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The Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an United States media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The company is rooted in the Taft family of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States. In 1879, William Howard's brother, Charles Phelps Taft, purchased two afternoon newspapers in Cincinnati, The Times and The Cincinnati Daily Star, merging them into the Cincinnati Times-Star in 1880. It was during the tenure of the merged paper's second publisher, Hulbert Taft, son of Charles and William Howard's half-brother, Peter Rawson Taft II, that the newspaper also became involved in broadcasting.
The company was the owner of such major media and entertainment properties as Hanna-Barbera, Worldvision Enterprises, Ruby-Spears, KECO Entertainment and many television and . It also owned 50% of CIC Video's operations, CIC-Taft Home Video.
The company went through a huge reorganization period starting in the late 1980s with its acquisition by Carl Lindner, Jr. to become Great American Broadcasting. Shortly after filing for bankruptcy in 1993, it became Citicasters and was, in 1999, acquired by Clear Channel Communications, which was renamed iHeartMedia in 2014. Taft — as Citicasters — is still incorporated as a holding company within iHeartMedia.
In April 1949 Taft's first TV station, WKRC-TV in Cincinnati began broadcasting.
In 1951, in its first expansion outside Ohio, Radio Cincinnati acquired a 20 percent interest in WBIR-AM-WIMZ in Knoxville, Tennessee from father-and-son owners J. Lindsay and Gilmore Nunn."Taft gets WBIR interest." Broadcasting - Telecasting, September 17, 1951, pg. 4. [3] A year-and-a-half later, the Taft family increased its stake to 30 percent when the Nunns sold additional shares in that station to Martha and Robert Ashe, John P. Hart, and Radio Cincinnati."FCC okays ownership shifts for KTHT, WBIR." Broadcasting - Telecasting, April 13, 1953, pg. 52. [4]
In 1953, Radio Cincinnati purchased WTVN-TV (now WSYX) in Columbus, Ohio, from Picture-Waves, Inc., controlled by Toledo attorney and broadcaster Edward Lamb."TV station is purchased." The New York Times, January 13, 1953, pg. 32."Taft buys WTVN for $1.5 million." Broadcasting, January 19, 1953, pg. 56. [5]"FCC approves WTVN (TV) sale from Lamb to Taft family." Broadcasting, March 2, 1953, pg. 54. [6]
In 1954, the company bought WHKC radio in Columbus from United Broadcasting, then-owners of WHK in Cleveland; WHKC is renamed WTVN."WHKC bought by WTVN (TV), WKRC interests for $158,000." Broadcasting - Telecasting, April 19, 1954, pg. 7. [7]
In August 1956 WBIR-TV in Knoxville began broadcasting, under the same ownership structure as the WBIR radio stations.
In 1957, Radio Cincinnati purchased WBRC-AM-WBPT-WBRC-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, from Storer Broadcasting."This week's receipts: $26 million." Broadcasting - Telecasting, April 8, 1957, pp. 31-32. [8][9]
In 1958, the Cincinnati Times-Star was merged into the Cincinnati Post, published by the E.W. Scripps Company. Radio Cincinnati also purchased WKXP-TV in Lexington, Kentucky, from local interests and changed its call letters to WKYT-TV.[10] "Changing hands." Broadcasting, May 19, 1958, pp. 88, 90
In 1959, the company acquired the remaining 70 percent of WBIR-AM-FM-TV in Knoxville. "Changing hands." Broadcasting, October 12, 1959, pg. 54 Also in 1959, the Taft family merged its broadcasting subsidiaries into one, using the Taft Broadcasting Company name."Taft files with SEC to sell common stock." Broadcasting, June 15, 1959, pg. 66. [13]"For the record." Broadcasting, June 29, 1959, pg. 92: Subsidiaries WBRC, Inc. (WBRC-AM-FM-TV), WTVN, Inc. (WTVN-TV), Radio Cincinnati, Inc. (WKRC-AM-FM-TV and WKYT-TV), and Radio Columbus, Inc. (WTVN-AM-FM) were merged into Taft Broadcasting Co., announced June 23, 1959. [14]"For the record." Broadcasting, February 8, 1960, pg. 98: Subsidiary WBIR, Inc. (WBIR-AM-FM-TV) was merged into Taft Broadcasting Co., announced February 1, 1960. [15]
In 1963, Taft purchased several stations from Transcontinent Television Corporation: WDAF-AM-KCKC-FM-WDAF-TV in Kansas City, Missouri, WGR-WGRF-WGRZ-TV in Buffalo, New York, and WNEP-TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania."Transcontinent sale: Last of its kind?" Broadcasting, February 24, 1964, pp. 27-28. [18][19]"Radio-TV concern to sell stations." The New York Times, Aug. 3, 1963, pg. 21.
