Turner Entertainment Co.

Turner Entertainment Co.

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Multimedia
Founded	August 4, 1986 (1986-08-04) in United States
Founder	Ted Turner
Fate	Became part of Time Warner on October 10, 1996
Successor	Warner Bros. (parent company)
Headquarters	United States
Area served	Global
Key people	Roger Mayer (former president)
Products	Film and television content distribution, animation production
Owner	Warner Bros. (Time Warner)
Parent	Warner Bros.

Turner Entertainment Co. is a U.S.-based multimedia corporation established by Ted Turner on August 4, 1986. It became part of Time Warner on October 10, 1996, following the acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS). Initially, Turner Entertainment oversaw the global distribution of the TBS content library. Presently, it primarily acts as a copyright holder and exists as a nominal subsidiary of Warner Bros., which manages its extensive library.

History

On March 25, 1986, Ted Turner and Turner Broadcasting System acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for $1.5 billion, subsequently renaming it MGM Entertainment Company, Inc.. Due to financial pressures, Turner sold the MGM brand, United Artists (UA), and the Culver City studio back to Kirk Kerkorian for approximately $300 million in August 1986. Nevertheless, Turner maintained ownership of the studio’s film, television, and animation libraries, including a portion of the UA catalog, leading to the formation of Turner Entertainment Company. Under the leadership of former MGM executive Roger Mayer, the company concentrated on producing feature films and television programming.

Turner’s holdings encompassed most Warner Bros. films produced before 1950 (featuring early Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies), the Popeye cartoons from Fleischer Studios, distribution rights for RKO Radio Pictures in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and Australia (excluding Disney and Samuel Goldwyn titles), as well as significant portions of the Gilligan's Island franchise. To maximize asset value, Turner emphasized colorizing classic black-and-white movies rather than investing in sequels.

In December 1987, Turner secured global licensing for 800 RKO films and collaborated with American Film Technologies to colorize select MGM titles. The creation of TNT in 1988 and later Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in 1994 capitalized on this vast collection to supply programming for cable networks, playing a key role in film restoration and preservation efforts.

Following an unsuccessful bid to reacquire MGM/UA in 1989, Turner launched Turner Pictures and its international division, Turner Pictures Worldwide. In 1991, it bought Hanna-Barbera Productions along with most pre-1991 Ruby-Spears content for $320 million. This acquisition supported the introduction of Cartoon Network in 1992 and subsequently Boomerang, which became primary outlets for its animation portfolio.

Further expansion occurred with the acquisitions of Castle Rock Entertainment and New Line Cinema in 1993 for over $650 million, enhancing Turner’s footprint in Hollywood production and distribution sectors.

Initially managing its library distribution independently, Turner Entertainment was incorporated into Time Warner’s Warner Bros. following their merger in 1996. Today, Turner Entertainment mainly serves as a copyright holder within Warner Bros., while subsidiaries such as Hanna-Barbera retain copyrights for famous franchises like The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, and Yogi Bear. Warner Bros. oversees sales and merchandising activities.

Divisions

Turner Entertainment developed original productions including documentaries centered on its film archives, new animated projects inspired by Tom & Jerry and affiliated cartoons, along with made-for-television movies, miniseries, and theatrical releases under the Turner Pictures label. Prominent titles include Gettysburg, Tom and Jerry: The Movie, Fallen, The Pagemaster, and Cats Don't Dance. In 1995, Turner Pictures initiated a film production slate alongside an international distribution division called Turner Pictures Worldwide Distribution, Inc.. Following the merger with Time Warner, Turner Pictures was absorbed into Warner Bros., which currently holds distribution rights for these works. Certain projects such as City of Angels and You've Got Mail were also transferred to Warner Bros.

Turner Feature Animation

Turner Feature Animation served as the animation branch of Turner, established by founders David Kirschner and Paul Gertz. This division was responsible for producing animated motion pictures including The Pagemaster and Cats Don't Dance. It originated from the feature animation segment of Hanna-Barbera and was ultimately merged into Warner Bros. Feature Animation, integrating Turner’s animation holdings into Warner Bros.

Home video

At the outset, much of Turner's catalog was distributed on home video through Turner Home Entertainment (THE). Nevertheless, titles from the MGM and Warner Bros. libraries owned by Turner were distributed by MGM/UA Home Video until 1999. THE oversaw home video releases for the RKO library and independently managed Hanna-Barbera cartoon distributions. Additionally, THE handled distribution for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) pay-per-view events and related content until WCW ceased operations in 2001; that year, WWE acquired the WCW assets.

In 1987, THE made a groundbreaking arrangement with the Soviet Union’s Video Institute to distribute selected MGM titles in Russian rental videocassette outlets. Between 1995 and 1997, THE managed home video distribution for New Line Home Video before New Line merged with Warner Bros. in 2008. For a brief period, PBS programs were distributed by THE prior to transferring to PBS Distribution.

From 1995 to 1997, THE maintained a distribution partnership with Columbia TriStar Home Video in Europe. Following the Time Warner merger, THE was incorporated into Warner Home Video in December 1996 but continued to exist nominally as a brand. Presently, Turner Classic Movies issues special edition DVD box sets featuring titles from both Turner and Warner catalogs under the TCM brand.

Library

Turner Entertainment's collection comprises significant assets including:

• The catalog of Brut Productions
• The film, television, and cartoon libraries of MGM’s predecessors dating back to post-1915 entities (Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures) along with MGM’s holdings released before May 23, 1986—excluding certain titles such as Babes in Toyland and Electric Dreams—with some rights managed via Orion Pictures.
• Selected holdings from United Artists, which include:
  • Distribution rights for the US and Canada to the RKO Radio Pictures library, omitting third-party-owned or public domain works
  • The majority of the Gilligan's Island franchise, co-owned alongside the estate of Phil Silvers
  • The former catalog of Associated Artists Productions, encompassing:
    • Warner Bros. films released prior to January 1, 1950, excluding those in the public domain or owned by third parties
      • Distribution rights for pre-August 1948 Warner Bros. Cartoons (including color cartoons and Bugs Bunny: Superstar)
        • Rights to most Merrie Melodies cartoons produced by Harman and Ising, except for Lady, Play Your Mandolin!
    • The Popeye cartoons originally distributed by Paramount Pictures from Fleischer Studios/Famous Studios (1933–1957)
• The complete library of Hanna-Barbera Productions, excluding licensed properties
  • The pre-1991 collection from Ruby-Spears Enterprises, excluding certain titles owned by other entities such as Rambo: The Force of Freedom (StudioCanal), It's Punky Brewster (Universal Television), and Piggsburg Pigs! (Disney via ABC Family Worldwide)