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94-488: The network was available in many media markets via broadcast television stations , primarily on their digital subchannels , and on select cable television providers through carriage of a local affiliate (primarily on digital cable tiers). This TV's programming and business operations were headquartered in Century City, California with the rest of Entertainment Studio's operations; MGM handled advertising sales for

188-553: A 20 percent stake in the common shares of the joint venture, with the remaining 20 percent of common shares held by lawyer and advisor William Gibbs McAdoo . The idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford and cowboy star William S. Hart a year earlier. Already Hollywood veterans, the four stars talked of forming their own company to better control their own work. They were spurred on by established Hollywood producers and distributors who were tightening their control over actor salaries and creative decisions,

282-553: A century later. Other successful projects backed in this period included the Pink Panther series, which began in 1964, and Spaghetti Westerns , which made a star of Clint Eastwood in the films of A Fistful of Dollars , For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly . In 1964, the French subsidiary, Les Productions Artistes Associés, released its first production That Man from Rio . In 1965, UA released

376-476: A daily morning block of children's programs that was handled by Canada-based Cookie Jar Group , then by WildBrain (known as DHX Media at the time) when it purchased Cookie Jar in 2012. It also featured a Weigel-produced program originally produced for its Chicago flagship WCIU-TV, Green Screen Adventures (which now airs exclusively on MeTV outside of the Chicago market). The block's main children's programming

470-473: A local company. In 1941, Pickford, Chaplin, Disney, Orson Welles , Goldwyn, Selznick, Alexander Korda, and Wanger—many of whom were members of United Artists—formed the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers (SIMPP). Later members included Hunt Stromberg , William Cagney , Sol Lesser , and Hal Roach . The Society aimed to advance the interests of independent producers in an industry controlled by

564-527: A more generalized format dating back to the network's launch; as of September 2016, the lineup consisted of Westerns ( The Magnificent Seven and Dead Man's Gun ) on Saturdays and police procedurals ( In the Heat of the Night and Cagney & Lacey ) on Sundays. As of the year 2021, most MGM-owned library TV series have been eliminated from the lineup. Most of the network's series programming aired during

658-460: A multi-platform children's programming endeavor featuring long-form and short-form animated content from various production studios. Sinclair named This TV as the national carrier of the venture's three-hour morning cartoon block, which introduced on July 1 – coinciding with the launch of a syndicated version that would initially be carried on Sinclair-operated stations in certain markets. On July 1, 2018, This TV discontinued carriage of KidsClick, which

752-609: A new company with Darryl F. Zanuck , called Twentieth Century Pictures , which soon provided four pictures a year, forming half of UA's schedule. Schenck formed a separate partnership with Pickford and Chaplin to buy and build theaters under the United Artists name. They began international operations, first in Canada, and then in Mexico. By the end of the 1930s, United Artists was represented in over 40 countries. When he

846-453: A newly created third subchannel of Tribune's television flagship WGN-TV (channel 9). On May 2, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its "KidsClick" children's programming block that would air on This TV starting on July 1, 2017. KidsClick left This TV on July 1, 2018. On October 28, 2020, Byron Allen 's Allen Media Group (which also controls Entertainment Studios ) announced that it would be buying This TV and Light TV from MGM. After

940-461: A process that evolved into the studio system . With the addition of Griffith, planning began, but Hart bowed out before anything was formalized. When he heard about their scheme, Richard A. Rowland , head of Metro Pictures , apparently said, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." The four partners, with advice from McAdoo (son-in-law and former Treasury Secretary of then-President Woodrow Wilson ), formed their distribution company. Hiram Abrams

1034-447: A profitable rental library, including Associated Artists Productions , owners of Warner Bros. pre-1950 features, shorts and cartoons and 231 Popeye cartoon shorts purchased from Paramount Pictures in 1958, becoming United Artists Associated , its distribution division. In 1963, UA released two Stanley Kramer films, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and A Child Is Waiting . In 1964, UA introduced U.S. film audiences to

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1128-478: A similar film-oriented multicast network that Weigel launched in partnership with Fox Television Stations in January 2013. Tribune Broadcasting , owners of the classic television multicast network Antenna TV , took over daily operations of This TV on November 1, 2013; concurrently, the network moved its affiliation in Chicago from the fifth digital subchannel of Weigel flagship station WCIU-TV (channel 26) to

1222-481: A substantial success, Moulin Rouge (1952). As well as The African Queen UA also had success with High Noon in their first year, earning a profit of $ 313,000 compared to a loss of $ 871,000 the previous year. Other clients followed, among them Stanley Kramer , Otto Preminger , Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions , and actors newly freed from studio contracts and seeking to produce or direct their own films. With

