Taft Broadcasting

Taft Broadcasting Company

Company type	Private (formerly)
Industry	Media conglomerate
Founded	1879
Founder	Charles Phelps Taft
Defunct	1993 (renamed Citicasters)
Fate	Renamed Great American Broadcasting in 1987; later became Citicasters; assets acquired by Clear Channel Communications
Headquarters	Cincinnati, Ohio , United States
Area served	United States, Australia, Canada
Key people	Hulbert Taft Sr., Hulbert Taft Jr., Dudley S. Taft, Carl Lindner Jr.
Products	Television and radio stations, animation studios (Hanna-Barbera, Ruby-Spears), theme parks (Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Carowinds), film production and distribution

Taft Broadcasting Company—also recognized as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated—was a major American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Originating from the lineage of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States, the company’s roots extend back to 1879. That year, William Howard's brother, Charles Phelps Taft, purchased two Cincinnati newspapers and merged them in 1880 to form the Cincinnati Times-Star. Under the leadership of publisher Hulbert Taft Sr., the newspaper expanded into broadcasting, establishing the groundwork for future media enterprises.

Taft Broadcasting's portfolio included notable entities such as Hanna-Barbera Productions, Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd./Taft-Hardie Group Pty. Ltd., Worldvision Enterprises, Ruby-Spears Productions, and KECO Entertainment. The company also operated numerous television and radio outlets and owned a 50% interest in CIC-Taft Home Video, CIC Video’s Australian division.

Starting in 1987, after investor Carl Lindner, Jr. acquired the firm, Taft underwent significant restructuring and rebranded as Great American Broadcasting. Following a bankruptcy filing in 1993, it was renamed Citicasters, which Clear Channel Communications purchased in 1999 (Clear Channel later rebranded as iHeartMedia in 2014). Taft persisted as a holding entity within iHeartMedia until 2020.

1939–1959

The Taft family's entry into broadcasting commenced in 1939 with the formation of Radio Cincinnati, Inc., when the Cincinnati Times-Star acquired WKRC radio from CBS.

In April 1949, Taft inaugurated its inaugural television station, WKRC-TV in Cincinnati. By 1951, Radio Cincinnati extended beyond Ohio by purchasing a 20% share of WBIR-AM-FM in Knoxville, Tennessee, which increased to 30% by 1953.

The year 1953 saw Radio Cincinnati acquire WTVN-TV (currently WSYX) in Columbus, Ohio, furthering its regional presence. Additionally, it purchased WHKC radio in Columbus during 1954 and rebranded it as WTVN.

August 1956 marked the launch of WBIR-TV in Knoxville within the existing ownership framework. In 1957, Radio Cincinnati expanded into Alabama by acquiring WBRC-AM-FM-TV in Birmingham from Storer Broadcasting.

Continuing regional growth occurred in 1958 with the acquisition of WKXP-TV in Lexington, Kentucky, which was subsequently renamed WKYT-TV. That same year witnessed the merger of the Cincinnati Times-Star into the Cincinnati Post, published by E.W. Scripps Company.

By 1959, Taft had secured full ownership of WBIR-AM-FM-TV in Knoxville and consolidated its broadcasting subsidiaries under the Taft Broadcasting Company banner. This consolidation unified WBRC, WTVN, Radio Cincinnati, and Radio Columbus subsidiaries by mid-1959, with WBIR integrated by early 1960.

1960–1979

In 1960, Taft introduced WTVN-FM in Columbus (now operating as WLVQ). The following year saw the sale of WBIR stations in Knoxville to Multimedia Inc. Under president Hulbert Taft Jr., the company aligned all its stations with ABC by 1961 after encouragement from ABC founder Leonard Goldenson.

Taft broadened its broadcast holdings in 1963 by acquiring stations from Transcontinent Television Corporation located in Kansas City, Buffalo, and Scranton. In October 1966, Taft strategically purchased Hanna-Barbera cartoon studio to enhance its content production capabilities. Soon after this acquisition, WKYT-TV was sold to Kentucky Central Life Insurance Company.

