Topic: When Does Spike's Contract End?

[locoboymakesgood]

Anyone know when Spike's contract to air the Boys ends? I think after their change from "The First Network For Men" to "Get More Action", they really don't fit on the schedule anyway. I'd prefer it if a network like TCM got to air all 190.. but of course that's just a wet dream.

[archiezappa]

TCM would be the perfect network for our boys.  Then, they could air shorts and their full-length movies also.

[Pat The Stooge]

Archie, the only way this will happen is if C3 loses the rights to the stooges and they're picked up by AOL Time Warner.

Normal Maurer Productions owned the rights for twenty years, had the stooges aired on an hour long time slot twice during the 1980s on TBS and on The Family Channel from 1994-1997.

But in mid 1996, C3 released the Three Stooges home video collection under Columbia House the videos were a hit! during  that time, TFC was under a bitter lawsuit from commediane Carol Burnett who's known to be greedy and tyrranical on licensing her image who slammed the Family Channel for running her 1970s variety show in syndication. She complained that her production company "Carol Burnett Productions" never gave TFC syndication rights, in early 1997 she won a court order that forced TFC to pull the show from thier lineup.(funny because she recently lost a suit against "Family Guy" for using her image as a pop culture reference in a 2006 episode.) Also in late 1997, theere were rumors that CBN founder Pat Robertson was involoved in a commercial bribery scandal that TFC was funding money for GOP polictians and helped fund the Republican's 1994 mid term campaign against Clinton. In January 1998, Roberson plead guilty and was forced to pay a multimillion dollar fine which forced CBN to sell the network to Fox who launched it as "Fox Family Channel" in September 1998.

Though TFC had already pulled "Stooge TV" from thier lineup, many fans thought that Fox Family would have a Stooge timeslot, they didn't. And after many angry fans threated boycott, The network suffered from poor ratings and a bad lineup and was forced to sell Fox Family to Disney in 2000 which it exists as today.

Because of the cancellation of "Stooge TV", and Fox Family's lack of showing Three Stooges, Norman Maurer Productions was unable to manage a profit from Stooge merchindise and lost the rights after C3 outbid them in December 1999. But C3 is only compelled to sell Stooge shorts based on popularity and as result since then they have held 60 shorts from release and won't allow Sony to distribute them. During AMC's "NYuk" Ocotber 2000- January 2004, the network was forced to repeat the same shorts over and over again and were only giving the unpopluar Joe Besser and A.D. shemps. Spike TV has aired the shorts since Janaury 2005.

Maybe, just maybe next year, C3 will lose the rights if Aol Time Warner is interesting in purchasing the syndication rights to air Stooges on TCM. Comedy III is totally clueless when it comes to demand and everytime I order from them they keep telling me that Sony wont let the missing shorts get released. But I don't buy that, I know it's C3's fault. Because the'yre full of greed.(Sigh I wish whe I was 13, I could have gotten the bright idea to tape Stooge TV on some old tapes lying around the house instead of asking my parents to buy the video collection knowing they could afford to get it.

[BeAStooge]

...the only way this will happen is if C3 loses the rights to the stooges and they're picked up by AOL Time Warner.
Normal Maurer Productions owned the rights for twenty years, had the stooges aired on an hour long time slot twice during the 1980s on TBS and on The Family Channel from 1994-1997.
But in mid 1996, C3 released the Three Stooges home video collection under Columbia House

Neither C3 or Norman Maurer Productions have ever owned the rights to the films, or distributed the films. These companies have managed the Stooges' trademark rights.

The films have always been owned by Columbia. All theatrical, television, and home video distribution has always been Columbia.

... Norman Maurer Productions was unable to manage a profit from Stooge merchindise and lost the rights after C3 outbid them in December 1999.

C3 did not outbid NMP for the rights to the Stooges.

Comedy III is a company formed by Moe, Larry & Curly Joe in 1959 to market Three Stooges merchandise and handle their business affairs. Norman Maurer Productions assumed the business end during the early 1960s, and Comedy III continued to exist in the background to distribute partnership earnings to Howard, Fine & DeRita.

In 1993 the DeRita and Fine heirs sued NMP management (Moe's family) over financial issues, and won the case in 1994.
 - NMP was dissolved at that time, and Comedy III was reinstated as the principal company.
 - C3 has managed the Trademark of The Three Stooges since 1994.

[Pat The Stooge]

I wonder why C3 has held up the release of the 60 shorts since 2000?When during Stooge T.V.'s run they let nearly all of them run and get released to video.

