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116-424: Catchy Comedy , formerly known as Decades , is an American digital broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting . The network, which is mainly carried on the digital subchannels of television stations , primarily airs classic television sitcoms from the 1950s through the early 1990s. Established in 2015, the network was previously called Decades. Through its ownership by Weigel, Catchy Comedy
232-528: A "very important" role in their lives, a proportion unusual among developed countries . However, similar to the other nations of the Americas. Many faiths have flourished in the United States, including both later imports spanning the country's multicultural immigrant heritage, as well as those founded within the country; these have led the United States to become the most religiously diverse country in
348-999: A Millionaire? , acquired from the original production company Celador, and You Are What You Eat for £114.3 million ($ 223.2 million in US dollars). In 2011, the Sony Pictures computer network was breached and approximately one million user accounts associated with the SonyPictures.com website were leaked. On November 18, 2012, Sony Pictures announced it has passed $ 4 billion with the success of releases: Skyfall , The Amazing Spider-Man , 21 Jump Street , Men in Black 3 , Hotel Transylvania , Underworld: Awakening , The Vow , and Resident Evil: Retribution . On November 21, 2013, SPE and Sony Entertainment's CEO Michael Lynton announced that SPE will shift emphasis from movies to television by cutting its 2014 film slate. It
464-579: A continuous presence in what is now the continental United States in 1565. Martín de Argüelles , born in 1566 in San Agustín, La Florida then a part of New Spain , was the first person of European descent born in what is now the continental United States. Virginia Dare , born in 1587 in Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina , was the first child born in the original Thirteen Colonies to English parents. The Spaniards also established
580-414: A continuous presence in what over three centuries later would become a possession of the United States with the founding of the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico , in 1521. In the 2020 United States census, English Americans 46.5 million (19.8%), German Americans 45m (19.1%), Irish Americans 38.6m (16.4%), and Italian Americans 16.8m (7.1%) were the four largest self-reported European ancestry groups in
696-450: A deal with WarnerMedia Europe to stream its theatrical films on HBO Max for Central and Eastern Europe countries. On November 28, 2022, it was announced that Legendary Entertainment reached a distribution deal with Sony to distribute its future slate of films. However, this deal does not include the Dune and MonsterVerse films as they will remain at Warner Bros. The deal came after
812-498: A joint buyout with Apollo Global Management . Sony and Apollo submitted a $ 26 billion all-cash offer to acquire Paramount Global on May 2, 2024. A special committee of Paramount’s board of directors met on May 5, 2024, and signed off on beginning deal talks with Sony and Apollo. Later, announced in July of the same year, Paramount will merge with Skydance Media . On June 12, 2024, Sony Pictures acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema for
928-412: A major change was made to the programming lineup, with the daily programming block reduced to two airings daily (one from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, the other in overnight) as the 2:00 p.m. to midnight (ET) time period was converted to a "daily binge" with a different show airing each day. During the month of November, a different "cop show" was aired each weekday. A further shift in direction from
1044-525: A merger plan, the two television businesses, comprising Columbia/Embassy Television and Tri-Star Television , merged altogether to form a new incarnation of the original Columbia Pictures Television . The merger enabled three top Tri-Star executives, namely Arnold Messner, who ran Tri-Star Telecommunications , Victor A. Kaufman, who ran the main Tri-Star Pictures studio, and Scott Siegler , who ran Tri-Star Television to stay on, while four of
1160-614: A particular series, which is usually sourced from either the CBS Television Distribution library of shows or a show Weigel Broadcasting has a contract to carry (such as one of the shows it broadcasts on MeTV). Airings of The Dick Cavett Show were added to the schedule February 1, 2016, within the daily themed block, as appropriate. Episodes from Cavett's late-night ABC talk show from 1969 to 1974 as well as his later interview series on PBS , USA , and CNBC were all made available for airing. On November 1, 2016,
1276-681: A reaction to the prevailing European consensus that America's domestic originality was degenerate . Prevalent ideas and ideals that evolved domestically, such as national holidays , uniquely American sports , military tradition, and innovations in the arts and entertainment give a strong sense of national pride among the population as a whole. American culture includes both conservative and liberal elements, scientific and religious competitiveness, political structures, risk taking and free expression, materialist and moral elements. Despite certain consistent ideological principles (e.g. individualism , egalitarianism , faith in freedom and democracy ),
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#17327802032091392-545: A region that was settled historically by the British. Overall, as the largest group, European Americans have the lowest poverty rate and the second highest educational attainment levels, median household income , and median personal income of any racial demographic in the nation, second only to Asian Americans in the latter three categories. According to the American Jewish Archives and
1508-557: A result of absorbing Paramount's syndication unit in 2006 through its split from Viacom into a separate company (CBS and Viacom re-merged to form ViacomCBS in 2019) – along with series from Desilu Productions , Bing Crosby Productions , Don Fedderson Productions , QM Productions , Spelling Television and Republic Pictures Television . Decades also carries series and movies from NBCUniversal , Warner Bros. , Disney ( 20th Century Studios ), Sony Pictures , Paramount Pictures , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Lionsgate , Sonar Entertainment ,
1624-449: A show that begins at 8 PM Eastern Time , begins at 5 PM Pacific Time . On March 27, 2023, Decades re-branded as Catchy Comedy, focusing on primarily classic sitcoms and sketch comedy variety shows weekdays with comedy marathons on weekends. Decades relied primarily on programming from the extensive content library owned by CBS Television Distribution, which includes the pre-2006 Paramount Television library – which CBS had acquired as