Following Hulbert Taft Jr.’s unexpected death in 1967, Dudley S. Taft joined the board and later assumed leadership responsibilities. In 1969, Taft acquired WIBF-TV in Philadelphia and rebranded it as WTAF-TV. Initially permitted to retain both WTAF-TV and WNEP-TV stations, regulatory changes compelled the sale of WNEP-TV by 1973.

To diversify programming production efforts, Taft established The Sy Fischer Company in 1973 and launched Rhodes Productions in 1970 as a syndication division for Hanna-Barbera and other shows.

Taft entered the theme park sector with Kings Island near Cincinnati in 1972 and expanded with Kings Dominion near Richmond in 1975. That same year it also acquired Carowinds located in Charlotte. Concurrently, WBRC radio stations were sold while international growth continued through John Pearson International supporting Rhodes Productions.

In 1974, Taft purchased Pittsburgh radio stations KQV and WDVE from ABC Radio. During this decade Rhodes Productions was renamed Taft, H-B Program Sales and created Taft, H-B International for overseas distribution.

By 1979, Taft successfully acquired WDCA-TV in Washington, D.C., navigating FCC regulatory challenges. The company further expanded its content library through acquisitions of independent distributor Worldvision Enterprises (previously part of ABC) and production company QM Productions.

This era represented substantial expansion for Taft Broadcasting via strategic acquisitions across broadcasting operations, content creation, and entertainment ventures—consolidating market position and broadening revenue sources.

1980–1987

In 1980, Taft expanded its holdings by purchasing Sunn Classic Pictures along with two divisions of Schick, subsequently reorganizing Sunn Classic as Taft International Pictures. The following year, two company executives established Jensen Farley Pictures to take over the distribution assets; however, the original name Sunn Classic Pictures was restored in 1982.

Taft broadened its entertainment assets in 1981 by acquiring Ruby-Spears Productions from Filmways and dividing its operations into two branches: the Taft Entertainment Company, which encompassed Hanna-Barbera, Ruby-Spears, Worldvision, theme parks, Taft International Pictures, and Taft Entertainment Television under Sy Fischer’s leadership; and the Taft Television & Radio Co, Inc.. That same year, Taft collaborated with The Great-West Life Assurance Company to launch Canada's Wonderland near Toronto and also purchased television producer Titus Productions.

In 1982, Taft divested KQV in Pittsburgh to local management operating as Calvary, Inc. The next year saw a station exchange where WGR-TV in Buffalo was traded for WCIX in Miami. In 1984, Taft Entertainment underwent restructuring to focus on theatrical productions such as On Wings with Eagles and formed a partnership with Keith Barish to create a joint venture that included a global distribution agreement through 20th Century Fox. The former QM Productions was rebranded as Taft Entertainment Television and premiered with The Lucie Arnaz Show.

By 1986, Taft/Barish Productions had secured a $200 million contract with Tri-Star Pictures for distributing ten films domestically over several years, averaging four to six releases annually.

In 1985, Taft acquired Gulf Broadcasting’s station group—which included KTXA (Fort Worth), KTXH (Houston), WTSP (St. Petersburg), KTSP-TV (Phoenix), KESQ-TV (Palm Springs), and WGHP (High Point)—while divesting multiple radio stations to CBS to adhere to FCC ownership regulations. Subsequently, KESQ-TV was spun off to a former Gulf executive.

October 1986 witnessed WTAF-TV (Philadelphia) and WCIX (Miami) becoming founding affiliates of the Fox Broadcasting Company. Shortly thereafter, Taft announced plans to sell these stations along with three independent outlets (WDCA-TV, KTXA, KTXH) to TVX Broadcast Group; the deal finalized in April 1987. Simultaneously, Taft sold Buffalo’s WGR radio and WRLT-FM to Rich Communications.

By 1987, seeking to grow its network-affiliated television holdings, Taft placed its entertainment division—estimated at approximately $300 million—on the market after a record-breaking production year delivering over 330 animated and 60 live-action half-hour programs across networks and syndication.

In April 1987, TFBA Limited Partnership, including investor Robert M. Bass, took Taft Broadcasting private through a $1.43 billion acquisition.

