Coca-Cola Television Network

The Coca-Cola Television Network (Commonly referred to as CCTV) as an American broadcasting company owned by the Coca-Cola company in partnership with Columbia Pictures. CCTV had a quick rise in the ratings. However, CCTV has had a series in the top 40 since 2010.

History
On June 22, 1982, The Coca-Cola Company bought Columbia Pictures for $750 million. With that purchase, Coca-Cola launched the Coca-Cola Television network.

On June 18, 1985, Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio sold their company, Embassy Communications, Inc. (Embassy Pictures, Embassy Television, Tandem Productions, and Embassy Home Entertainment) to Coca-Cola. Under Coca-Cola's ownership, Embassy saw success with 227 and Married... with Children. The same year, Columbia and LBS Communications launched What's Happening Now!! on CCTV. The show was a sequel to the 1970s ABC sitcom What's Happening!!.

Major changes took place in 1986. On May 5, Coke acquired Merv Griffin Enterprises, producer of the popular game shows, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune; Also in 1986, the former Lear units (Embassy Television, Embassy Telecommunications, and Tandem Productions) were merged to become Embassy Communications. Also on the same year on August 28, CPT acquired Danny Arnold's Four D Productions, Inc. for $50 million.On November 24, 1986, Coke formed a new first-run syndication unit; Coca-Cola Telecommunications due to Coca-Cola merging the distribution unit of Columbia Pictures Television and The Television Program Source (a syndicator that was a joint venture between Alan Bennett, former King World president Robert King, and CPT that was created on October 15, 1984, which Coca-Cola had a small investment in originally Coca-Cola Telecommunications also took some programs that were or slated to be distributed under the Columbia Pictures Television banner including What's Happening Now!!, The Real Ghostbusters, Dinosaucers, and Punky Brewster as well as taking the US distribution rights of Hardcastle and McCormick from Colex. Punky Brewster, a former NBC in-house production, Columbia acquired the rights to Punky from NBC. During the fall of 1986, the sitcom Designing Women began a successful seven-year run on CCTV. The same year, Tri-Star Pictures formed Tri-Star Television and produced Downtown. Tri-Star produced more series in 1987, Take Five, Nothing in Common, My Two Dads, Werewolf, and Buck James each of those airing on CCTV. However, as 2000 hit, CCTV saw their rating fell flat. The ratings have been boosted slightly thanks to the 2008 debut of their hit Hood Rednecks. However since 2010, CCTV has been in the doldrums of the ratings, finally falling into last place at the end of the 2014-15 television season.