1316-516: A traditional entertainment-based children's block instead of a strictly educational-based lineup); the former Cookie Jar Toons/This is for Kids block was replaced with a three-hour weekly block of E/I-compliant programs originally distributed for syndication by Bellum Entertainment Group ; these were joined by select series from Steve Rotfeld Productions in March 2016. On May 3, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that it would launch KidsClick ,

1410-969: A two-hour timeslot with commercials. Before the transition to an HD master feed, many of the syndicated versions of the network's films were older cuts unoptimized for HD presentation, shown in a pan and scan format more suitable for older fullscreen television sets, along with abrupt cuts for commercials that are ill-suited to a digital television network, rather than a traditional television station. Films featured on This TV consisted of releases from previous network co-parent Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and its subsidiaries United Artists (post-1952 films) and The Samuel Goldwyn Company (pre-1997 films), as well as films produced by defunct studios whose libraries were purchased by MGM, including Orion Pictures (post-1981 films and its Orion Classics division), The Cannon Group, Inc. (except for those co-produced with Warner Bros. ), American International Pictures , and The Mirisch Company (all of which were acquired by MGM). In addition,

1504-542: A venture premised on allowing actors to control their own financial and artistic interests rather than being dependent upon commercial studios. After numerous ownership and structural changes and revamps, United Artists was acquired by media conglomerate Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1981 for a reported $ 350 million ($ 1.2 billion today). On September 22, 2014, MGM acquired a controlling interest in One Three Media and Lightworkers Media and merged them to revive

1598-402: A wild idea: let them take over United Artists for ten years. If UA was profitable in one of the next three years, they would have the option to acquire half the company by the end of the ten years and take full control. Fox Film Corporation president Spyros Skouras extended United Artists a $ 3 million loan through Krim and Benjamin's efforts. In taking over UA, Krim and Benjamin created

1692-495: Is What You're Watching", "Stay Here for This" and "This is the Channel!" proposed for use in on-air promotions. This TV formally launched at 9:00 p.m. ET on November 1, 2008, with the 1986 Spike Lee -directed film She's Gotta Have It as the network's first program. However, some initial affiliates may have "soft launched" the network one day earlier – on October 31, 2008 – to carry some Halloween -themed programming that

1786-523: Is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media such as newspapers and internet content. They can coincide with or overlap with one or more metropolitan areas , though rural regions with few significant population centers can also be designated as markets. Conversely, very large metropolitan areas can sometimes be subdivided into multiple segments. Market regions may overlap, meaning that people residing on

1880-401: Is ill-suited for digital broadcasting. In these cases, the outlying areas of a TMA may only be served by cable and satellite, or perhaps by small translators . (There are some cases, such as that of Olean, New York , where a sizable number of independent stations operate, but none carry any major network affiliation unless they operate as translators. Because of this, Olean is considered part of

1974-438: Is unconfirmed, This TV shuttered on May 31, 2024; its website was blanked and on July 13, it was completely shut down. This TV's program schedule relied primarily on the programs of Entertainment Studios as of 2024, having previously relied on the library of films owned by previous network co-owner MGM and subsidiary United Artists . The use of on-air presenters had once been considered for This TV's movie broadcasts. However,

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2068-570: Is used by advertisers to determine how to reach a specific audience . In countries such as the United States, media regions are defined by a privately held institution without government status; in countries such as the United Kingdom , government-run television stations map their own regions. A Television Market Area ( TMA ) is a group of counties in the United States covered by a specific group of television stations . The term

2162-587: Is used by the U.S. Government's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate broadcast, cable, and satellite transmissions, according to the Code of Federal Regulations , at 47 CFR § 76.51 and FCC.gov. The TMAs not only have full control over local broadcasts, but also delineate which channels will be received by satellite or cable subscribers ( "must-carry" rules ). These market areas can also be used to define restrictions on rebroadcasting of broadcast television signals. Generally speaking, only stations within

2256-457: The 1971 screen version of Fiddler on the Roof . However, the 1972 film version of Man of La Mancha was a failure. New talent was encouraged, including Woody Allen , Robert Altman , Sylvester Stallone , Saul Zaentz , Miloš Forman , and Brian De Palma . With UA being the distributor for Woody Allen's Bananas (1971), it started as the distributor for a series of Woody Allen films. With