1740-443: A sum which are yet-to-be disclosed. This marked the first time in more than 75 years that a major Hollywood studio would own a theater chain, as the 1948 federal ruling from United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. prevented them from owning exhibition companies until 2020. Alamo Drafthouse will continue to operate their film festival Fantastic Fest , which is included in the acquisition. In September 2024, Sony Group announced
1856-552: A total of 1,834,212 self-identifying individuals. Barack Obama , 44th President of the United States who is biracial- his mother is white (of English and Irish descent) and his father is of Kenyan birth- only self-identifies as being African American. According to the 2020 United States census, 8.4% or 27,915,715 Americans chose to self-identify with the "some other race" category, the third most popular option. Also, 42.2% or 26,225,882 Hispanic/Latino Americans chose to identify as some other race as these Hispanic/Latinos may feel
1972-399: Is a sister network to MeTV , and is carried in 480i widescreen. Since fall 2019, the network is carried on Fox-owned stations in 12 markets as part of a multi-year agreement with Fox Television Stations , after switching from CBS-owned stations . On October 21, 2014, CBS Corporation and Weigel Broadcasting announced the launch of the network, then known as Decades, with plans to debut
2088-442: Is also an option in the census and other surveys. The United States Census Bureau also classifies Americans as "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino", which identifies Hispanic and Latino Americans as a racially diverse ethnicity that comprises the largest minority group in the nation. People of European descent, or White Americans (also referred to as European Americans and Caucasian Americans), constitute
2204-513: Is indigenous to the Americas , originally migrated to the two continents between 10,000 and 45,000 years ago. These Paleoamericans spread throughout the two continents and evolved into hundreds of distinct cultures during the pre-Columbian era . Following the first voyage of Christopher Columbus , the European colonization of the Americas began, with St. Augustine , Florida becoming
2320-453: Is now United States territory since the founding of San Juan, Puerto Rico (the oldest continuously inhabited settlement on American soil) in 1521 by Juan Ponce de León , and the founding of St. Augustine, Florida (the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the continental United States) in 1565 by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés . In the State of Texas , Spaniards first settled the region in
2436-554: Is now the United States since before the Revolutionary War , relatively large waves of Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese immigration did not begin until the mid-to-late 19th century. Immigration and significant population growth continue to this day. Due to a number of factors, Asian Americans have been stereotyped as " perpetual foreigners ". As defined by the United States Census Bureau and
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#17327802032092552-622: Is operated as a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc. , which is itself a subsidiary of the Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony Group Corporation . Based at the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California as one of the "Big Five" major American film studios , it encompasses Sony's motion picture , television production and distribution units. All of SPE's divisions are members of
2668-598: Is the Asian American population, comprising 19,618,719 people in 2020, or 5.9% of the United States population. California is home to 5.6 million Asian Americans, the greatest number in any state. In Hawaii, Asian Americans make up the highest proportion of the population (57 percent). Asian Americans live across the country, yet are heavily urbanized, with significant populations in the Greater Los Angeles Area , New York metropolitan area , and
2784-455: Is the main character (such as Homecoming and its sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home ), while Disney would distribute MCU films where Spider-Man appears without being the main character. On January 22, 2014, SPE folded its technology unit into the various cores of its businesses. In April, Sony Pictures arranged a film financing deal worth $ 200 million with LStar Capital , the credit venture of Lone Star Capital and Citibank , half in debt and
2900-765: The Arab American Institute (AAI), Arab Americans have family origins in each of the 22 member states of the Arab League . Following consultations with MENA organizations, the Census Bureau announced in 2014 that it would establish a new MENA ethnic category for populations from the Middle East , North Africa , and the Arab world , separate from the "white" classification that these populations had previously sought in 1909. The groups felt that
3016-639: The Arab American National Museum , the first Middle Easterners and North Africans (viz. Jews and Berbers ) to arrive in the Americas landed in the late 15th to mid-16th centuries. Many fled ethnic or ethnoreligious persecution during the Spanish Inquisition ; a few were taken to the Americas as slaves. In 2014, the United States Census Bureau began finalizing the ethnic classification of people of Middle Eastern and North African ("MENA") origins. According to
3132-629: The Creoles and Cajuns of Louisiana and the Hispanos of the Southwest and brought close contact with the culture of Mexico . Large-scale immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from Eastern and Southern Europe introduced a variety of elements. Immigration from Africa , Asia , and Latin America has also had impact. A cultural melting pot , or pluralistic salad bowl , describes
3248-626: The Delaware General Corporation Law . Sony also completed a tender offer for shares of common stock of the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company on November 6, 1989, and acquired the company 3 days later. The acquisition cost Sony $ 4.9 billion ($ 3.55 billion for shares and $ 1.4 billion of long-term debt) and was backed (financed) by five major Japanese banks Mitsui , Tokyo , Fuji , Mitsubishi and Industrial Bank of Japan . The company
3364-483: The District of Columbia and the five inhabited U.S. territories have a non-white majority. The state with the highest percentage of non-Hispanic White Americans is Maine , while the state with the lowest percentage is Hawaii . Europe is the largest continent that Americans trace their ancestry to, and many claim descent from various European ethnic groups . The Spaniards were the first Europeans to establish