In October 1966 Taft purchased the Hanna-Barbera cartoon studio from its founders, Joseph Barbera, William Hanna and George Sidney."Yogi and friends going to Taft". Broadcasting, October 31, 1966, pg. 78. [20] Several months later in April 1967, the firm sold WKYT-TV to a subsidiary of Kentucky Central Life Insurance Company."Station sales total $10.7 million". Broadcasting, May 1, 1967, pg. 58. [21]
On November 10, 1967, Taft Broadcasting president and chairman Hulbert Taft Jr. died in liquid propane gas-related explosion in a bomb shelter he had built on his property in the Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill. Days after his death, his son Dudley S. Taft replaced him on the firm's board of directors, and he eventually became head of the company.
In 1969, Taft purchased WIBF-TV in Philadelphia and changed its call letters to WTXF-TV."$20 million in TV sales approved." Broadcasting, May 12, 1969, pg. 48. [22] The FCC initially granted Taft a waiver to keep both WTAF-TV and WNEP-TV, but later reversed itself in 1973 (four years later), and Taft sold the Scranton outlet to the station's management, who formed NEP Communications. "Changing hands." Broadcasting, November 26, 1973, pg. 28
In 1970, Taft formed Rhodes Productions, a television syndication arm for various independent TV programs, including those of Hanna-Barbera.
In 1972, Taft opened its first theme park, Kings Island, outside of Cincinnati. Taft owned five other theme parks through its KECO Entertainment division. WBRC radio and WBRC-FM in Birmingham are sold to Mooney Broadcasting."Taft's WBRC-AM-FM sold for $2 million." Broadcasting, January 24, 1972, pg. 29. [24]
In 1974, Taft acquired Top 40 station KQV and Rock music outlet WDVE, both in Pittsburgh, from Cumulus Media."Taft in, ABC out of Pittsburgh radio." Broadcasting, April 1, 1974, pg. 22. [25]
In 1975, Rhodes Productions was sold to Filmways. Taft, H-B Program Sales and Taft, H-B International were established as the new domestic and overseas television distribution arms.
In 1979, Taft purchased WDCA in Washington, D.C. from the Superior Tube Company."Taft's turn to buy WDCA-TV; price this time is $13.5 million." Broadcasting, May 1, 1978, pg. 50. [26]"FCC stays on course, just barely, with top-50 policy; grants waiver for Taft buy of WDCA-TV." Broadcasting, August 20, 1979, pp. 25-26. [27] [28] Around this same period, Taft also acquired independent distributor Worldvision Enterprises (formerly a division of ABC) and production company QM Productions.