2350-766: The ABC Owned Television Stations had picked up the network as a replacement for Laff in the wake of Ion Television coming under the management of the Katz Broadcasting division of Scripps (which would then move Laff to Ion stations in those markets), restoring much of the major-market coverage loss from 2019. ABC Owned Television Stations would later replace This TV with Charge! , a network owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, on April 1, 2024. Media market A media market , broadcast market , media region , designated market area (DMA) , television market area , or simply market

2444-689: The Buffalo, New York market despite none of that city's major signals reaching the city from 70 miles [110 km] away.) Conversely, a geographically small market such as Erie, Pennsylvania may have stations where their signal spills well over into neighboring TMAs (most of Chautauqua County, New York , is closer to Erie than Buffalo, but the county is also located within the Buffalo DMA). Arbitron (now Nielsen Audio) also maintained similar areas for television ratings, each called an "area of dominant influence" (ADI), which were first created in 1966. For

2538-479: The Mirisch brothers , Billy Wilder , Joseph E. Levine and others. In 1961, United Artists released West Side Story , which won ten Academy Awards (including Best Picture ). In 1960, UA purchased Ziv Television Programs . UA's television division was responsible for shows such as Gilligan's Island , The Fugitive , Outer Limits , and The Patty Duke Show . The television unit had begun to build up

2632-507: The Sinclair Broadcast Group , Graham Music Group , Fisher Communications , Raycom Media and Belo – to add the network on the subchannels of some of their stations in 2009. A May 2010 renewal of its affiliation agreement with Tribune Broadcasting expanded the network to additional stations owned by the company in markets such as KTLA , WPIX , WSFL-TV and KSWB-TV , helping increase This TV's market coverage to 85% of

2726-607: The United States , radio markets are generally a bit smaller than their television counterparts, as broadcast power restrictions are stricter for radio than TV, and TV reaches further via cable. AM band and FM band radio ratings are sometimes separated, as are broadcast and cable television ratings. Market researchers also subdivide ratings demographically between different age groups, genders , and ethnic backgrounds, as well as psychographically between income levels and other non-physical factors. This information

2820-635: The 1980s. As part of the deal, UA acquired MGM's music publishing operation, Robbins, Feist, Miller. In 1975, Harry Saltzman sold UA his 50 percent stake in Danjaq , the holding-company for the Bond films. UA released One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975, which won the Best Picture Academy Award and was UA's highest-grossing film, with a gross of $ 163 million. UA followed with

2914-465: The 1993–1994 television season, there were 209 ADIs in the continental United States. Arbitron stopped offering a television ratings service in late 1993. Nielsen Audio (previously Arbitron) maintains smaller areas for radio stations ; each is called an Arbitron Radio Metro . Whereas a typical TMA may cover ten counties, an Arbitron market generally covers two to four, and a TMA may contain two to four separate Radio Metros. There are 302 Radio Metros in

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3008-479: The American , written by and starring Fairbanks, was a success. Funding for movies was limited. Without selling stock to the public like other studios, all United had for finance was weekly prepayment installments from theater owners for upcoming movies. As a result, production was slow, and the company distributed an average of only five films a year in its first five years. By 1924, Griffith had dropped out, and

3102-590: The Beatles by releasing A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965). At the same time, it backed two expatriate North Americans in Britain, who had acquired screen rights to Ian Fleming 's James Bond novels. For $ 1 million, UA backed Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli 's Dr. No in 1963 and launched the James Bond franchise . The franchise outlived UA's time as a major studio, continuing half

3196-860: The E/I programming block was shortened and movies began airing at noon precisely. In January 2024, the network lost access to the MGM library after its acquisition by Amazon and non-renewal of its content agreement, and started airing library content from the AMG library, mainly weather-related reality series from The Weather Channel , including Storm Of Suspicion and Weather Gone Viral . This TV's daily schedule formerly consisted largely of feature films, which aired on Monday through Saturdays from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., and Sundays from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m., 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. and 2:00 to 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time (sometimes starting earlier or ending later depending on

3290-560: The James Bond, Pink Panther, and Woody Allen films, UA had a series of films based on well known characters in the 1970s. In 1973, United Artists took over the sales and distribution of MGM 's films in Anglo-America . Cinema International Corporation assumed international distribution rights for MGM's films and carried on to United International Pictures (made from CIC and UA's International assets being owned by partner MGM) in

3384-546: The This subchannel to accommodate local sports or breaking news coverage on the main channel. With Tribune Broadcasting taking over operational responsibilities for the network, This TV became one of the few television networks to move its flagship station; the network moved from WCIU to a digital subchannel of Tribune's Chicago flagship WGN-TV (which until November 1, 2013 was the largest Tribune-owned station by market size not to carry This TV). In Milwaukee, Weigel continued to carry