3480-574: The Kingdom of Kongo ). The first West African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. The English settlers treated these captives as indentured servants and released them after a number of years. This practice was gradually replaced by the system of race-based slavery used in the Caribbean . All the American colonies had slavery, but it was usually the form of personal servants in
3596-742: The Motion Picture Association (MPA). Sony's film franchises include The Karate Kid , Ghostbusters , Jumanji , Men in Black , Spider-Man , and Sony's Spider Man universe . On September 1, 1987, The Coca-Cola Company announced plans to spin off Columbia Pictures , which it had owned since 1982. Under this arrangement, Coca-Cola would sell its entertainment assets (Coca-Cola's Entertainment Business Sector) to TriStar Pictures , of which it owned 39.6%. Tri-Star would be renamed Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (CPE), with Coca-Cola owning 49%, its shareholders owning 31%, and Tri-Star's shareholders owning 20%. As part of
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3712-618: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), an "American Indian or Alaska Native" is a person whose ancestry have origins in any of the original peoples of North, Central, or South America. 2.3 million individuals who are American Indian or Alaskan Native are multiracial; additionally the plurality of American Indians reside in the Western United States (40.7%). Collectively and historically this race has been known by several names ; as of 1995, 50% of those who fall within
3828-582: The Office of Management and Budget , the grouping includes individuals who self-identify as African American, as well as persons who emigrated from nations in the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. The grouping is thus based on geography, and may contradict or misrepresent an individual's self-identification since not all immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa are "Black". Among these racial outliers are persons from Cape Verde , Madagascar , various Arab states, and Hamito-Semitic populations in East Africa and
3944-535: The Peter Rodgers Organization , Shout! Factory , The Carsey-Werner Company and the public domain . In an early effort to stand out from other "retro-TV" multicast services (such as MeTV and Antenna TV ), the Monday through Friday schedule initially featured a block of programming based on a daily theme, with interstitial programs to highlight the theme. Each six-hour block of programming
4060-525: The Sahel , and the Afrikaners of Southern Africa . African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes ) are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. According to the 2020 United States census, there were 39,940,338 Black and African Americans in the United States, representing 12.1% of
4176-586: The San Francisco Bay Area . The United States census defines Asian Americans as those with origins to the countries of East Asia , South Asia , and Southeast Asia . Although Americans with roots in West Asia were once classified as "Asian", they are now excluded from the term in modern census classifications. The largest sub-groups are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from Cambodia, mainland China, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Pakistan,
4292-581: The United Kingdom . Unlike migration from other countries, United States migration is not concentrated in specific countries, possibly as a result of the roots of immigration from so many different countries to the United States. As of 2016 , there were approximately 9 million United States citizens living outside of the United States. As the result of U.S. tax and financial reporting requirements that apply to non-resident citizens, record numbers of American citizens renounced their U.S. citizenship in
4408-579: The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom , the framers of the Constitution rejected any religious test for office. The First Amendment specifically denied the federal government any power to enact any law respecting either an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, thus protecting any religious organization, institution, or denomination from government interference. European Rationalist and Protestant ideals mainly influenced
4524-570: The Western Hemisphere and beyond, including the District of Columbia, the seat of government of the United States. English is the unofficial national language . Although there is no official language at the federal level, some laws—such as U.S. naturalization requirements —standardize English. In 2007, about 226 million, or 80% of the population aged five years and older, spoke only English at home. Spanish , spoken by 12% of
4640-551: The flag of the United States – for example, typically a top hat with red and white stripes and white stars on a blue band, and red and white striped trousers. Columbia is a poetic name for the Americas and the feminine personification of the United States of America, made famous by African American poet Phillis Wheatley during the American Revolutionary War in 1776. It has inspired the names of many persons, places, objects, institutions, and companies in
4756-767: The northern states (north of the Mason–Dixon line ) had abolished slavery. However, slavery would persist in the southern states until the end of the American Civil War and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment . Following the end of the Reconstruction era , which saw the first African American representation in Congress , African Americans became disenfranchised and subject to Jim Crow laws , legislation that would persist until
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4872-597: The slavery era within the boundaries of the present United States. As an adjective, the term is usually spelled African-American . Montinaro et al. (2014) observed that around 50% of the overall ancestry of African Americans traces back to the Niger-Congo -speaking Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria and southern Benin (before the European colonization of Africa this people created the Oyo Empire ), reflecting
4988-552: The "CBS Plus" brand on their respective secondary subchannels, while independent station KTXA in Dallas - Fort Worth, Texas carried MeTV on its second subchannel). In addition, CBS Television Distribution had already maintained a content distribution agreement with Weigel Broadcasting's classic television network MeTV , which sourced much of its programming from that library. On January 13, 2015, Weigel Broadcasting confirmed that its Milwaukee CBS affiliate WDJT-TV would carry
