Tribune Entertainment

Tribune Entertainment was a television production and syndication company owned and operated by Tribune Broadcasting in the mid-1980s. Many programs offered from Tribune Entertainment have been broadcast on the company's television stations.

On December 18, 2007, Tribune Entertainment announced it would exit the program distribution business. Two of the programs on its roster, American Idol Rewind and Soul Train, were transferred to Trifecta Entertainment & Media; Rewind has since been transferred to TV Guide Network and Soul Train has suspended distribution to local stations (cable channel Centric now carries the program, through new rightsholder MadVision Entertainment).

South Park, which Tribune distributed along with Debmar-Mercury, is now co-distributed by Twentieth Television. Another program, the revival of Family Feud, was sold to Debmar-Mercury for the 2007-08 season. Some producers of Tribune-distributed programs, such as Telco Productions (producer of Animal Rescue, Missing and Dog Tales), opted to distribute the programs themselves.

The only other program that was affected was U.S. Farm Report, which as it involves personalities from Chicago sister operation WGN Radio and still had a loyal audience, moved to the cable channel RFD-TV. It syndicates and produce shows from/with DiC, Village Roadshow and other stuff.

Tribune continues to syndicate some programming among its owned and operated stations, most commonly parades and holiday specials.

In 2010, Tribune announced that it would be considering a reentry into the syndication market, with two new talk shows, one a tabloid-style show hosted by Bubba the Love Sponge, and another, "Big Willie," hosted by Bill Cunningham.

Programs

This is a listing of programs which were either produced or distributed by Tribune Entertainment:

Animated series

• Ghostbusters (1986; co-produced with Filmation and co-distributed with Group W Productions)

Daytime shows

• Beyond with James van Praagh (2002-2003)
• The Charles Perez Show (1994–1996)
• Geraldo/The Geraldo Rivera Show (1987-1998), co-distributed with Paramount Television (1987-1988) and King World Productions (1995-1998)
• The Joan Rivers Show (1989-1994)

First-run syndicated shows

• Adventure Inc. (2002-2003; co-produced with Fireworks Entertainment)
• American Idol Rewind (distributor, 2006-2007)
• The Apollo Comedy Hour (1992-1995; distributed by Tribune Entertainment—Produced by Apollo Theatre Productions)
• At the Movies (1982-1990; no relation to the current At the Movies series although both series shared original hosts Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert)
• BeastMaster (1999-2002)
• Bzzz! (1996-1997)
• Earth: Final Conflict (1997-2002)
• Family Feud (distributor, 2002-2007)
• Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda (2000-2005; co-produced with Fireworks Entertainment)
• Monsters (distributor, 1988-1991)
• Mutant X (2001-2004)
• Night Man (1997-1999)
• Soul Train (distributor, 1985-2008)
• Tales from the Darkside (distributor, 1983-1988)
• T. and T. (1988-1990)

Late night talk/variety shows

• The Dennis Miller Show (1992)

Made-for-TV movies/Mini-series

• Emma: Queen of the South Seas, starring Barbara Carrera (1988) ([1])
• Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story, starring Nell Carter and George Kennedy (1992) ([2])
• The Vernon Johns Story, starring James Earl Jones (1994) ([3])
• Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair, starring Burt Lancaster (1990) ([4])

News/information series

• Independent Network News/USA Tonight (1980-1990)
• Now it Can Be Told (1991-1992) ([5])
• U.S. Farm Report (1975-2008)

Specials

• Hollywood Christmas Parade (1985-1998)
• The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults (1986)
• Soul Train Christmas Starfest (1998-2006)
• Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards (1995-2006)
• Soul Train Music Awards (1987-2007)