Spelling Television
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| Public | |
| Traded as | : SP |
| Fate | Still operates but as an in-name-only unit of CBS Television Studios. |
| Predecessor |
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| Successor | CBS Corporation |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Defunct | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
Key people
|
Aaron Spelling (founder) |
| Products | Television Production |
| Owner |
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| Parent |
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| Subsidiaries |
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Spelling Television Inc. was a television production company that went through several name changes. It was originally called Aaron Spelling Productions, then Spelling Entertainment Inc. and eventually part of Spelling Entertainment Group. The company produced popular shows such as The Love Boat, Dynasty, Beverly Hills, 90210, 7th Heaven, Melrose Place and Charmed. The company was founded by television producer Aaron Spelling in 1969. The company is currently an in-name-only unit of CBS Television Studios. A related company Spelling-Goldberg Productions co-existed during a portion of the same time period and produced other well-known shows such as Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch, and Fantasy Island but these series are not part of the modern day library now owned by CBS.
In the late 1970s/early 1980s in television, Spelling was king. In 1984, Spelling had seven shows on the ABC television network, accounting for one-third their prime time schedule. This outweighed other production companies by a large margin, leading many industry insiders to dub ABC as "Aaron's Broadcasting Company". Spelling himself was never amused with this name.
Aaron Spelling Productions went public in 1986 after raising $80 million. In 1988, Aaron Spelling Productions acquired Laurel Entertainment and most of the Taft Entertainment Company, including Worldvision Enterprises, Inc. All three companies became part of Spelling Entertainment Inc. - though Worldvision was the only Taft division to continue operating. The sale was completed on March 1, 1989.
In the early 1990s Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place helped propel Fox even higher and reach a new generation of young teen viewers. Also in the 1990s the WB was launched and their longest running, highest rated and most successful show during their time in operation was 7th Heaven for ten seasons. By 2006, another new network, the CW, used 7th Heaven in their first season in operation as the newest network. Spelling's ABC, Fox, and WB shows were enormously successful for the company and they wasted no time entering into the world of merchandise in the 80's and 90's. The company also was one of the first production companies to actively run a website for a show they produced when the internet was just taking off in the 1990s. The website was for Melrose Place.
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