5104-431: The 1980s air weekdays from mid-morning into early evening, and late evenings through the overnight hours featuring the "Smart Comedy" block – highlighted by classic sitcoms such as The Dick Van Dyke Show , Cheers , Taxi , The Honeymooners , and The Abbott and Costello Show . While the bulk of the lineup was primarily sitcoms, there were deviations – most notably in prime time – which featured
5220-502: The 20th century, although American Samoans are only nationals and not citizens of the United States. Despite its multi-ethnic composition, the culture of the United States held in common by most Americans can also be referred to as mainstream American culture , a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of Northern and Western European colonists, settlers, and immigrants. It also includes significant influences of African-American culture . Westward expansion integrated
5336-538: The American culture has a variety of expressions due to its geographical scale and demographic diversity. Americans have migrated to many places around the world, including Argentina , Australia , Brazil , Canada , Chile , China , Costa Rica , France , Germany , Hong Kong , India , Japan , Mexico , New Zealand , Pakistan , the Philippines , South Korea , the United Arab Emirates , and
5452-681: The Burbank Studios and acquired Lorimar Studios , previously the MGM lot, from Warner Bros. On October 31, 1989, Sony completed a friendly takeover bid for the rest of shares (51%) of CPE, which was a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: KPE), and acquired 99.3% of the common stock of the company. On November 8, 1989, Sony completed the acquisition by a "short-form" merger of its wholly owned subsidiary Sony Columbia Acquisition Corporation into CPE under
5568-639: The CBS Television Stations outlets were announced to carry Decades initially, as CW owned-and-operated stations in markets where CBS Corporation did not own the CBS affiliate (such as WTOG and KSTW ) were originally excluded from its initial list of affiliates. The standalone CW O&Os were later added as charter stations by late April 2015. In the Chicago market, where CBS Television Stations and Weigel Broadcasting each own television stations,
5684-658: The Coca-Cola Entertainment Business Sector departed, namely Barbara Corday , who ran Columbia / Embassy Television as president, Herman Rush and Peter Seale, who ran Coca-Cola Telecommunications , and Brian McGrath, who was the president of the Coca-Cola Entertainment Business Sector. In early December 1987, former Coke EBS vice president Kenneth Lemberger exited the post to join Tri-Star Pictures , displacing Roger Faxon, who had joined Columbia Pictures as senior vice president of
5800-730: The Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group) by merging Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures in 1998, revitalizing Columbia's former television division Screen Gems. This in effect re-united the MGM studio name, with the MGM main studio lot, although somewhat confusingly, the bulk of the pre-May 1986 original MGM library ended up at Time Warner via the Ted Turner - Kirk Kerkorian " Turner Entertainment Co. " transactions. The post-April 1986 MGM library consists of acquisitions of various third-party libraries, such as
5916-526: The English language, legal system and other cultural inheritances, had a formative influence. Other important influences came from other parts of Europe, especially Germany , France , and Italy . Original elements also play a strong role, such as Jeffersonian democracy . Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia was perhaps the first influential domestic cultural critique by an American and
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#17327802032096032-612: The Entertainment Sector's feature production deal with Nelson Entertainment and its investment in Castle Rock Entertainment , and TeleVentures ; a company it continues to own, which was linked to three independent companies: Tri-Star Pictures , Stephen J. Cannell Productions and Witt/Thomas Productions . Merv Griffin Enterprises continue to function as a separate operation. A new company
6148-508: The Massachusetts Bay Colony was established by English Puritans , Pennsylvania by Irish and English Quakers , Maryland by English and Irish Catholics , and Virginia by English Anglicans . Although some individual states retained established religious confessions well into the 19th century, the United States was the first nation to have no official state-endorsed religion. Modeling the provisions concerning religion within
6264-601: The Milwaukee market. WMYS-LD in South Bend, Indiana , was the other Weigel-owned station to carry the network. On January 9, 2015, Decades reached its first affiliation agreement with a station outside the core CBS Television Stations, through a deal with Media General for its ABC affiliate in Green Bay, Wisconsin , affiliate WBAY-TV (which was previously affiliated with CBS from 1953 to 1992). WBAY planned to carry
6380-711: The North (where 2% of the people were slaves), and field hands in plantations in the South (where 25% were slaves); by the beginning of the American Revolutionary War 1/5th of the total population was enslaved. During the revolution, some would serve in the Continental Army or Continental Navy , while others would serve the British Empire in the Ethiopian Regiment , and other units. By 1804,
6496-598: The OMB definition prefer the term "American Indian", 37% prefer "Native American" and the remainder have no preference or prefer a different term altogether. Among Americans today, levels of Native American ancestry (distinct from Native American identity ) differ. Based on a sample of users of the 23andMe commercial genetic test, genomes of self-reported African Americans averaged to 0.8% Native American ancestry, those of European Americans averaged to 0.18%, and those of Latinos averaged to 18.0%. Native Americans, whose ancestry
6612-482: The Office of Management and Budget, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are "persons having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii , Guam , Samoa , or other Pacific Islands ". Previously called Asian Pacific American , along with Asian Americans beginning in 1976, this was changed in 1997. As of the 2020 United States census, there are 622,018 who reside in the United States, and make up 0.2% of
6728-497: The Orion Pictures catalogue, leading to MGM's 2014 remake of RoboCop . In July 2000, a marketing executive working for Sony Corporation created a fictitious film critic, David Manning , who gave consistently good reviews for releases from Sony subsidiary Columbia Pictures that generally received poor reviews amongst real critics. Sony later pulled the ads, suspended Manning's creator and his supervisor and paid fines to