In 1981, Taft acquired Ruby-Spears from Filmways. Around this time, Taft split its operation into two "subdivisions": the " Taft Entertainment Company" (which included Hanna-Barbera, Ruby-Spears, Worldvision, the theme parks, Taft International Pictures, and Taft Entertainment Television). The other was the " Taft Television & Radio Co, Inc.". Also in 1981, Taft, in partnership with The Great-West Life Assurance Company or Winnipeg and Denver, opened Canada's Wonderland, a theme park near Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In 1982, KQV in Pittsburgh was sold to its general manager Robert W. Dickey and newspaper publisher Richard Mellon Scaife, under the "Calvary, Inc." banner. "Changing hands." Broadcasting, April 12, 1982, pg. 98
In 1983, Taft exchanged WGR-TV in Buffalo to General Cinema Corporation's Coral Television subsidiary in return for WFOR-TV in Miami."$110 million deal for Miami independent." Broadcasting, August 2, 1982, pg. 24. [30]
In 1985 Taft purchased Gulf Broadcasting, which includes KTXA in Fort Worth; KTXH in Houston; WTSP in St. Petersburg, Florida; KTSP-TV (now KSAZ-TV) in Phoenix; KESQ-TV in Palm Springs, California; and WGHP in High Point, North Carolina. "Taft buys Gulf." Broadcasting, February 4, 1985, pg. 38 "In brief." Broadcasting, June 3, 1985, pg. 128 As a result, Taft sold several radio stations to CBS to comply with FCC rules. "CBS's audio concentration." Broadcasting, May 6, 1985, pg. 40 KESQ-TV was spun off to former Gulf Broadcasting executive E. Grant Fitts. Broadcasting Yearbook, 1987, pg. 353
In October 1986, WTAF-TV in Philadelphia and WCIX in Miami became charter of the Fox Broadcasting Company."Fox network begins to take shape." Broadcasting, August 4, 1986, pg. 44. [35] One month later, Taft announced the sale of both of those stations along with its three independent stations (WDCA-TV, KTXA, and KTXH) to the TVX Broadcast Group; the sale was completed in April 1987."Taft's TV's go to TVX for $240 million." Broadcasting, November 24, 1986, pg. 41. [36]"McDonald paints a bright picture for TVX." Broadcasting, May 11, 1987, pg. 37. [37] Taft also sold WGR radio and WRLT-FM (the former WGR-FM) in Buffalo to Rich Communications, a subsidiary of Buffalo-based Rich Products. "Changing hands." Broadcasting, February 23, 1987, pg. 64
Taft Broadcasting Company was purchased by TFBA Limited Partnership, which included Robert Bass as a partner, in April 1987 for $1.43 billion taking the company private.
In 1988, Great American Broadcasting sold Worldvision to Aaron Spelling Productions. Included with Worldvision were outright ownership of all of Great American's programming assets (including the remnants of Taft International Pictures and Taft Entertainment Television), except for the Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears libraries, which remained owned by Great American for the time being. However, Worldvision continued to hold syndication rights until the two animation studios found new owners.
In 1991, Hanna-Barbera, along with much of the original Ruby-Spears library, was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System, which became part of WarnerMedia in 1996. As part of this deal, syndication rights to the libraries were passed to Turner Program Services (via Turner Entertainment Co.) prior to Time Warner's purchase of Turner. Eventually, TPS was folded into Warner Bros. Television Distribution. The Ruby-Spears studio was spun off and bought back by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, and operated as an independent operation from then forward.Shostak, Stu (01-16-2013). " Interview with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears". Stu's Show. Retrieved 03-18-2013.
In 1992, KECO Entertainment, Great American's theme park division, was sold to Paramount Communications (the parent of Paramount Pictures; the parent company was formerly known as Gulf+Western) and became Paramount Parks, later to be acquired by Viacom. (These parks were sold to Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. by CBS in 2006.) Great American also reacquired WGHP from Dudley Taft.
In 1993, Great American filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and renamed to Citicasters Communications. It also sold WKRC radio to Jacor Communications and shut down Electra, a teletext service operated as a joint venture between Taft, Zenith, and Turner Broadcasting's WTBS (now WPCH-TV) in Atlanta.
In 1994, Citicasters sold most of its TV stations, including WDAF-TV and KSAZ-TV to New World Communications, and WBRC and WGHP to the News Corporation's Fox Television Stations unit, which would later acquire the New World chain.