3478-567: The U.S. and making it the largest subchannel network by population reach percentage (a status that has since been surpassed by former sister network MeTV). A number of NBC affiliates added This TV as a replacement for the now-defunct NBC Weather Plus service, which shut down in November 2008. Additionally, Equity Media Holdings selected This TV as a replacement for the Retro Television Network on some of its stations after

3572-461: The United States, but not all areas of the country are covered. In 2009, Nielsen began offering radio ratings in competition with Arbitron, starting in those markets ranked 101st and smaller. United Artists United Artists ( UA ) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios . In its original operating period, UA was founded in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin , D.W. Griffith , Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks as

3666-512: The anticipated George Stevens' production of The Greatest Story Ever Told and was at the time, the most expensive film which was budgeted at $ 20 million. Max Von Sydow, in the role of Jesus Christ, led an all-star cast which included Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowell, Martin Landau, Dorothy McGuire, Sal Mineo, Ina Balin, Joanna Dunham, David McCallum, Nehemiah Persoff, Donald Pleasence, José Ferrer and Ed Wynn. The film did not make back its budget and

3760-437: The block's former Saturday morning slot; however, family-oriented films remain part of the network's schedule, only airing on certain days in random timeslots and depending in part on the titles selected for that month's film slate. During 2014, the network shared select older film titles with sister network Antenna TV (which ran its own movie block until January 2015), with some films airing on both networks at several times during

3854-642: The byline "A Transamerica Company" be removed on the prints and in all advertising. At one point, the parent company expressed its desire to phase out the UA name and replace it with Transamerica Films. Krim tried to convince Transamerica to spin off United Artists, but he and Transamerica's chairman could not come to an agreement. Finally in 1978, following a dispute with Transamerica chief John R. Beckett over administrative expenses, UA's top executives, including chairman Krim, president Eric Pleskow , Benjamin and other key officers walked out. Within days they announced

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3948-436: The center of the market region. However, geography and the fact that some metropolitan areas have large cities separated by some distance can make markets have unusual shapes and result in two, three, or more names being used to identify a single region (such as Wichita – Hutchinson, Kansas ; Chico – Redding, California ; Albany – Schenectady – Troy, New York ; and Harrisburg – Lebanon – Lancaster – York, Pennsylvania ). In

4042-516: The company terminated its relationship with RTN in January 2009 due to a payment dispute; the Equity-owned stations have since been sold, with several disaffiliating from This TV or ceasing operations completely. Stations that carried This TV had the option to air select programming from the network on their main channels; affiliates also had the option to preempt select This TV programs, running alternate programming in place of certain shows from

4136-415: The company was facing a crisis. Veteran producer Joseph Schenck was hired as president. He had produced pictures for a decade, and brought commitments for films starring his wife, Norma Talmadge , his sister-in-law, Constance Talmadge , and his brother-in-law, Buster Keaton . Contracts were signed with independent producers, including Samuel Goldwyn , and Howard Hughes . In 1933, Schenck organized

4230-408: The company. The company made Marty which won 1955's Palme d'Or and Best Picture Oscar. 12 Angry Men (1957) which according to Krim before home video, was being seen on TV 24 hours a day, 365 days a year some place in the world. By 1958, UA was making annual profits of $ 3 million a year. United Artists went public in 1957 with a $ 17 million stock and debenture offering. The company

4324-459: The early morning hours during pre-determined breaks within the network's movie schedule (which consisted of Sea Hunt , Flipper and Mackenzie's Raiders , as of September 2016). After Tribune Broadcasting assumed operations of This TV, three series formerly seen on the network – The Patty Duke Show , Mister Ed and Green Acres – were moved from the network to new sister network Antenna TV. Under Weigel's co-ownership, This TV featured

4418-471: The edge of one media market may be able to receive content from other nearby markets. They are widely used in audience measurements , which are compiled in the United States by Nielsen Media Research . Nielsen has measured both television and radio audiences since its acquisition of Arbitron , which was completed in September 2013. Markets are identified by the largest city, which is usually located in

4512-518: The end of October 2019 due to a new agreement with Katz Broadcasting to carry a reincarnated version of the court/ true crime news network Court TV made before the close of the Nexstar deal. A few markets saw This TV move to a new station, though for the most part, the network temporarilly lost distribution in many major markets, or saw downgrades to low-power television stations with no pay TV coverage. In April 2021, Allen Media Group announced that