6844-640: The Pacific also have large Pacific Islander populations such as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (Chammoro), and American Samoa (Samoan). The largest concentration of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, is Honolulu County in Hawaii, and Los Angeles County in the continental United States . The United States has a growing multiracial identity movement. Multiracial Americans numbered 7.0 million in 2008, or 2.3% of
6960-521: The Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Asians overall have higher income levels than all other racial groups in the United States, including whites, and the trend appears to be increasing in relation to those groups. Additionally, Asians have a higher education attainment level than all other racial groups in the United States. For better or for worse, the group has been called a model minority . While Asian Americans have been in what
7076-444: The United States census does not describe their European and American Indian ancestry as they understand it to be. A significant portion of the Hispanic and Latino population self-identifies as Mestizo , particularly the Mexican and Central American community. Mestizo is not a racial category in the United States census, but signifies someone who has both European and American Indian ancestry. Hispanic or Latino Americans constitute
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#17327802032097192-408: The United States constituting 62.4% of the population. However, the English Americans and British Americans demography is considered a serious under-count as they tend to self-report and identify as simply " Americans " (since the introduction of a new "American" category in the 1990 census) due to the length of time they have inhabited America. This is highly over-represented in the Upland South ,
7308-466: The United States has a high adherence level compared to other developed countries and a diversity in beliefs. The First Amendment to the country's Constitution prevents the Federal government from making any "law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this as preventing the government from having any authority in religion. A majority of Americans report that religion plays
7424-474: The United States or are descended from people who were brought as slaves within the past five centuries, with the exception of the Native American population and people from Alaska , Hawaii , Puerto Rico , Guam , Texas , and formerly the Philippines , who became American through expansion of the country in the 19th century; additionally, American Samoa , the United States Virgin Islands , and Northern Mariana Islands came under American sovereignty in
7540-421: The United States. Weigel Broadcasting handled the responsibility of affiliate distribution to stations outside the core CBS O&O group. Decades was offered to stations on a barter basis, in which the network and the local affiliate shared the responsibility of selling advertising inventory and split the allocated hourly commercial time. CBS affiliates and their owners held the right of first refusal to carry
7656-510: The adult population identifies as having no religious belief or no religious affiliation. According to the American Religious Identification Survey , religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states (the " Unchurched Belt ") report a belief in God , yet in the South (the " Bible Belt ") the figure is as high as 86%. Several of the original Thirteen Colonies were established by settlers who wished to practice their religion without discrimination:
7772-615: The appointment of SPE president and COO Ravi Ahuja as CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment effective January 2, 2025, succeeding Tony Vinciquerra, who will remain chairman until the end of December 2025. In November 2014, the Sony Pictures computer network was compromised by a group of hackers named Guardians of Peace , disabling many computers. Later the same week, five of Sony Pictures' movies were leaked, including some not yet released (such as Fury and Annie ), as well as confidential data about 47,000 current and former Sony employees. Film historian Wheeler Winston Dixon suggested that
7888-469: The centrality of this West African region in the Atlantic slave trade . Zakharaia et al. (2009) found a similar proportion of Yoruba associated ancestry in their African American samples, with a minority also drawn from Mandinka populations (founders of the Mali Empire ), and Bantu populations (who had a varying level of social organization during the colonial era, while some Bantu peoples were still tribal, other Bantu peoples had founded kingdoms such as
8004-578: The classic variety program The Ed Sullivan Show , Through the Decades and The Dick Cavett Show . Also, the weekend binge marathons continued, with a single series (regardless of genre) airing for 42 hours straight on Saturdays and Sundays. The final program to air under the Decades name was The Mod Squad , which was the featured show of the March 25–26, 2023, weekend binge. At 6 a.m. Eastern Time on March 27, 2023, Decades changed its name to Catchy Comedy , focusing primarily on sitcoms (with some variety shows featuring sketch comedy thrown in), with
8120-642: The company provided administrative services related to distribution of its films in North America, while internationally, would be responsible for the direction of each studio. On September 28, 1989, Sony obtained an option to purchase all of The Coca-Cola Company 's stock (approximately 54 million shares or 49% of the outstanding shares) in CPE for $ 27 per share. The next day, Sony also announced that it reached an agreement with Guber-Peters Entertainment Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPEC; formerly Barris Industries , Inc.) to acquire CPE for $ 200 million when Sony hired Peter Guber and Jon Peters to be its co-chairmen. This
8236-415: The company's owned-and-operated stations taking over in Los Angeles and Chicago. When it began airing on Fox-owned television stations, Decades moved to KTTV in Los Angeles. In Chicago, Decades continues to be seen on Weigel-owned WMEU-CD and WCIU-TV. On April 19, 2022, Decades began airing on the Frndly TV live streaming service. Channel 36.4 was previously Heroes & Icons (H&I). (Decades
8352-706: The decade from 2010 to 2020. In 2024 a new organization was created to lobby the U.S. Congress for relief from citizenship-based taxation that is often cited as the reason for the record renunciations. Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE , and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. ) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and recorded videos) through multiple platforms. Through an intermediate holding company called Sony Film Holding Inc., it
