| Genre | Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged with Time Inc. |
| Successor | Time Warner |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Defunct | 1990 |
| Headquarters | New York City, United States |
| Key people | Steve Ross, CEO |
Warner Communications or Warner Communications, Inc. (Warner) was established in 1971 when Kinney National Company spun off its non-entertainment assets, due to a financial scandal over its parking operations and changed its name.
It was the parent company for Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Music Group during the 1970s and 1980s. It also owned DC Comics and Mad. Warner made (and later lost) considerable profits with Atari, Inc., which it owned from 1976 to 1984.
In the 1970s, Warner formed a joint venture with credit card company American Express, named Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, which held cable channels like MTV, Nickelodeon and Showtime. Warner bought out American Express's half in 1984, and sold the venture a year later to Viacom, which renamed it MTV Networks.
In 1982, Warner purchased Popular Library from CBS Publications.[1]
In 1987, it was announced that Warner Communications and Time Inc. were to merge, though it took two years for the merger to take place. Before the merger closed in 1989, Warner purchased Lorimar-Telepictures. In early 1990, the combined companies were named Time Warner.
The Warner Communications name was still credited on releases from Elektra Records and its sister labels until 2004. The Warner Music Group continues to use the "Circle W" logo, designed by Saul Bass in 1974, even after being spun off by Time Warner.