4606-462: The end of the film's allotted timeslot. This TV also commonly featured themed movie presentations, with the entire day's schedule consisting of films from a particular genre once a week throughout the month (such as Mondays, which feature drama and romance films under the theme "From the Heart" and Wednesdays, which feature action and Western films under the theme "Wednesdays Are Wild"). On certain days,

4700-435: The film making business, and put United Artists on the market. Kirk Kerkorian 's Tracinda Corp. purchased the company in 1981. Tracinda also owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1981, United Artists Classics, which formerly re-released library titles, was turned into a first-run art film distributor by Nathaniel T. Kwit, Jr. Tom Bernard was hired as the division director, as well as handling theatrical sales, and Ira Deutchman

4794-528: The first studio without an actual "studio". Primarily acting as bankers, they offered money to independent producers. UA leased space at the Pickford/Fairbanks Studio but did not own a studio lot. Thus UA did not have the overhead, the maintenance, or the expensive production staff at other studios. Among their first clients were Sam Spiegel and John Huston , whose Horizon Productions gave UA one major hit, The African Queen (1951) and

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4888-410: The formation of Orion Pictures , with backing from Warner Bros . The departures concerned several Hollywood figures enough that they took out an ad in a trade paper warning Transamerica that it had made a fatal mistake in letting them go. Later that year, it entered into a partnership with Lorimar Productions , whereas United Artists would distribute Lorimar's feature films theatrically, while Lorimar

4982-457: The freshly revived banner. In 1918, Charlie Chaplin could not get his parent company First National Pictures to increase his production budget despite being one of their top producers. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks had their own contracts, with First National and Famous Players–Lasky respectively, but these were due to run out with no clear offers forthcoming. Sydney Chaplin, brother and business manager for Charlie, deduced something

5076-461: The group ceased operations. Needing a turnaround, Pickford and Chaplin hired Paul V. McNutt in 1950, a former governor of Indiana, as chairman and Frank L. McNamee as president. McNutt did not have the skill to solve UA's financial problems and the pair was replaced after only a few months. On February 15, 1951, lawyers-turned-producers Arthur B. Krim (of Eagle-Lion Films ), Robert Benjamin and Matty Fox approached Pickford and Chaplin with

5170-542: The group was consolidated into one entity as United Artists Records and in 1979, EMI acquired the division which included Blue Note Records . In 1959, after failing to sell several pilots, United Artists offered its first ever television series, The Troubleshooters , and later released its first sitcom, The Dennis O'Keefe Show . In the 1960s, mainstream studios fell into decline and some were acquired or diversified. UA prospered while winning 11 Academy Awards, including five for Best Picture, adding relationships with

5264-444: The instability in the film industry due to theater divestment, the business was considered risky. In 1955, movie attendance reached its lowest level since 1923. Chaplin sold his 25 percent share during this crisis to Krim and Benjamin for $ 1.1 million, followed a year later by Pickford who sold her share for $ 3 million. In the late 1950s, United Artists produced two modest films that became financial and critical successes for

5358-685: The label was briefly rechristened in 1984 as MGM/UA Classics before it ceased operating in the late 1980s. The merged studios became known as the MGM/UA Entertainment Company and in 1982 began launching new subsidiaries: the MGM/UA Home Entertainment Group , MGM/UA Classics and MGM/UA Television Group . Kerkorian also bid for the remaining, outstanding public stock, but dropped his bid, facing lawsuits and vocal opposition. In 1981, Fred Silverman and George Reeves via InterMedia Entertainment struck

5452-465: The length of the film that preceded it), which allows viewers which have This TV's primetime pre-empted by a secondary network to watch those films. From the network's launch until October 26, 2013, This TV ran a family film block preceding the network's Saturday morning "Cookie Jar Toons" lineup called "This Family Friendly"; under Tribune part-ownership, this block was discontinued, with a wider variety of films (mostly targeted at an adult audience) filling

5546-739: The length of the films). The film roster did not concentrate on films from any specific era (although the network's film slate primarily focused on releases made after 1960), meaning any film from the Great Depression to contemporary times, and films made for either television, home video/DVD or theatrical release would be featured. The network's film telecasts usually, by far, were "television" cuts meant for broadcast syndication which feature content edits, dubbing or muting of profanities (including some that may otherwise be permissible on broadcast television) and some time edits by removing superfluous plotting or adult scenes toned down to fit within

