All American Television
Encyclopedia
All American Television (then called All American Communications Television) was a television syndication
company active from 1981 to 1998. It was founded by Anthony J. Scotti
, Ben Scotti
, and Joseph E. Kovacs. The company was known for producing and distributing popular television
shows such as Baywatch
and the Mark Goodson Productions library of game shows.
. After that, Scotti found his life as an actor boring. He told Forbes
magazine, "I had come to the conclusion that acting was the most boring God
-awful thing a human being could do." He then quit his acting career in 1971 to pursue a career in music. At the time, he was named senior vice president of MGM
's record division. Three years later, he teamed up with his brother Ben to create Scotti Brothers Records
, a music marketing company that produced the success of artists such as Electric Light Orchestra
, Survivor
, and "Weird Al" Yankovic
.
In 1979, the Scotti Brothers entered the television business by producing a pop music show called America's Top 10
, hosted by popular radio DJ Casey Kasem
. Two years later, the show's popularity led the Scotti Brothers to hire entertainment executive Joseph E. Kovacs, and together, they founded New York
-based All American Television. The new company was named after Anthony Scotti's success as a football
player in high school
.
In 1985, All American went public and began trading as a pink sheet
on the over-the-counter
(OTC) market. Later, the company joined the New York Stock Exchange
.
drama series that NBC
cancelled at the time) through LBS Communications. The move paid off and Baywatch went on to become one of the most popular TV shows in the world until its cancellation in 2001.
In 1991, All American and Scotti Brothers Entertainment Industries merged in a stock swap that created the television and music recording core of what would eventually become All American Communications. Anthony Scotti became CEO
of the combined entity, and in January 1991 he hired Myron Roth, a former MCA Records
and CBS Records
executive, to become the company's new president
and COO
. Syd Vinnedge was named senior executive vice president
and Ben Scotti became executive vice president of the records division. All American was represented by Howard L. Mann of Schwartzman, Weinstock, Garelick & Mann, P.C. The Scotti Brothers Records
label distributed its music through BMG Music from 1990 to 1996.
The company then acquired the assets of its Baywatch distribution partner, LBS, which at the time had declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy
. By October 1991, All American announced its long-awaited merger with LBS, and Anthony Scotti decided to name LBS founder Henry Siegel as All American's new president. Henry Siegel's brother Paul Siegel was named the company's new president of international and ancillary markets. The distribution rights of Baywatch and Family Feud reverted to All American in the agreement.
By late 1992, All American's first big attempt to clone the success of Baywatch -- an action series called Acapulco H.E.A.T.
-- had been sold to half of the United States
independent television market.
, The Comrads, and Craig Mack
.
In 1994, All American found itself once again fighting its image as a "one-show wonder" when it was forced to cancel Acapulco H.E.A.T. after half a season and police
drama Sirens
after one season on the air. In July 1994, despite rumors that Henry and Paul Siegel were fired due to their dissatisfaction with the cancellation of Acapulco H.E.A.T., All American acquired interest in worldwide game show production company Fremantle International (not to be confused with FremantleMedia
where the rights to this and the All American library stand today) from Interpublic Group of Companies
. In exchange for a 20% stake in All American, Interpublic gave All American some of the programming rights to Fremantle International's 93 game shows, which included local language versions of popular American game shows, such as The Price is Right and Family Feud (All American syndicated Feud in the U.S. at the time) -- all highly popular in their foreign markets. A month later, former Fremantle chairman Larry Lamattina replaced Henry Siegel as the new president and CEO of All American Television.
that promised to increase its penetration of the pop music
market. A month later, All American acquired the remaining 50% of Mark Goodson Productions from Interpublic, giving All American total ownership of the Goodson library of game shows. Two months later, All American purchased international talk show
producer and distributor Orbis Entertainment Company (not to be confused with now-defunct TV syndicator Orbis Communications, although both companies were created by the same two founders Robert Turner and Ethan Podell; Orbis Communications' library is currently owned by CBS Television Studios and StudioCanal
through the acquisition of Carolco Pictures
, which acquired Orbis Communications in the late 1980s), which was renamed All American/Orbis Communications. The acquisition significantly bolstered All American's shift into international television production and distribution and led to All American's second domestic attempt into the talk genre in the fall of 1997 with Arthel and Fred. Its first attempt, The Richard Bey Show, was cancelled in November 1996. In July 1996, All American formed an in-house licensing and merchandising division to increase control of Baywatch and other merchandise lines.
By 1997, the record label was sold to Zomba Music Group
's Volcano Records
. Meanwhile, All American was sold to Pearson plc
's Pearson Television subsidiary, and All American became Pearson Television's U.S. division. When Pearson Television merged with CLT-UFA to form the RTL Group
in 2000, Pearson TV became the content production arm of the new group, and then changed its name to FremantleMedia.
