Rysher Entertainment

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Rysher Entertainment, Inc.

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	film production Television syndication and production
Predecessor	Bing Crosby Productions
Founded	1945; 76 years ago (1945) (as Bing Crosby Productions)
Founder	Keith Samples
Defunct	1999; 22 years ago (1999) (Original)
Fate	Shut down by Cox Broadcasting. Assets owned by Vine Alternative Investments. Film library is distributed by Paramount Pictures and television series are distributed by CBS Media Ventures
Successor	Vine Alternative Investments (film library) CBS Studios (television arm)
Owner	Cox Enterprises (1993–1999)

Rysher Entertainment, Inc. was an American film and television production company and distributor. It has the roots dating back to 1949 as Bing Crosby Productions, and was best known for the sitcom Hogan's Heroes and the medical drama Ben Casey. BCP was acquired by Cox Enterprises.

History[]

Keith Samples re-established the company in April 1991,^[1] as an independent company, whose sole product had been the distribution of the series Saved by the Bell (at the time, NBC couldn't distribute it in syndication due to fin-syn rules). While airing California Dreams, Rysher merged with Al Masini's Television Program Enterprises to form Rysher TPE, its alternate name used from 1993 to 1994. Through it, they produced and distributed shows, such as Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (renamed Lifestyles with Robin Leach and Shari Belafonte for the final season) and Star Search. Later, they produced and distributed George & Alana. The company branched out into feature films, and in the span of three years had produced over two dozens. In May 1995, Rysher entered into a five-film domestic distribution arrangement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company closed the film unit due to under-performing box office sales in July 1997.^[2] In 1998, Rysher collaborated with HBO to distribute some of the series outside of the United States, including Arli$$, Oz and Sex and the City. The company was closed in 1999 after Viacom entered an agreement with Cox Enterprises, allowing Paramount Pictures and its television unit to handle distribution rights.^[3] The company's library is incorporated into the one for CBS Television Distribution and Paramount Pictures (except The Opposite of Sex). The company's films and series included Hogan's Heroes (whose partial rights are held by CBS), Ben Casey, Walking Tall, Nash Bridges (continued by Paramount Network Television), Highlander: The Series, Kingpin, and Big Night.

The company's assets were acquired by 2929 Entertainment in 2001. They were bought by Qualia Capital, LLC. in 2006, and were merged with Gaylord Films and Pandora Entertainment. The combined entity became known as Qualia Libraries Co. and the brand name served as a limited partnership. In 2011, Qualia Libraries Co. was acquired by affiliates of Vine Alternative Investments which were integrated into Lakeshore Entertainment in 2015.^[4] Vine acquired Lakeshore's library and international sales operations in November 2019. Viacom merged with CBS Corporation, under the name ViacomCBS, as a single distribution company in December. CBS Media Ventures currently holds the rights to the television library, while the ancillary, home media and worldwide distribution rights to the film library lie with Paramount Pictures, with Trifecta Entertainment handling North American television rights.

Television programs[]

Feature films[]

References[]

External links[]

• Rysher Entertainment at IMDb