5640-453: The most viewers. There are 210 Nielsen DMAs in the United States, 70 of which are metered (in other words, viewership in these markets are estimated automatically instead of through the archaic diary system still in use in the smaller markets). TMAs may cover a much larger area than the stations that serve it, especially since the digital television transition . This is particularly true in markets that have hilly or mountainous terrain that

5734-433: The move, the network's cable coverage was affected in the channel exchange with some area cable providers having to sign new agreements to carry the network via WMLW-DT3. In South Bend, its status on WCWW did not change, partly because Tribune does not own a television station in that market, unlike in Chicago and Milwaukee. Weigel transferred This to WYTU-LD3 on January 8, 2018 due to a large-scale channel remapping involving

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5828-562: The national launch of MeTV , a classic television network similar in format to This TV though with an almost exclusive focus on comedic and dramatic series. Jim Marketti, president/CEO of Marketti Creative Group, was hired in August 2008 as This TV's creative director , focusing on the network's marketing and promotion. On May 13, 2013, Weigel Broadcasting announced that it would be leaving the This TV partnership in order to focus on Movies! ,

5922-606: The network did display a digital on-screen graphic during its programs, and affiliates were inclined to include regional descriptors reflecting the station's primary broadcast area or the station's own logo underneath the network bug. The network added three hours of paid programming time in 2021, expanded to 6 hours as of 2024. Films broadcast on the network featured commercial interruption, and breaks during its programming primarily consist of direct response television advertising, generic national advertising, and public service announcements . The network's first continuity announcer

6016-592: The network on WDJT following Tribune's December 2013 acquisition of the market's Fox affiliate, WITI (which also carries sister network Antenna TV); on March 3, 2015, Weigel moved This to WDJT's sister independent station, WMLW-TV , on its DT3 subchannel; its former channel slot on WDJT was concurrently filled by the Weigel-owned network Heroes & Icons , effectively consolidating the group's main subchannel networks onto WDJT's digital signal while allowing Weigel to fulfill its existing contract for This TV; through

6110-476: The network relegated its children's program only to Sunday mornings, coinciding with discontinuance of the network's agreement with Cookie Jar/DHX (effectively ending This is status as the only digital multicast network and one of only two broadcast networks, alongside The CW (which discontinued their children's block Vortexx in favor of the fully E/I-compliant One Magnificent Morning in October 2014), to carry

6204-575: The network through offices in New York City. Film and television studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Chicago, Illinois -based television station owner Weigel Broadcasting announced the formation of This TV on July 28, 2008, with a launch planned for that fall. The "This TV" name was chosen as a branding and marketing avenue for the network and its stations, with slogans such as "This is the Place for Movies", "It Doesn't Get Any Better than This", "This

6298-420: The network would air varying genres of films separated by daypart (for example, crime films during the day and comedies at night). The network also broadcast a featured movie in primetime at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday through Friday nights. Until October 31, 2013, the weeknight prime movie presentations were typically replayed later in the evening (usually at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time, depending on

6392-401: The network's national schedule (some stations may even switch to scheduled alternate programming while a film is in progress), either via a secondary affiliation deal with another network such as The CW or MyNetworkTV (this is particularly common with This TV affiliates in smaller markets), substitutions by locally produced programming, or in the most common case, moving network programming to

6486-595: The next two years' Best Picture Oscar winners, Rocky and Annie Hall , becoming the first studio to win the award for three years running and also to become the studio with the most Best Picture winners at that time, with 11. However, Transamerica was not pleased with UA's releases such as Midnight Cowboy and Last Tango in Paris that were rated X by the Motion Picture Association of America . In these instances, Transamerica demanded

6580-405: The pre-1996 library of films recently held by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment were also featured on the network, alongside various Miramax films (a former subsidiary of Disney ) depending on which owner holds the rights to a film. Under Weigel co-ownership, This TV aired The Pink Panther short cartoons to interstitial program surplus airtime when a film concludes more than five minutes before

6674-517: The resignation of Albeck, who was replaced by Norbert Auerbach. United Artists recorded a major loss for the year due almost entirely to the box-office failure of Heaven's Gate . It destroyed UA's reputation with Transamerica and the greater Hollywood community. However, it may have saved the United Artists name; UA's final head before the sale, Steven Bach , wrote in his book Final Cut that there had been talk about renaming United Artists to Transamerica Pictures. In 1980, Transamerica decided to exit

6768-538: The same day or week. In addition to its film content, the network also carried a modest amount of vintage comedy and drama series from the 1950s to the 1990s, airing in the early morning most days of the week and on weekend evenings. Its core bIock of classic programming was called "TV Night on This," a weekend-only prime time and late night television lineup – comprising multi-episode blocks of two series each night – which launched on January 10, 2016 as an extension of an existing Sunday evening rerun block that maintained