Today, FremantleMedia holds the rights to the All American and LBS libraries, as well as the Fremantle International library of game shows, and the Orbis Entertainment library of talk shows.
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
company active from 1981 to 1998. It was founded by Anthony J. Scotti
Tony Scotti
Anthony "Tony" Joseph Scotti is an American actor, television and film producer, and co-founder of Scotti Brothers Records.-Acting:...
, Ben Scotti
Ben Scotti
Benjamin Joseph Scotti is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League. A graduate of the University of Maryland , Scotti played for the Washington Redskins , the Philadelphia Eagles , and the San Francisco 49ers...
, and Joseph E. Kovacs. The company was known for producing and distributing popular television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows such as Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
and the Mark Goodson Productions library of game shows.
1960s-1970s
All American's roots trace back to 1967 where Anthony J. Scotti was a fledging actor who was famous for playing "Tony Polar" in the movie Valley of the DollsValley of the Dolls (film)
The soundtrack was released in 1967. Dionne Warwick sang the title track; however, her version is not on the soundtrack. Warwick was signed to Scepter Records at the time and could not contractually appear...
. After that, Scotti found his life as an actor boring. He told Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine, "I had come to the conclusion that acting was the most boring God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
-awful thing a human being could do." He then quit his acting career in 1971 to pursue a career in music. At the time, he was named senior vice president of MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
's record division. Three years later, he teamed up with his brother Ben to create Scotti Brothers Records
Scotti Brothers Records
Scotti Brothers Records was a California-based record label founded by Tony and Ben Scotti in 1974. Their first success was releasing albums from teen pop star Leif Garrett. They later helped launch the careers of Felony, Survivor, and "Weird Al" Yankovic...
, a music marketing company that produced the success of artists such as Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
, Survivor
Survivor (band)
Survivor is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1978. The band achieved its greatest success in the 1980s with its AOR sound, which garnered many charting singles, especially in the United States. The band is best known for its double platinum-certified 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger", the theme...
, and "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
.
In 1979, the Scotti Brothers entered the television business by producing a pop music show called America's Top 10
America's Top 10
America's Top 10 was a television program of music hits based on Billboard's Hot 100, with the exception of the last season in 1992 which used the Radio and Records chart. It aired in syndication by Gold Key Media from 1980-1982 and by All American Television from 1982-1992. The show was hosted by...
, hosted by popular radio DJ Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
. Two years later, the show's popularity led the Scotti Brothers to hire entertainment executive Joseph E. Kovacs, and together, they founded New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based All American Television. The new company was named after Anthony Scotti's success as a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
.
1980s
In 1982, All American hired George Back, the founder of a small television syndicator in New York, and Syd Vinnedge, a veteran of TV and radio advertising.In 1985, All American went public and began trading as a pink sheet
Pink Sheets
OTC Markets Group, Inc., informally known as "Pink Sheets", is a private company that provides services to the U.S. over-the-counter securities market including electronic quotations, trading, messaging, and information platforms. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, OTC...
on the over-the-counter
Over-the-counter (finance)
Within the derivatives markets, many products are traded through exchanges. An exchange has the benefit of facilitating liquidity and also mitigates all credit risk concerning the default of a member of the exchange. Products traded on the exchange must be well standardised to transparent trading....
(OTC) market. Later, the company joined the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
.
1990-1992
In late 1990, All American paved the way for success when it acquired the first-run syndication rights to Baywatch (a fledging beachBeach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
drama series that NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
cancelled at the time) through LBS Communications. The move paid off and Baywatch went on to become one of the most popular TV shows in the world until its cancellation in 2001.
In 1991, All American and Scotti Brothers Entertainment Industries merged in a stock swap that created the television and music recording core of what would eventually become All American Communications. Anthony Scotti became CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the combined entity, and in January 1991 he hired Myron Roth, a former MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
and CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
executive, to become the company's new president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and COO
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
. Syd Vinnedge was named senior executive vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
and Ben Scotti became executive vice president of the records division. All American was represented by Howard L. Mann of Schwartzman, Weinstock, Garelick & Mann, P.C. The Scotti Brothers Records
Scotti Brothers Records
Scotti Brothers Records was a California-based record label founded by Tony and Ben Scotti in 1974. Their first success was releasing albums from teen pop star Leif Garrett. They later helped launch the careers of Felony, Survivor, and "Weird Al" Yankovic...
label distributed its music through BMG Music from 1990 to 1996.
The company then acquired the assets of its Baywatch distribution partner, LBS, which at the time had declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. By October 1991, All American announced its long-awaited merger with LBS, and Anthony Scotti decided to name LBS founder Henry Siegel as All American's new president. Henry Siegel's brother Paul Siegel was named the company's new president of international and ancillary markets. The distribution rights of Baywatch and Family Feud reverted to All American in the agreement.
By late 1992, All American's first big attempt to clone the success of Baywatch -- an action series called Acapulco H.E.A.T.
Acapulco H.E.A.T.