8468-765: The decision. Still, it was also a consequence of the pragmatic concerns of minority religious groups and small states that did not want to be under the power or influence of a national religion that did not represent them. The American culture is primarily a Western culture , but is influenced by Native American, West African, Latin American, East Asian, and Polynesian cultures. The United States of America has its own unique social and cultural characteristics, such as dialect , music , arts , social habits , cuisine , and folklore . Its chief early European influences came from English , Scottish , Welsh , and Irish settlers of colonial America during British rule. British culture , due to colonial ties with Britain that spread
8584-457: The earlier "white" designation no longer accurately represents MENA identity, so they successfully lobbied for a distinct categorization. This new category would also include Israeli Americans . The Census Bureau does not currently ask about whether one is Sikh , because it views them as followers of a religion rather than members of an ethnic group, and it does not combine questions concerning religion with race or ethnicity. As of December 2015,
8700-645: The eight-story, 260,000sq ft building originally designed by architect Maxwell Starkman and known as Sony Pictures Plaza, which was originally the headquarters of MGM Studios and later Sony Pictures Studios, was sold to Runyon Group and fellow developer LBA Realty for $ 159 million. Headquartered in Culver City, California , U.S., SPE comprises various studios and entertainment brands, including Affirm Films , Columbia Pictures , Screen Gems , Sony Pictures Classics , TriStar Pictures , Crunchyroll , Game Show Network and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema . The following are other Sony Pictures divisions that are not subsidiaries of
8816-425: The events and news from a particular day or period in history, using archival footage that CBS owns via services such as CBS News and CBS Television Distribution's syndicated newsmagazine program Entertainment Tonight . As Decades, the network's Saturday and Sunday schedules featured marathon of classic television series. Beginning on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. (ET), forty-two consecutive hours are devoted to
8932-721: The federal government. In addition to the United States, Americans and people of American descent can be found internationally. As many as seven million Americans are estimated to be living abroad, and make up the American diaspora . The United States is a diverse country, racially , and ethnically . Six races are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes: Alaska Native and American Indian, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, White, and people of two or more races. "Some other race"
9048-468: The first permanent European settlement in the continental United States . From the 16th through the 19th centuries, the population of Native Americans declined in the following ways: epidemic diseases brought from Europe; genocide and warfare at the hands of European explorers, settlers and colonists, as well as between tribes; displacement from their lands; internal warfare, enslavement ; and intermarriage . Another significant population
9164-402: The hack and subsequent leaks, calling it a "malicious criminal act", while also criticizing WikiLeaks for describing the leaked content as public domain . Seth Rogen has expressed doubts about North Korea being responsible for the 2014 Sony hack. Based on the timeline of events and the amount of information hacked, he believes the hack may have been conducted by a Sony employee. In 2014,
9280-478: The hack, which exposed the inner workings of the studio, was "not a pretty picture," and served as a "wake-up call to the entire industry." The hack also revealed some other documents, emails between Hollywood moguls referring to Barack Obama 's cinematic tastes, a possible partnership with Marvel Studios for the inclusion of the superhero Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War , which
9396-408: The largest ethnic minority in the United States . They form the second largest group in the United States, comprising 62,080,044 people or 18.7% of the population according to the 2020 United States census. Hispanic and Latino Americans are not considered a race in the United States census, instead forming an ethnic category. People of Spanish or Hispanic and Latino descent have lived in what
9512-454: The late 1600s and formed a unique cultural group known as Tejanos . Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States and sometimes more specifically of the American government , with the first usage of the term dating from the War of 1812 . He is depicted as a stern elderly white man with white hair and a goatee beard, and dressed in clothing that recalls the design elements of
9628-517: The majority of the 331 million people living in the United States, with 191,697,647 people or 57.8% of the population in the 2020 United States census . They are considered people who trace their ancestry to the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Non-Hispanic Whites are the majority in 45 states. There are five minority-majority states : California , Texas , New Mexico , Nevada , and Hawaii . In addition,
9744-516: The marathon blocks on its third subchannel as a replacement for the Live Well Network. However, on January 13, as a result of Walt Disney Television 's decision to temporarily continue Live Well Network's national operations, WBAY announced that its 2.3 subchannel would not switch to Decades until after LWN's new March 2015 shutdown date. It eventually picked up Ion Television as part of a group deal with WBAY owner Media General to carry
9860-468: The nation's total population. 14% of the population have at least a bachelor's degree , and 15.1% live in poverty , below the poverty threshold . As compared to the 2000 United States census, this population grew by 40%; and 71% live in the West ; of those over half (52%) live in either Hawaii or California , with no other states having populations greater than 100,000. The United States territories in
9976-424: The negative impact of the merger of Warner Bros.' parent company WarnerMedia with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery . On November 14, 2023, Sony Pictures unveiled a special centennial anniversary logo for its Columbia Pictures unit ahead of its 100th anniversary of its founding on January 10, 2024. On April 18, 2024, it was reported that Sony was interested in acquiring Paramount Global through
10092-813: The network in 2015. Through its part-ownership by CBS Corporation, Decades announced that owned-and-operated stations of the CBS television network would serve as its initial charter network affiliates . The network was the first national multicasting venture by CBS Television Stations . The group did not carry subchannels on any of its television stations prior to 2013. At the time of the Decades announcement, only three of its stations even maintained subchannels (CBS O&Os WCBS-TV in New York City and KYW-TV in Philadelphia carried rolling news channels under