I thought that NMP was still in existance after 1994.

Yes I know that Sony(Columbia) has always been the distributer of Stooge shorts on home video, but I thought that during that 1960s and 1970s that Screen Gems handled the television distribution of The Three Stooges.

[BeAStooge]

I wonder why C3 has held up the release of the 60 shorts since 2000? When during Stooge T.V.'s run they let nearly all of them run and get released to video.

In 1999, Columbia put together a syndication package for local broadcast stations. One short per half-hour, two commercial breaks, joke commercial intro/outro in the breaks, animation effects on the break segues... all in an ill-advised attempt to MTV-ize the Stooges for modern audiences. 130 shorts were selected, which is a desirable benchmark of episodes for syndication packaging.

Columbia did associate in some capacity with C3 during production of the 1999 syndication package, and Columbia gave C3 mgmt. executive producer credit.  Columbia owns the films. Columbia produced the package. Columbia distributed the package.

If the new syndication package succeeded, the remaining films would get the same treatment, and join the other 130 the following season. It didn't succeed, and the 60 were not added. (A few local broadcasters 'had some smarts,' i.e., WSBK Boston and WCIU Chicago, and bypassed the syndication version to lease all 190 "unaltered.")

AMC leased national cable rights to the Stooges' shorts in 2000, and Columbia restricted them to air the same group of 130 titles, so as not to have an unfair advantage over local broadcasters on the same cable system. SpikeTV was given the same restriction in 2005.

I thought that during that 1960s and 1970s that Screen Gems handled the television distribution of The Three Stooges.

Screen Gems was Columbia's television distribution/production subsidiary in the 1950s-1970s.

[Pat The Stooge]

Hmm....Interesting factoid.

I kinda find it insulting that the year Michael Flemming released his Three Stooges book, that C3 would be so ignorant in only allowing 130 shorts to be released and aired on AMC. It makes no sense on why so many of them are held up( I know that Yoke's on me will probably remain unreleased.) but it;s fustrating that great shorts from 1945 and "Three Pests in a Mess" 1950-1952 "Self Maid Maids" and "Scrabled Brains" along with Charley Chase's '38-39 efforts "Flat Foot Stooges" "Saved by the Belle" that C3 is restricting them for no reason at all.

If Stooges go to TCM, AOL Time Warner would have to try ro get past this restriction or they would at least try to convince C3 to let TCM air all shorts uncut.(Excluding Yoke's on me)

While alot of you older Stooge fans complained about Family Channel cutting shorts past 15 minutes long for time, the benift was that all 190(Except the Yoke's on me)would be shown. At least one benift comes from Spike TV, sometimes they randomly air the 130 in color.

We can only hope AOL Time Warner can get the 190 to air on TCM without the restrictions and find some loopholes from greedy C3 and Sony(Columbia.)

[IFleecem]

I used to watch the Stooges On Spike in the morning all the time, now I just can't catch em at all.

I Fleecem, President

[locoboymakesgood]

I'm sure if TCM got a hold of the Stooges they would air them as filler, similar to how they air old MGM and Warner Bros. cartoons.

I'm content with that though. A couple of times a week and I'd be thrilled.

[porcupinefan87]

Yeah I did too. However, I feel the best TV representation for the Stooges that I've seen in my short life haha, was when AMC aired them. They had it as NYUK University, and Leslie Nielson was the professor of "Stooge-ology" and all. They took advantadge of their full two hours and aired the maximum amount of shorts, unlike some channels that would air them and put COMMERCIALS in the shorts. What a waste. They are 19 minutes long for crying out loud haha! I liked AMC's version better than when Spike would air them, though Spike was sort of funny with the little fake adverts and stuff in between. But again, too many commercials and a waste. Two shorts in one hour is stupid. They can show more.

That's interesting about all the legalities though and how no one's ever had rights to all the shorts (I mean TV channels) and stuff.

[busybuddy]

Last month on TCM OnDemand the show "Festival of Shorts" featured Plane Nuts and the Big Idea.

[archiezappa]

I really liked the AMC airings of the Stooges, too.   It was really well-done.  However, AMC ain't what it used to be.  If only TCM could do something like that.   I also miss the way they did the Little Rascals, too.   What has happened to cable?   I remember back in the 80's, my childhood, I used to watch old black and white movies, Looney Tunes, Three Stooges, etc.   Those were excellent.   But television today, has all but banned black and white stuff.   It just doesn't make sense to me.  I wish there were more channels like TCM, so we would have more of a variety of black and white stuff.