Pearson Television

Was the American-based television production and distribution arm of British company Pearson PLC. Founded in 1996, defunct in 2001. In 1994, Pearson PLC bought the production arms of Thames Television, Hill-Fields Entertainment and ACI Worldwide Distribution, making their way into the television industry. Two years later, Pearson PLC bought the production company All American Television and re-branded it as Pearson Television. This gave them the rights to various libraries. In 2000, Pearson decided to take over Smith & Jones' production company Talkback Productions. In the same year, Pearson Television ended when Pearson PLC sold the division to CLT-UFA (which later went on to form the RTL Group). A year later, Pearson Television was re-branded as FremantleMedia.