In 1996, Citicasters, by then the owner of two television stations, five AM radio stations and 14 FM radio stations, merged with Jacor, which became a subsidiary of Citicasters. Three months after the merger was completed, Jacor exchanged WTSP to Gannett in return for Gannett's radio stations in Los Angeles, San Diego and Tampa. In 1997, as a condition of the merger, Jacor sold WKRQ and the original WDAF-FM (by then KYYS, now KCKC) to American Radio Systems, which would become acquired by Infinity Broadcasting (later renamed CBS Radio) in 1998. Also in 1997, Jacor sold WDAF-AM (now KCSP) to Entercom Communications.
In 1997, the Worldvision properties that had previously been under Taft and Great American (with the exception of the Hanna-Barbera and most of the Ruby-Spears material) were incorporated into Republic Pictures (today part of CBS Television Studios).
In 1999, iHeartMedia acquired Citicasters and Jacor. The Citicasters name lives on as a holding company and licensee under the Clear Channel corporate structure.
Notes:
| Birmingham - Tuscaloosa - Anniston | WBRC | 6 (50) | 1957–1995 | Fox affiliate owned by Raycom Media |
| Phoenix | KTSP-TV | 10 (10) | 1985–1994 | Fox owned-and-operated (O&O), KSAZ-TV |
| Washington, D.C. | WDCA | 20 (35) | 1979–1987 | MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated (O&O) |
| Miami - Fort Lauderdale | WCIX | 6 ( 4 (22)) | 1983–1987 | CBS owned-and-operated (O&O), WFOR-TV |
| St. Petersburg - Tampa | WTSP | 10 (10) | 1985–1996 | CBS affiliate owned by Tegna, Inc. |
| Lexington, Kentucky | WKYT-TV | 27 (36) | 1958–1967 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Kansas City, Missouri | WDAF-TV | 4 (34) | 1964–1994 | Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting |
| Buffalo, New York | WGR-TV | 2 (33) | 1964–1983 | NBC affiliate, WGRZ, owned by Tegna, Inc. |
| High Point - Greensboro - Winston-Salem | WGHP | 8 (35) | 1985–1995 | Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting |
| Cincinnati | WKRC-TV ** | 12 (12) | 1949–1996 | CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Columbus, Ohio | WTVN-TV | 6 (48) | 1953–1987 | ABC affiliate, WSYX, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Philadelphia | WTAF-TV | 29 (42) | 1969–1987 | Fox owned-and-operated (O&O), WTXF-TV |
| WPHL-TV | 17 (17) | 1987–1992 | MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting | |
| Scranton - Wilkes-Barre, PA | WNEP-TV | 16 (50) | 1964–1973 | ABC affiliate owned by Dreamcatcher Broadcasting, LLC |
| Knoxville, Tennessee | WBIR-TV | 10 (10) | 1959–1961 | NBC affiliate owned by Tegna, Inc. |
| Fort Worth - Dallas | KTXA | 21 (29) | 1985–1987 | Independent owned by CBS Corporation |
| Houston | KTXH | 20 (19) | 1985–1987 | MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated (O&O) |
| AM Stations | FM Stations |
| City of license/Market | Station/frequency | Years owned | Current ownership |
| Birmingham, Alabama !style="background: #cedff2" | WBRC–960 (now WERC) | 1957–1972 | IHeartMedia, Inc. |
| Kansas City, Missouri !style="background: #cedff2" | WDAF–610 (now KCSP) | 1964–1987 | Entercom Communications |
| Buffalo, New York !style="background: #cedff2" | WGR–550 | 1964–1987 | Entercom Communications |
| Cincinnati !style="background: #cedff2" | WKRC–550 | 1939–1987 | IHeartMedia, Inc. |
| Columbus, Ohio !style="background: #cedff2" | WTVN–610 | 1954–1987 | IHeartMedia, Inc. |
| Pittsburgh !style="background: #cedff2" | KQV–1410 | 1974–1982 | Calvary, Inc. |
| Knoxville, Tennessee !style="background: #cedff2" | WBIR–1240 (now WIFA) | 1959–1961 (also held a 20% stake from 1951 to 1953, increased to 30% from 1953 to 1959) | Progressive Media, Inc. |
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