Successor companies

In 1987, Cincinnati entrepreneur Carl Lindner, Jr. gained majority control of Taft Broadcasting via a hostile takeover and rebranded it as Great American Broadcasting (also known as Great American Communications), named after his insurance firm Great American Insurance. Due to FCC ownership restrictions, Great American divested WTVN-TV to Anchor Media, led by former Taft board members. Concurrently, a new entity formed by ex-Taft president Dudley S. Taft Sr. retained the Taft Broadcasting name along with assets including WGHP and later acquired Philadelphia’s WPHL-TV.

In 1988, Great American sold Worldvision to Aaron Spelling Productions, transferring most programming rights except for the Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears libraries which remained temporarily under Great American’s control. Worldvision maintained syndication rights until the animation studios were eventually sold.

By 1991, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Hanna-Barbera along with much of Ruby-Spears; Turner later became part of Time Warner. Syndication rights transitioned to Turner Program Services and ultimately Warner Bros. Television Distribution. Ruby-Spears was spun off into an independent studio managed by its original founders.

In 1992, Great American divested its theme park division KECO Entertainment to Paramount Communications (later Viacom), which rebranded it as Paramount Parks; these properties were subsequently sold to Cedar Fair in 2006. Additionally, Great American reacquired WGHP from Dudley Taft.

Confronted with financial challenges, Great American filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1993 and adopted the name Citicasters Communications. It sold WKRC radio to Jacor Communications and discontinued the Electra teletext service.

In 1994, Citicasters disposed of most of its television stations—including WDAF-TV and KSAZ-TV—to New World Communications and WBRC and WGHP to Fox Television Stations under News Corporation. Citicasters also arranged CBS affiliations for WTSP and WKRC-TV amid broader network realignments within markets.

By 1996, Citicasters controlled two TV stations alongside several radio outlets before merging with Jacor Communications; post-merger Jacor became a subsidiary of Citicasters. Following this consolidation, Jacor exchanged WTSP for radio stations owned by Gannett in major markets. Regulatory compliance required Jacor to divest multiple radio properties to American Radio Systems and Entercom in 1997.

The Worldvision assets originally held by Taft and Great American were consolidated into Republic Pictures (now part of CBS Studios) by 1997.

In 1999, Clear Channel Communications (currently iHeartMedia) acquired both Citicasters and Jacor. Citicasters continued as a holding company within Clear Channel until its subsidiaries were dissolved during iHeartMedia’s corporate restructuring in 2020.

Former stations

• Stations are organized alphabetically by state and city of license.
• Stations that were established and initiated by Taft are marked with two bold asterisks (**).

External links

• WTVN-TV Historical Overview hosted by the Early Television Foundation

Media market	State/District	Station	Acquisition Year	Divestiture Year	Remarks
Birmingham	Alabama	WBRC	1957	1972
		WBRC-FM	1957	1972
		WBRC-TV	1957	1994
Phoenix	Arizona	KTSP-TV	1985	1994
Washington, D.C.	District of Columbia	WDCA-TV	1979	1987
Miami–Fort Lauderdale	Florida	WCIX	1983	1987
St. Petersburg–Tampa		WTSP	1985	1994
Lexington	Kentucky	WKYT-TV	1958	1967
Kansas City	Missouri	WDAF	1964	1987
		WDAF-FM	1964	1987
		WDAF-TV	1964	1994
Buffalo	New York	WGR	1964	1987
		WGR-FM	1964	1987
		WGR-TV	1964	1983
High Point–Greensboro–Winston-Salem	North Carolina	WGHP	1985	1994
Cincinnati	Ohio	WKRC	1939	1987
		WKRC-FM **	1947	1987
		WKRC-TV **	1949	1995
Columbus		WTVN	1954	1987
		WTVN-FM **	1960	1987
		WTVN-TV	1953	1987
Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	KQV	1974	1982
		WDVE	1974	1987
Philadelphia		WTAF-TV	1969	1987
		WPHL-TV	1987	1992
Pennsylvania		WNEP-TV	1964	1973