SFM Entertainment

SFM Entertainment, LLC

Logo used from 1998
Company type	Private
Industry	Television syndication Licensing[1]
Founded	September 29, 1969 (1969-09-29)
Founder	Walter Staab Robert Frank Stanley Moger
Fate	Former parent company SFM Media Corporation acquired by Havas in 1998
Headquarters	Rye Brook, New York
Key people	Stanley Moger, CEO Michael Maizes, SVP, Counsel, CFO
Products	TV shows
Services	Ad hoc TV networks
Owner	Stanley Moger
Parent	SFM Media Corporation (1969-1998)
Divisions	SFM Holiday Network
Website	sfment.com

SFM Entertainment, LLC is an American television syndicator, film distributor, production company, and licensing firm established on September 29, 1969, originally as a division of SFM Media Corporation.[2] SFM Entertainment is known for setting up 'occasional' networks.[3] The name comes from the initials of the company's founders: Walter Staab, Robert Frank, and Stanley Moger.^[citation needed]

History

SFM Media Services Corporation was founded on September 29,[2] 1969 as an independent advertising agency by Stanley Moger, Bob Frank and Walt Staab. SFM Media started a division, SFM Entertainment (SFME), to enter the strip-programming business. SFME's first program was The Mickey Mouse Club.[4]

During the winter of 1976-77, SFM Media Service assisted Mobil Oil in running and launching the Mobil Showcase Network. This led to three additional companies approaching SFM on setting up their own 'occasional' networks.[3] In 1978, SFM launched its own network, SFM Holiday Network.[5] SFM subsequently launched the General Foods Golden Showcase Network[4] in 1980.[6] In 1983, SFM worked with Del Monte Foods to form an ad hoc TV network to broadcast the special Believe You Can . . . And You Can! over 100 stations on April 21, 1983 at 8 PM EST.[7]

In 1994, SFM started up a sports marketing unit in its media services division with the hiring of Jerry Solomon as executive vice president.[8]

In 1998, media holding company Havas purchased SFM Media Corporation; its SFM Entertainment division was not included in the sale.[9]

Shows distributed by SFM

Some shows distributed by SFM (past or present) include:

• The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin[4]
• Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
• The Mickey Mouse Club (the 1977-1978 version, including the 1975-1977 syndication of the black-and-white original series)[4]
• The Flip Wilson Show
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
• The Smothers Brothers Show
• The Adventures of Jim Bowie
• The Danny Thomas Show
• The Real McCoys
• The West Point Story (along with MGM Television)
• The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955–1961)
• the AFI 100 Years... series of TV specials
• Zoobilee Zoo (with DIC Entertainment) live action pre-school program[10]
• Care Bears (syndicated version from 1988)
• Rainbow Brite
• Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
• Make Room for Daddy
• The Joey Bishop Show
• Death Valley Days[11]
• Mister Peepers
• Help! I'm a Fish
• The Doctors
• Edward the Seventh (British miniseries distributed in U.S. in 1979)
• Deal (a 1978 behind-the-scenes look at Let's Make a Deal)
• Good Morning World
• Lotsa Luck
• Roseanne (produced by Carsey-Werner Productions)
• The Jerry Lewis Show (1967–1969 NBC series; sketches edited from original hour-long shows into half-hour reruns)
• The Toys That Rescued Christmas (2004)
• Superstars[9]
  • Battle of the Network Stars[9]
  • Female Superstars[9]
• SFM I movie and documentary package[10]
  • The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt
  • Pinocchio in Outer Space
• Stamp of Greatness – weekly half-hour program profile those on the postage stamps[10]
• Directions – weekly half-hour program on fashion[10]
• The George Steinbrenner Show – half-hour weekly sports series moderated by Steinbrenner as two well-known sports figures debate sports related issue in front of an audience[10]
• Faces of Love – first-run anthology series from major authors feature romance[10]
• The Hugga Bunch – 5-part limited series[10]
• The Texas 150th Birthday Celebration – 3-hour live special featuring top Texan stars mark the 150th anniversary of Texas[10]
• The March of Time – award-winning British documentary series[10]
• The Dione Lucas Cooking Show

Units

• SFM Entertainment
  • SFM Holiday Network

See also

• Fourth television network
• Mobil Showcase Network
• Operation Prime Time

References

1. "SFM Entertainment, LLC: Private Company Information - Businessweek". businessweek.com. Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
2. SFM at 30, sfment.dreamhosters.com Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
3. Nadel, Gerry (1977-05-30). "Who Owns Prime Time? The Threat of the 'Occasional' Networks". New York Magazine. New York: 33–36. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
4. Brokaw, Kurt (September 11, 2006). "My Days and Nights with Moger". Madison Avenue Journal. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
5. Dougherty, Philip H. (December 22, 1981). "Advertising; Holiday Success At SFM". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
6. Key, Janet (November 1, 1989). "Despite Mega-budget, Att Sees Real Bargain In 'The Final Days'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
7. Jory, Tom (March 21, 1983). "Stan Moger and the ad hoc networks". The Gettysburg Times. AP. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
8. Ramirez, Anthony (September 19, 1994). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING -- ADDENDA; SFM Media Names Head of Sports Unit". New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
9. Frank, Bob (September 14, 2006). "Bob to Stanley: "What's a Media Service?"". Madison Avenue Journal. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
10. "The SFM Explosion (ad)" (PDF). SFM Entertainment. January 6, 1986. p. 18. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
11. "SFM Entertainment :: Death Valley Days".

External links

• Official website