United Artists Television

United Artists Television was an American television production/distribution studio of United Artists Corporation that was formed in 1958. The company is remembered for producing series such as This Man Dawson, World of Giants, Stoney Burke, The Outer Limits, Gilligan's Island, My Mother the Car, The Fugitive, Rat Patrol, thirtysomething, The New Phil Silvers Show, The Patty Duke Show and The Pink Panther Show. In September 2014, the studio returned to full-time TV production under the new management of United Artists Media Group, led in part by husband/wife producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett.

History

United Artists Television (UATV) was formed on New Year's Day, 1958 with president Herb Golden, Banker's Trust's former vice-president, and Bruce Eells from Television Programs of America as its top operating executive.[1]

In that same year, United Artists Television purchased Associated Artists Productions, giving access to the pre-1950[2][3][4] Warner Bros. library and the Popeye cartoon shorts made by Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios for Paramount Pictures between 1933 and 1957.

In 1960, United Artists Television purchased Ziv Television Programs, including the 20% share still held by board chairman Frederick Ziv and his son-in-law and business partner president John L. Sinn, for $20 million. The newly merged production company was renamed Ziv-United Artists.

United Artists Television had never been very successful in the small screen, having placed only two series in prime time, The Troubleshooters on NBC and The Dennis O'Keefe Show on CBS, both of the 1959-1960 season. This negative pattern continued after the merger. Ziv-United Artists produced a dozen of TV pilots during the first year of operation, but failed to sell any of them, although Aubrey Schenck's Miami Undercover lasted only one season in 1961.

In 1962, the studio phased out Ziv Television Programs and reverted its name to United Artists Television. In that same year, ABC premiered a successful prime time television film show called The ABC Sunday Night Movie in competition to NBC's successful motion picture program Saturday Night at the Movies. The first season featured releases of many United Artists' films with some episodes containing featurettes promoting the upcoming UA's cinema releases.

United Artists Television had several shows such as Stoney Burke (1962), The Patty Duke Show (1963), The Outer Limits (1963), The Fugitive (1963), Hollywood and the Stars (1963), The Hollywood Palace (1964), and Gilligan's Island (1964).

After The Mothers-in-Law was cancelled on NBC in 1969, the studio decided to focus presenting their movie library on television and rerunning their classics after years of still being unsuccessful in TV production.

In 1981, MGM merged with UA to create MGM/UA Entertainment Co. As a result, their respective television units combined as well, becoming MGM/UA Entertainment Co. Television or just simply MGM/UA Television in 1982. The United Artists Television name was eventually phased out around 1983 in favor of the MGM/UA Television banner, although United Artists Television continued itself producing television shows until 1995.

Return to television

In September 2014, MGM acquired a 55% controlling interest in One Three Media and Lightworkers Media, both operated by husband/wife Hollywood producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. The two companies were consolidated into a new film and television company, United Artists Media Group. Burnett is United Artists' CEO and Downey is president of Lightworkers Media.[5] Hearst Entertainment, an investor in Burnett and Downey's entertainment assets, has also acquired a minority stake in United Artists through this deal.[6] Through this acquisition, United Artists now holds the production rights to Burnett's reality show franchises The Voice, Survivor, The Apprentice, Shark Tank and Lucha Underground.[7]

Shows

United Artists Television

Title Years Network Notes
World of Giants 1959 Syndication Produced by Ziv Television Programs.
Tales of the Vikings 1959-1960
The Troubleshooters 1959–1960 NBC
The Dennis O'Keefe Show 1959–1960 CBS
Men into Space 1959–1960 CBS Produced by Ziv Television Programs.
The Aquanauts 1960-1961 CBS Produced by Ziv Television Programs.
Miami Undercover 1961 Syndication Produced by Ziv Television Programs.
The Outer Limits 1963–1965 ABC
The Fugitive 1963–1967 ABC Overall rights to this show now is owned by CBS Television Distribution, due to the buyout of its original syndicator and owner, Worldvision.
The Patty Duke Show 1963–1966 ABC
East Side/West Side 1963–1964 CBS
The New Phil Silvers Show 1963–1964 CBS
Hollywood and the Stars 1963 NBC
Lawbreakers 1964
Gilligan's Island 1964–1967 CBS United Artists Television's stake in this show now is owned by Turner Entertainment Co. and distributed by Warner Bros. Television.
My Mother the Car 1965–1966 NBC
Mona McCluskey 1965–1966 NBC
O.K. Crackerby! 1965–1966 ABC
The Milton Berle Show 1966–1967 ABC
The Rat Patrol 1966–1968 ABC
Hey, Landlord 1966–1967 NBC
It's About Time 1966-1967 CBS
The Mothers-In-Law 1967–1969 NBC
The Pink Panther Show 1969–1979 NBC/ABC

United Artists Media Group

Title Years Network Notes
Survivor 2000–present CBS
The Apprentice 2004–present NBC
Shark Tank 2009–present ABC co-production with Sony Pictures Television
The Voice 2011–present NBC co-production with Warner Horizon Television
On the Menu 2014–present TNT
Lucha Underground 2014–present El Rey Network

Television specials

References

  1. ↑ "UA-TV Names Banker Expert". Billboard. December 16, 1957. p. 6. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008), p. 255.
  3. ↑ WB retained a pair of features from 1949 that they merely distributed, and all short subjects released on or after September 1, 1948; in addition to all cartoons released on or after August 1, 1948.
  4. ↑ 1957 MOVIES FROM AAP Warner Bros Features & Cartoons SALES BOOK DIRECTED AT TV
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Bond, Paul (September 22, 2014). "MGM Acquires Majority Stake in Mark Burnett's Companies". The Hollywood Reporter.
  7. ↑
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