6862-497: The same market area can be rebroadcast. The only exception to this rule is the " significantly viewed " list. Virtually all of the United States is located within the boundaries of exactly one TMA. A similar term used by Nielsen Media Research is the Designated Market Area (DMA), and they control the trademark on it. DMAs are used by Nielsen Media Research to identify TV stations that best reach an area and attract

6956-678: The spectrum auction, finally discontinuing their run of This TV in Milwaukee on September 3, 2018 upon the launch of Start TV (it has since become a subchannel of local independent subchannel outlet WIWN ). In 2014, Tribune began to produce promotional advertisements for This TV that it distributes to its affiliates for broadcast on their main signals (which are modified to allow stations to insert over-the-air and cable channel information) in high-definition television . A number of former Tribune stations (Tribune had been acquired by Nexstar Media Group on September 19, 2019) dropped This TV towards

7050-607: The studio system. SIMPP fought to end what were considered to be anti-competitive practices by the seven major film studios—Loew's (MGM), Columbia Pictures , Paramount Pictures , Universal Pictures , RKO Radio Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros./First National —that controlled the production, distribution, and exhibition of motion pictures. In 1942, SIMPP filed an antitrust suit against Paramount's United Detroit Theatres . The complaint accused Paramount of conspiracy to control first-and subsequent-run theaters in Detroit. This

7144-614: The television production unit of United Artists as United Artists Media Group (UAMG). MGM itself acquired UAMG on December 14, 2015, and folded it into their own television division . MGM briefly revived the United Artists brand as United Artists Digital Studios for the Stargate Origins web series as part of its Stargate franchise , but retired the name after 2019 and instead used its eponymous brand for subsequent releases. A local joint distribution venture between MGM and Annapurna Pictures launched on October 31, 2017

7238-494: The transition, This TV launched a permanent high-definition master feed, allowing its affiliates to carry the network in a widescreen format for the first time. Throughout 2024, many This TV affiliates dropped the network, with coverage sharply declining from 73.6% of the U.S. population in January to 2.70% by November. This included affiliates from ABC Owned Television Stations , who gave the network coverage in major cities, and network owner Allen Media Group. Although an exact date

7332-456: The years passed, and the dynamics of the business changed, these "producing partners" drifted away. Samuel Goldwyn Productions and Disney went to RKO and Wanger to Universal Pictures . In the late 1930s, UA turned a profit. Goldwyn was providing most of the output for distribution. He sued United several times for disputed compensation leading him to leave. MGM's 1939 hit Gone with the Wind

7426-549: Was Milwaukee radio personality Robb Edwards, who was replaced later in the Weigel era by Jim Cummings ; Andy Geller, the primary promo voice of ABC through the 2000s, took over when Tribune assumed partial ownership of This TV. In January 2022, the network underwent a format change: episodes of The Rat Patrol stopped airing, movies began airing starting in the late afternoon, and the morning and early to mid-afternoon timeslots were filled with E/I programming. Four months later,

7520-542: Was also listed among the "Top 10 Films of the Year" by the National Board of Review . On the basis of its film and television hits, in 1967, Transamerica Corporation purchased 98 percent of UA's stock. Transamerica selected David and Arnold Picker to lead its studio. UA debuted a new logo incorporating the parent company's striped T emblem and the tagline "Entertainment from Transamerica Corporation". This wording

7614-481: Was averaging 50 films a year. In 1958, UA acquired Ilya Lopert 's Lopert Pictures Corporation , which released foreign films that attracted criticism or had censorship problems. In 1957, UA created United Artists Records Corporation and United Artists Music Corporation after an unsuccessful attempt to buy a record company. In 1968, UA Records merged with Liberty Records , along with its many subsidiary labels such as Imperial Records and Dolton Records . In 1972,

7708-613: Was branded under the banner name "This is for Kids", while a separate lineup of Cookie Jar-produced shows that met the Federal Communications Commission 's regulations on children's television programming in the United States requirements was branded under the name "Cookie Jar Toons". Children's programs were featured in both blocks included library content from CJE entities DiC Entertainment and Cinar , as well as recent originally produced content by Cookie Jar. Once Tribune assumed part-ownership of This TV,