10208-535: The network in markets without an Ion station. When the E.W. Scripps Co. purchased the Ion Television network in 2020, Ion moved to a newly-assigned digital subchannel, 26.5, on competitor WGBA-TV . A few days later, WBAY-TV started airing Decades on channel 2.6. On September 3, 2018, Decades was replaced on CBS-owned stations with Start TV , a new Weigel-owned diginet focusing on crime dramas with female leads. Weigel maintained its commitment to Decades, with
10324-571: The network in their local market, before it was offered to other network-affiliated stations. The network is also available on local cable television providers (most likely through their digital cable tiers, as is the case with most multicast networks) and other multichannel television in the United States at the discretion of the affiliate's parent station. CBS Television Stations initially planned to launch Decades on all 16 CBS owned-and-operated stations (including two that operate as satellite stations of Minneapolis O&O WCCO-TV ). Not all of
10440-449: The network on its fourth digital subchannel. It would replace the digital news service TouchVision . Decades officially launched at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time Zone on May 25 , 2015, with the series premiere of Through the Decades as its inaugural telecast. At the time, the network was available in over 45% of all American households with a television set. Times for the programming are televised across all six time zones. For example,
10556-411: The network was carried on CBS O&O WBBM-TV , instead of one of Weigel's three stations in that market – WCIU-TV , WWME-CD and WMEU-CD . (A similar situation existed in that market with Movies! , in which WPWR-TV – owned by Weigel's partner in that network, Fox Television Stations – carries the network in lieu of any of Weigel's outlets.) Conversely, Weigel-owned WBME-CD carries the network in
10672-530: The original channel concept came on December 5, 2016, when the network added two daily airings of the NBC series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In , the first breaking the daily binge in half at 6:00 p.m. (ET) and a different episode at the conclusion of the binge time block. Through the Decades , hosted by Bill Kurtis , is a retrospective-type show on the American TV channel Decades. Each day's edition of
10788-399: The other in equity to fund most of SPE's film slate for several years. SPE was originally considering a $ 300 million deal with Blue Anchor Entertainment, led by Bloom Hergott partner John LaViolette and former investment banker & producer Joseph M. Singer, and backed by Longhorn Capital Management and Deutsche Bank, which was held up by regulatory matters. In November 2019, Sony purchased
10904-583: The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act due to the civil rights movement . According to United States Census Bureau data, very few African immigrants self-identify as African American. On average, less than 5% of African residents self-reported as "African American" or "Afro-American" on the 2000 U.S. census. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants (~95%) identified instead with their own respective ethnicities. Self-designation as "African American" or "Afro-American"
11020-497: The population at home, is the second most common language and the most widely taught second language. Some Americans advocate making English the country's official language, as it is in at least twenty-eight states. Both English and Hawaiian are official languages in Hawaii by state law. While neither has an official language, New Mexico has laws providing for the use of both English and Spanish, as Louisiana does for English and French. Other states, such as California, mandate
11136-703: The population. Black and African Americans make up the third largest group in the United States, after White and European Americans, and Hispanic and Latino Americans. The majority of the population (55%) lives in the South ; compared to the 2000 United States census, there has also been a decrease of African Americans in the Northeast and Midwest . Most African Americans are the direct descendants of captives from Central and West Africa , from ancestral populations in countries like Nigeria , Benin , Sierra Leone , Guinea-Bissau , Senegal , and Angola , who survived
11252-408: The population; by the 2020 census the multiracial increased to 13,548,983, or 4.1% of the total population. They can be any combination of races (White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, "some other race") and ethnicities. The largest population of Multiracial Americans were those of White and African American descent, with
11368-501: The publication of Spanish versions of certain government documents. The latter include court forms. Several insular territories grant official recognition to their native languages, along with English: Samoan and Chamorro are recognized by American Samoa and Guam , respectively; Carolinian and Chamorro are recognized by the Northern Mariana Islands; Spanish is an official language of Puerto Rico. Religion in
11484-576: The remaining 42% stake in GSN from AT&T , placing it under the direction of its television division. In April 2021, Sony signed a first-look deal with Netflix , allowing the streaming service to host their films following their theatrical runs and home media releases. That same month, the company also entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with The Walt Disney Company for its films to stream across Disney's streaming and linear platforms, including Disney+ and Hulu . In February 2022, Sony signed
11600-449: The sampling strata for the new MENA category includes the Census Bureau's working classification of 19 MENA groups, as well as Iranian , Turkish , Armenian , Afghan , Azerbaijani , and Georgian groups. In January 2018, it was announced that the Census Bureau would not include the grouping in the 2020 census. Black and African Americans are citizens and residents of the United States with origins in sub-Saharan Africa . According to
11716-409: The second-largest group and are 18.7% of the United States population. African Americans constitute the country's third-largest ancestry group and are 12.1% of the total U.S. population. Asian Americans are the country's fourth-largest group, composing 5.9% of the United States population. The country's 3.7 million Native Americans account for about 1%, and some 574 native tribes are recognized by
