came onto the air, beginning in the fall of 2003.^[22]


In July 2003, the company purchased syndication rights to 34 DreamWorks Pictures feature films to use on Tribune stations starting in August 2006. The films would be also sold to other stations via barter or sale while supervising marketing for the films.^[23]


On December 18, 2007, Tribune Entertainment announced it would exit the program distribution business.^[24] In 2008, it sold its Tribune Studios for $125 million to Hudson Capital, LLC.^[25]


In 2010, Tribune announced that it would be considering a re-entry into the syndication market with two new talk shows: one a tabloid talk show hosted by Bubba the Love Sponge, and another, "Big Willie" (since renamed The Bill Cunningham Show). Both programs filmed pilot programs and Bill Cunningham's show aired during a week long test on Tribune stations.^[26]