Turner Program Services


Turner Program Services was the former syndication arm of Turner Broadcasting. It served the same purpose as Turner Entertainment's distribution unit, with the exception that TPS was more involved in distributing television series rather than films.
Founded in 1982, the company was originally responsible for syndicating Turner-produced programs as well as developing programming for TBS such as Night Tracks. TPS expanded its distribution into other networks' series in the 1990s, syndicating series such as The Wonder Years. When Turner bought the rights to the Hanna-Barbera library of cartoons, TPS became their distributor to local stations. TPS was also responsible for handling distribution and sales for CNN Newsource.
One of the more notable series TPS was responsible for developing was Captain Planet and the Planeteers, which was a co-production with DiC Entertainment and centered on a character created by Turner Broadcasting founder Ted Turner. DiC and Turner combined on the development of the series while TPS was responsible for the distribution of the series, which aired on both TBS and in syndication.
Also, earlier in 1986, TPS, with the help of veteran anime translator Fred Ladd, produced a second English translation of the 1970s anime Science Ninja Team Gatchaman called ', which would subsequently air on TBS and Cartoon Network. TPS also held partial distribution rights to G-Force until all rights to the series reverted to license holder Sandy Frank Entertainment in 2003.
Upon Time Warner's purchase of Turner in 1996, TPS was absorbed into Telepictures Distribution''', which is now part of Warner Bros. Television Distribution. CNN Newsource began to handle its own distribution and ad sales from then on.