Warner Bros. Television Studios
American television production and distribution studio founded in 1955.
Warner Bros. Television Studios, commonly called Warner Bros. Television (WBTV), is an American production and distribution company. It serves as the main studio for the Warner Bros. Television Group, part of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which is itself a core studio of Warner Bros. Discovery. Founded on March 21, 1955, it produces television for DC Studios and The CW, and distributes content for HBO, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim. By 2015, it ranked among the world’s two largest TV production companies by revenue and library size, alongside Sony Pictures Television.
Quick Facts
- Founded
- 21 March 1955
- Founder
- William T. Orr
- Headquarters
- 4000 Warner Boulevard
- Country
- United States
- Brands
- DC
- Friends
- The Big Bang Theory
- Game of Thrones
- Looney Tunes
- Hanna-Barbera
- Cartoon Network Studios
- Rick and Morty
- Industry
- Television
- Products
- Television programs
- Services
- Television production; Television distribution
Facts from the source article.
History
After World War II, television’s growing popularity pushed Hollywood studios to adapt. Columbia Pictures led the way in 1947, with Paramount and Disney soon following. Warner Bros. had considered entering TV as early as 1949, pushed by the other Warners, but Jack L. Warner refused, rejecting proposals because he did not want to embrace the new medium. Eventually, the studio’s leadership gave in, and on March 21, 1955, its television division launched under William T. Orr, Jack’s son-in-law. ABC had first approached Warner Bros. about buying its film library; in 1956, the studio sold the rights to its pre-1950 films and pre-1948 cartoons and shorts to Associated Artists Productions. Warner Bros. officially began producing television with the anthology series Warner Bros. Presents on ABC. The weekly hour-long show rotated episodes based on the films Casablanca and Kings Row, plus an original series, Cheyenne, starring Clint Walker. As the first one-hour TV western, Cheyenne became a major success, and each episode ended with a ten-minute segment promoting upcoming Warner Bros. movies. One such segment for Rebel Without a Cause had Gig Young talking about road safety with James Dean. Since only Cheyenne performed well, Warner Bros. dropped the film promotions and replaced Warner Bros. Presents with another anthology, Conflict, which aired the pilots for Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip.
Divisions
Warner Bros. Television Studios owns and operates several production companies in the United States. Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, founded in April 2006, is the alternative television, cable, and streaming production unit; it originally covered both scripted and unscripted productions. Notable series from Warner Horizon units include The Bachelor franchise, The Voice, Pretty Little Liars, Fuller House, and You. On August 10, 2020, the Warner Horizon label was split into two standalone companies: Warner Horizon Scripted Television, which combined operations with Warner Bros. Television and focuses on scripted programs for cable and streaming; and Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, folded into Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television, focusing on reality and alternative programming. Alloy Entertainment is a book packaging and production company under the studio, producing series such as Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, and The 100. Blue Ribbon Content, formed in 2014, is the digital series production unit, named after the Blue Ribbon reissues of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes shorts; its live-action productions include Critters: A New Binge and The Banana Splits Movie, and it also produces the animated series Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons.
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, the TV syndication arm of the Warner Bros. Television Group, began in 1961 as the Warner Bros. Television Division. It adopted its current name in 1989 after acquiring Lorimar-Telepictures. In 1999, the company secured the off-network syndication rights to the sitcom Will & Grace from NBC Enterprises.
International operations
Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia started out in 2004 as Eyeworks Australia, a name it kept until 2014. Under that original banner, it made shows like Celebrity Splash and Being Lara Bingle. After the rebrand, it took over The Bachelor Australia from season four, The Bachelorette Australia from season two, and added The Masked Singer Australia to its lineup. Across the Tasman, Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand handles hits such as RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, The Bachelor NZ, and The Block NZ. The Spanish arm came through the 2014 Eyeworks purchase and was renamed Warner Bros. International Television Production España in late 2015. Its credits include Juego de juegos, First Dates, and Pesadilla en la cocina. In the UK, Warner Bros. Television Studios UK grew out of Shed Productions, which was founded in 1998, bought by Time Warner in 2010, and rebranded five years later.
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