Acapulco H.E.A.T. is a 1993 syndicated television series that followed the Hemisphere Emergency Action Team [H.E.A.T.], a group of top-secret agents based in Acapulco, Mexico and recruited by C-5, a secret government coalition, to fight terrorism and international crime...
-- had been sold to half of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
independent television market.
1993-1994
In December 1993, All American's Scotti Brothers Records subsidiary created a new urban rap division called Street Life Records which showcased African-American urban acts such as Skee-LoSkee-Lo
Antoine Roundtree , better known as Skee-Lo, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 1995 song, "I Wish", which became a top-40 hit in several countries....
, The Comrads, and Craig Mack
Craig Mack
Craig Mack is an American Grammy nominated rapper, who gained fame on Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Entertainment record label in the 1990s. Although his first single was released under the name MC EZ in 1988, he is best known for his 1994 hit single "Flava In Ya Ear", which was released under his real name...
.
In 1994, All American found itself once again fighting its image as a "one-show wonder" when it was forced to cancel Acapulco H.E.A.T. after half a season and police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
drama Sirens
Sirens (TV series)
Sirens is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC in 1993, and then in syndication from 1994 to 1995.-Synopsis:Sirens focused on the work and lives of three rookie female Pittsburgh Police officers...
after one season on the air. In July 1994, despite rumors that Henry and Paul Siegel were fired due to their dissatisfaction with the cancellation of Acapulco H.E.A.T., All American acquired interest in worldwide game show production company Fremantle International (not to be confused with FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
where the rights to this and the All American library stand today) from Interpublic Group of Companies
Interpublic Group of Companies
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. is one of the "big four" global advertising holding companies . Headquartered in New York City, it has 41,000 employees and reported full−year revenues of US$6.5 billion for 2010...
. In exchange for a 20% stake in All American, Interpublic gave All American some of the programming rights to Fremantle International's 93 game shows, which included local language versions of popular American game shows, such as The Price is Right and Family Feud (All American syndicated Feud in the U.S. at the time) -- all highly popular in their foreign markets. A month later, former Fremantle chairman Larry Lamattina replaced Henry Siegel as the new president and CEO of All American Television.
1995-1998
In October 1995, All American acquired 50% of the assets and library of Mark Goodson Productions, the producers of classic game shows including The Price is Right and Family Feud, which the company acquired the foreign distribution rights through Fremantle International. In March 1996, Scotti Bros. Records, which had released some 142 albums since 1982, was officially renamed All American Music Group and announced a distribution deal with Warner Music GroupWarner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
that promised to increase its penetration of the pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
market. A month later, All American acquired the remaining 50% of Mark Goodson Productions from Interpublic, giving All American total ownership of the Goodson library of game shows. Two months later, All American purchased international talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
producer and distributor Orbis Entertainment Company (not to be confused with now-defunct TV syndicator Orbis Communications, although both companies were created by the same two founders Robert Turner and Ethan Podell; Orbis Communications' library is currently owned by CBS Television Studios and StudioCanal
StudioCanal
StudioCanal is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world...
through the acquisition of Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures, Inc., Carolco International N.V., or Anabasis Investments was an American independent film production company that, within a decade, went from producing such blockbuster successes as Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the first three movies of the Rambo series to being bankrupted by...
, which acquired Orbis Communications in the late 1980s), which was renamed All American/Orbis Communications. The acquisition significantly bolstered All American's shift into international television production and distribution and led to All American's second domestic attempt into the talk genre in the fall of 1997 with Arthel and Fred. Its first attempt, The Richard Bey Show, was cancelled in November 1996. In July 1996, All American formed an in-house licensing and merchandising division to increase control of Baywatch and other merchandise lines.
By 1997, the record label was sold to Zomba Music Group
Zomba Music Group
The Zomba Group of Companies was a music group and division which was owned by and operated under Sony Music Entertainment. The division was renamed to Jive Label Group in 2009 and was placed under the RCA/Jive Label Group umbrella. In 2011, the RCA/Jive Label Group was split in half...
's Volcano Records
Volcano Records
Volcano Entertainment is an American rock record label founded in 1996 best known for reissuing albums by Scotti Brothers Records and releasing albums by Tool, 311, Survivor and "Weird Al" Yankovic...
. Meanwhile, All American was sold to Pearson plc
Pearson PLC
Pearson plc is a global media and education company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is both the largest education company and the largest book publisher in the world, with consumer imprints including Penguin, Dorling Kindersley and Ladybird...
's Pearson Television subsidiary, and All American became Pearson Television's U.S. division. When Pearson Television merged with CLT-UFA to form the RTL Group
RTL Group
RTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...
in 2000, Pearson TV became the content production arm of the new group, and then changed its name to FremantleMedia.
Today, FremantleMedia holds the rights to the All American and LBS libraries, as well as the Fremantle International library of game shows, and the Orbis Entertainment library of talk shows.