7802-400: Was denied an ownership share in 1935, Schenck resigned. He set up 20th Century Pictures ' merger with Fox Film Corporation to form 20th Century Fox . Al Lichtman succeeded Schenck as company president. Other independent producers distributed through United Artists in the 1930s including Walt Disney Productions , Alexander Korda , Hal Roach , David O. Selznick , and Walter Wanger . As

7896-414: Was going wrong, and contacted Pickford and Fairbanks. Together they hired a private detective, who discovered a plan to merge all production companies and to lock in "exhibition companies" to a series of five-year contracts. Chaplin, Pickford, Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith incorporated United Artists as a joint venture company on February 5, 1919. Each held a 25 percent stake in the preferred shares and

7990-488: Was hired as head of marketing. Later the division added Michael Barker and Donna Gigliotti . Deutchman left to form Cinecom , and Barker and Bernard formed Orion Classics and Sony Pictures Classics . The label mostly released foreign and independent films such as Cutter's Way , Ticket to Heaven and The Grey Fox , and occasional first-run reissues from the UA library, such as director's cuts of Head Over Heels . When Barker and Bernard left to form Orion Classics,

8084-447: Was its first managing director, and the company established its headquarters at 729 Seventh Avenue in New York City. The original terms called for each star to produce five pictures a year. By the time the company was operational in 1921, feature films were becoming more expensive and polished, and running times had settled at around ninety minutes (eight reels). The original goal was thus abandoned. UA's first production, His Majesty,

8178-554: Was later shortened to "A Transamerica Company". The following year, in 1968, United Artists Associated was reincorporated as United Artists Television Distribution. In 1970, UA lost $ 35 million, and the Pickers were pushed aside for the return of Krim and Benjamin. UA released another Best Picture Oscar winner in 1967, In the Heat of the Night and a nominee for Best Picture, The Graduate , an Embassy production that UA distributed overseas. Other successful pictures included

8272-455: Was planning to produce television series and miniseries adaptations from UA's feature film library. Transamerica inserted Andy Albeck as UA's president. United had its most successful year with four hits in 1979: Rocky II , Manhattan , Moonraker , and The Black Stallion . The new leadership agreed to back Heaven's Gate , a project of director Michael Cimino , which vastly overran its budget and cost $ 44 million. This led to

8366-427: Was provided by the network. At launch, in addition to featuring content sourced largely from the MGM film and television library, Canada-based Cookie Jar Group (now WildBrain) provided children's programming for This TV's daily morning schedule until November 2013. Under Weigel Broadcasting part-ownership, the network's operations were overseen by Neal Sabin, who in his role as Weigel's executive vice president oversaw

8460-488: Was rebranded as United Artists Releasing on February 5, 2019, in honor of its 100th anniversary. However, Amazon , MGM's now-parent company, folded UAR into MGM on March 4, 2023, citing "newfound theatrical release opportunities" following the box-office opening success of Creed III . In July 2024, Amazon MGM Studios announced the company's revival, entering a multi-year first look deal with film producer Scott Stuber , who will also be involved with all releases under

8554-548: Was released to mixed critical receptions. But it has since been acclaimed as a classic by audiences around the world for being admirably inspired in its attempt to be faithful to the four books of the New Testament in the Holy Bible as well as the book of the same name by Fulton Oursler and the radio program which ran from 1947 to 1956. The Greatest Story Ever Told received five Academy Award nominations in 1965 and

8648-593: Was supposed to be a UA release except that Selznick wanted Clark Gable , who was under contract to MGM, to play Rhett Butler . Also that year, Fairbanks died. UA became embroiled in lawsuits with Selznick over his distribution of some films through RKO. Selznick considered UA's operation sloppy, and left to start his own distribution arm. In the 1940s, United Artists was losing money because of poorly received pictures. Cinema attendance continued to decline as television became more popular. The company sold its Mexican releasing division to Crédito Cinematográfico Mexicano,

8742-410: Was the first antitrust suit brought by producers against exhibitors that alleged monopoly and restraint of trade. In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court Paramount Decision ordered the major Hollywood movie studios to sell their theater chains and to end certain anti-competitive practices. This court ruling ended the studio system. By 1958, SIMPP had achieved many of the goals that led to its creation, and

8836-497: Was transferred full-time to Sinclair-owned online content-focused network TBD (which began carrying the block on a transitional basis two months prior on May 7). KidsClick would later be discontinued on March 31, 2019. In addition to its carriage on Weigel-owned stations in Chicago (WCIU-TV), Milwaukee ( WDJT-TV ) and South Bend, Indiana ( WCWW-LD ) at the network's launch, This TV reached affiliation agreements with several television station groups – including Hearst Television ,

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