(Embassy Television is not to be confused with Avco Embassy Television. AETV's successor-in-interest is NBCUniversal Television Distribution by way of Multimedia Entertainment)
ELP Communications (formerly known as Embassy Television, Embassy Telecommunications, and Embassy Communications) is an American television production company that began in 1982. The company was folded into Columbia TriStar Television in 1998. However, the company remains as an in-name only unit of Sony Pictures Television.
Contents |
The company was formerly known as T.A.T. Communications Company. Television producer Norman Lear bought Avco Embassy Pictures Corporation in 1982 and decided to drop the name "Avco" from the name to bring back the name Embassy Pictures.
Lear decided to launch Embassy Television, a subsidiary name for his shows by the former T.A.T. Communications such as The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, and The Facts of Life. More shows were produced by Embassy Television such as the first two under the name: Square Pegs and Silver Spoons. The latter show ran five seasons, while the former ran one but developed a cult following. Who's the Boss? was piloted later in 1983 until airing in 1984. Embassy Television also produced Diff'rent Strokes 's final season from Tandem.
Embassy Television also held the TV rights to a majority of the Embassy theatrical library (see Embassy Pictures for more information). Embassy Telecommunications (formerly P*I*T*S Films), was the television distribution arm of Embassy Television. They distributed off syndicated shows by Embassy Television and those by Tandem Productions and T.A.T. Communications.
In 1985, CBS canceled The Jeffersons and NBC canceled Diff'rent Strokes, the latter of which then moved to ABC. Embassy Television and Tandem Productions were sold to The Coca-Cola Company (then-current owners of Columbia Pictures) for $485 million [1] and a new sitcom, 227, debuted on NBC.
A year later, the television brand name was renamed to Embassy Communications as a television production and distribution banner of Embassy by producing the shows by Embassy Television and distributing those by Tandem Productions and T.A.T. Communications. When ABC canceled, Diff'rent Strokes, the brand name Tandem Productions was abandoned and was merged with Embassy Television and Embassy Telecommunications to become Embassy Communications. In 1986, Coca-Cola fused Embassy's operations with Columbia Pictures Television; the combined company became Columbia/Embassy Television, though Columbia and Embassy continued to produce programs under their separate names. Married with Children was the next successful sitcom by Embassy Communications in 1987.
In December 1987, Coca-Cola decided to merge the theatrical divisions Columbia Pictures and Tri-Star Pictures into Columbia Pictures Entertainment and merging their other units Triumph Releasing Corporation, Embassy Communications, and Merv Griffin Enterprises under that banner. Still-running Embassy shows would bear the Columbia Pictures Television logo for the rest of their runs.
Embassy Communications then became ELP (Embassy Limited Partnership) Communications in 1988 under the banner of Columbia Pictures Television. The television distribution arm was then folded into Columbia Pictures Television Distribution. On September 28, 1989, Columbia Pictures Entertainment was sold to Sony Corporation and reincorporated as Sony Pictures Entertainment in August 1991.
The final surviving show to be produced by Embassy Television was Beakman's World in 1992. When SPE launched Columbia TriStar Television in 1994, Beakman's World and Married with Children were produced under the banner. However, Married with Children was still under bearing by CPT. Beakman's World was cancelled in 1998 and SPE decided to fold ELP Communications into Columbia TriStar Television, retiring Embassy Television for good but remaining as an in-name only unit.
Today, television distribution rights to both Embassy's television and theatrical libraries are now owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment's television division. Also, all shows from TAT Communications Company to ELP Communications are all copyrighted by ELP Communications on DVD releases by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, with the exception of the first season of 227.