11832-447: The series premiere episode of Full House as the first program shown. The weekend "binge" marathons carried over, but now are strictly comedy-focused. The only deviation from comedy comes from the network fulfilling their FCC obligations by airing E/I programming Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. until noon (ET). As of May 2015, Decades had current or pending affiliation agreements with 35 television stations covering at least 44% of
11948-470: The show features events that happened on that date in history. The show debuted in September 2016. After the network rebranded to Catchy Comedy on March 27, 2023, the program was no longer shown. In 2017, the theme and binge programming on weekdays was stopped altogether and the network became mostly sitcom-focused, featuring the "Television Across the Decades" block, where comedies from the 1950s through
12064-458: The state of Connecticut and to fans who saw the reviewed films in the US. It expanded its operations on April 8, 2005, when a Sony-led consortium acquired the legendary Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), in a US$ 4.8 billion leveraged buyout , through the holding company MGM Holdings Inc. On June 4, 2008, SPE's wholly owned group 2JS Productions B.V. acquired Dutch production company 2waytraffic N.V., famous for Who Wants to Be
12180-422: The studio. The merger was approved by shareholders on December 15, 1987, and it was completed two days later. Columbia and Tri-Star brands would be used as separate and autonomous production entities, and would be part of CPE whole, along with the prior assets, units and commitments of the former Coca-Cola Entertainment Business Sector, which included all feature, TV, home video, and pay cable operations as well as
12296-418: The way in which generations of Americans have celebrated and exchanged distinctive cultural characteristics. The United States currently has 37 ancestry groups with more than one million individuals. White Americans with ancestry from Europe , the Middle East , or North Africa form the largest racial and ethnic group at 57.8% of the United States population. Hispanic and Latino Americans form
12412-476: The world. The United States has the world's largest Christian population . The majority of Americans (76%) are Christians , mostly within Protestant and Catholic denominations; these adherents constitute 48% and 23% of the population, respectively. Other religions include Buddhism , Hinduism , Islam , and Judaism , which collectively make up about 4% to 5% of the adult population. Another 15% of
12528-638: Was all led by Norio Ohga , who was the president and CEO of Sony during that time. The hiring of Guber and Peters by Sony to run Columbia was conflicted by a previous contract the producers had signed at Warner Bros. Time Warner 's chairman, Steve Ross , threatened Sony with a lawsuit for breach of contract . The lawsuit would be subsequently dropped when Sony sold half-interest in Columbia House and cable distribution rights to Columbia's feature films, TV movies, and miniseries to Warner Bros. That same agreement also saw Columbia sell its 35% interest in
12644-716: Was also announced on the same day, that there would be more Spider-Man sequels and spin-offs, though on February 10, 2015, Sony Pictures eventually signed a deal with Disney 's Marvel Studios to allow Spider-Man to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe , beginning with Captain America: Civil War , before appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming which was released on July 7, 2017. The deal also allowed Sony to distribute and have creative control on any MCU film where Spider-Man
12760-519: Was formed in early 1988 with the Tri-Star name to take over the studio's operations. In early January 1988, CPE announced that they would revive the Triumph branding for the new worldwide subsidiary, Triumph Releasing Corporation , which was functioned as a theatrical distributor, marketing and promotion for Columbia and Tri-Star films, and named Patrick N. Williamson as president of the unit and
12876-399: Was highest among individuals from West Africa (4%–9%), and lowest among individuals from Cape Verde, East Africa and Southern Africa (0%–4%). African immigrants may also experience conflict with African Americans. According to the 2020 United States census, there are 2,251,699 people who are Native Americans or Alaska Natives alone; they make up 0.7% of the total population. According to
12992-480: Was later confirmed in February 2015, amongst others. On December 16, the hackers issued a warning to moviegoers, threatening to attack anyone who sees The Interview during the holidays and urging people to "remember the 11th of September 2001 ". On December 17, 2014, Sony cancelled the previously planned December 25 release of The Interview in response to hacker threats. On February 24, 2015, Tom Rothman
13108-415: Was named chairman of SPE's motion picture group to replace Amy Pascal . On April 16, 2015, WikiLeaks published over 30,287 documents, 173 e-mails, and 2,200 corporate e-mail addresses of Sony Pictures' employees. WikiLeaks said in a press release that the content of the leaks were "newsworthy and at the center of a geo-political conflict" and belonged "in the public domain". Sony Pictures later condemned
13224-603: Was originally planned to replace Live Well Network on WBAY-TV 2.3 in January 2015, before those plans were aborted.) ( Texas ) Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America . The United States is home to people of many racial and ethnic origins ; consequently, American law does not equate nationality with race or ethnicity but with citizenship. The majority of Americans or their ancestors immigrated to
13340-790: Was renamed as Sony Pictures Entertainment on August 7, 1991. Also that year, Jon Peters left Columbia to start Peters Entertainment with a three-year exclusive production agreement at the studio at first, before transitioning to a non-exclusive deal at the studio. Longtime CPE employee Laurie MacDonald also left to start Aerial Pictures at the studio, first for a two-year deal, before going to 20th Century Fox in 1993, and being swallowed up by Amblin Entertainment later that year, eventually setting up DreamWorks . Sony has since created numerous other film production and distribution units, such as creating Sony Pictures Classics for art-house fare, by forming Columbia TriStar Pictures (also known as
13456-445: Was repeated four times a day and typically included a feature film, episodes of theme related TV programs, and biographical programs featuring celebrities, actors and actresses, musicians, athletes, and public figures of interest. The theme blocks were bookended with Through the Decades , an hour-long program hosted and narrated by Bill Kurtis (who formerly served as a presenter for Chicago CBS O&O WBBM-TV and CBS News) that explores
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