Entertainment Studios

Entertainment Studios is an independent television and film studio that was founded by comedian Byron Allen in 1993 under the name CF Entertainment. The company produces and distributes first-run television series for U.S. television syndication. It also operates six digital cable and satellite channels, which broadcast a mix of original program content and syndicated programs that the company distributes for broadcast television through its Entertainment Studios Networks subsidiary. It distributes films through its subsidiary Freestyle Releasing and eponymous Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures division, and also owns The Grio, a news content provider catering to African-Americans.

The company is the largest independently operated syndication producer/distributor for broadcast television as the company produces and distributes 29 syndicated television series, which largely consist of court shows scripted from actual testimony, and interview programs.

History
Entertainment Studios was founded by Byron Allen in 1993. Entertainment Studios greenlit its first film and stage projects in December 2011, when it acquired the rights to develop a biographical film and theatrical play on the life of Sammy Davis, Jr. from Davis' daughter with actor/singer, Tracey Davis.

The company ventured into scripted programming in 2012, with the 3rd quarter launch of the sitcoms Mr. Box Office and The First Family. Both are set for 104 episodes over two years under a model of accelerated production similar to Debmar-Mercury's 10-90 Model. The two half hour shows were picked up as a two hour weekend primetime programming block with two episodes of each show back to back by Tribune, Weigel and CBS Television Station groups.

The company launched its eighth cable channel, Justice Central.TV, on December 10, 2012 which is also its first advertising support only channel. In October 2015, the studio acquired Freestyle Releasing for an undisclosed amount "said to be sealed for high-eight figures". Freestyle included a Netflix output deal.

In January 2016, the company sued AT&T and Comcast for racial discrimination in being biased against minority run entertainment companies in not carrying its cable channels. AT&T settled in December with the addition of 7 of Entertainment Studios' channels added to AT&T's DirecTV line up. In January 2016, Entertainment Studios added similar suits against Charter and the FCC.

In 2016, Entertainment Studios began to make major expansions into film distribution; at the Sundance Film Festival, the company made a surprise $20 million bid for The Birth of a Nation, losing to Fox Searchlight. In July 2016, Entertainment Studios signed a multi-year home video and on-demand distribution deal with Anchor Bay Entertainment, covering future theatrical releases by the company. The studio acquired its first film later that month, with the North American rights to 47 Meters Down from Dimension Films. At the 2017 Toronto Film Festival, Entertainment Studios also bought Chappaquiddick, Replicas, and Hostiles. Entertainment Studios aimed to distribute at least 18 films in 2018.

TheGrio was purchased by Entertainment Studios in June 2016. In mid-September 2017, the company announced an over the top sports aggregator TV service, Sports.TV, which would be available in the fourth quarter of 2017.

On March 22, 2018, Entertainment Studios announced its intent to acquire The Weather Channel's television assets from an NBCUniversal/Bain Capital/Blackstone Group partnership. The actual value was undisclosed, but was reported to be around $300 million; the channel's non-television assets, which were separately sold to IBM two years prior, were not included in the sale.

In September 2018, Entertainment Studios arranged a half a billion dollar Syndicated loan facility through Deutsche Bank Securities, Jefferies Financial Group, Brightwood Capital Advisors and Comerica Bank. The loan was planned for corporate acquisitions production and co-productions and general business purposes.

Court shows

 * America's Court with Judge Ross
 * Justice for All with Judge Cristina Pérez
 * Justice with Judge Mablean
 * Supreme Justice with Judge Karen
 * The Verdict with Judge Hatchett
 * We the People With Gloria Allred (2011-2012)

Sitcoms

 * The First Family (September 2012–April 25, 2015) syndicated (April 19, 2013– ) Centric
 * Mr. Box Office (September 2012–April 25, 2015) syndicated (April 19, 2013– ) Centric

Game shows

 * Funny You Should Ask
 * Who Wants to Date a Comedian?

Syndicated specials

 * Comedy Jam
 * Feel the Beat
 * Happy Holidays America
 * We Have a Dream

Talk and magazine series

 * Beautiful Homes & Great Estates
 * Career Day
 * Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen
 * Designers, Fashions & Runways
 * Entertainers with Byron Allen
 * Global Business People
 * The Gossip Queens
 * Latin Lifestyles
 * Kickin' It with Byron Allen
 * Urban Style
 * The Writer's Hot List
 * The Young Icons

Other shows

 * The American Athlete

Cable and Digital

 * Automotive.TV
 * Cars.TV
 * Comedy.TV
 * ES.TV
 * MyDestination.TV
 * Pets.TV
 * Recipe.TV

Television channels

 * Justice Central, launched December 10, 2012 on AT&T U-verse's family tier which is also its first advertising support only channel.
 * The Weather Channel; includes sister networks Weatherscan and Local Now

Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
In January 2018, on his film distribution model, Allen stated:

"We're chasing the studio crumbs. They don't want movies that do $40 million to $60 million. We totally will be good with those numbers, and that is what we're pursuing. Our thing is we are really big on slow roll-outs and small releases. Our philosophy &mdash; we believe in wide releases. We like to have movies that are 1,500-4,000 screens and we are chasing what the studios don't want. They're chasing much bigger. And we're going to take their crumbs and make a gourmet meal. And then eventually we'll move on to chasing more than their crumbs. But today we're chasing the crumbs."