20th Television

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20th Television is a leading American television production, syndication, and distribution label currently operating under the Disney Television Studios group. It manages a vast multi-decade catalogue of scripted and unscripted series alongside active development of new original content for broadcast, cable, streaming, and third-party distribution partners.

Key moments

1949Predecessor division 20th Century Fox Television founded by 20th Century Fox to produce content for the emerging U.S. broadcast television market
1992The 20th Television syndication unit formally launched, unifying existing Fox-owned TV distribution assets to sell studio content to local broadcast stations and cable outlets
2019Following The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of most 21st Century Fox entertainment assets, the combined production and distribution operation is rebranded to 20th Television, dropping the 'Fox' name as part of Disney's corporate brand standardization efforts
c. 2021[Unconfirmed minor alignment update] 20th Television is consolidated under the central Disney Television Studios leadership alongside sister units ABC Signature and 20th Television Animation

20th Television occupies a distinct position in the crowded U.S. television production and syndication landscape, ranking among a small cohort of major studio labels that hold both enormous legacy content libraries and high-volume active new content development pipelines. Its placement within the larger Disney corporate portfolio creates unique advantages alongside some structural constraints compared to smaller independent peer studios.

Strong recurring revenue base from legacy IP: The 20th Television catalogue includes cultural touchstone series such as *The Simpsons*, *Modern Family*, and *Family Guy*, which generate steady long-term syndication and streaming licensing revenue with minimal ongoing operational investment required.
Ecosystem-aligned distribution priority: As a Disney-owned label, 20th Television receives priority consideration for content greenlights on Disney's in-house platforms including ABC, Hulu, and Disney+, while retaining flexibility to license non-exclusive content to external third-party platforms to maximize monetization reach.
Direct core competitors: The studio's main industry rivals are other large conglomerate-backed television labels including Warner Bros. Television, Universal Television, and CBS Studios, all of which operate comparable size development pipelines and hold extensive legacy content rosters of their own.
Reduced new production risk: Unlike most independent television production firms that must secure external funding or pre-sold distribution deals to cover new series costs, 20th Television can draw on Disney's large capital reserves to greenlight higher-risk, high-budget projects with built-in distribution support pathways.

Overview

20th Television, Inc.

hq location country
former names	TCF Television Productions, Inc. (1949–1958) 20th Century-Fox Television (1958–1989) 20th Century Fox Television (1994–2020)
type	Division
industry	Television production
predecessors	Four Star Television MTM Enterprises 20th Television (first incarnation) Touchstone Television (second incarnation) ABC Signature
founded	March 15, 1949
hq location city	Burbank, California

key people	Karey Burke (president)

products	Television programs

parent	20th Century Fox (1949–2014) Fox Television Group (2014–2019) Disney Television Studios (2019–present)

subsid	New Regency Television International (50%)

website	dmdcentral.com

20th Television, Inc.[1] (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is an American television production company owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on March 15, 1949, productions from this company are distributed on/in home media formats by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment through the 20th Century Home Entertainment banner.[2]

20th Television was the television arm of 20th Century Fox and was part of the majority of 21st Century Fox's assets acquired by Disney in 2019.[3][4] On August 10, 2020, Disney dropped the "Fox" word from the names of the acquired 21st Century Fox assets to avoid brand confusion with Fox Corporation; the company's current name was adopted, and subsequently started to use it for the copyright of 20th Television and 20th Television Animation productions on December 4. 20th Television has been ABC's flagship television production arm since the closure of ABC Signature on October 1, 2024.

Divisions

20th Television has divisions from before and post-Disney.

20th Century Fox Television Distribution (2011–2020) – a television distribution arm of 20th Century Fox Television for all Fox-produced and/or acquired programming. The company operated from 2011 to 2020.
FNM/FWP (1990–1994) – the TV movie production arm of TCFTV. The company was known as FNM Films, which stood for "Fox Network Movies". In 1993, the company was renamed Fox West Pictures, until it was reformed as the then-new Fox 2000 Pictures division.
20th Century Fox International Television (2001–2002) – an international television production company and a short-lived unit of TCFTV.
Fox Circle Productions (1994–2005) – a division of 20th Century Fox Television that created TV movies and original programming.
National Studios (1995–1998) – a TV movie division of Fox Circle Productions.
Fox Square Productions (1987–1990s) – a short-lived in-house production unit of the then-new Fox Broadcasting Company.

History

TCF Television Productions (1949–58)

20th Century Fox Television was originally formed in 1949 by 20th Century-Fox as other studios were branching out into television production. The company was known as TCF Television Productions, Inc. from its inception until 1958. Its first television series was Crusade in Europe, which was produced for ABC.[5]

In 1955, Fox converted the company's Western Avenue lot in Hollywood as a facility for primarily television production.[6][7] Shows such as The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and Perry Mason were filmed on this lot, before it was demolished in 1971.

Fox did not produce another television show until 1955, when it launched its very first series,

Predecessors

20th Television (distribution arm)

The original incarnation of 20th Television was the television syndication and distribution arm of 20th Century Fox Television and the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was formed in 1989 in order to separate television production from the 20th Century Fox division which oversaw film production.[83] During this time, 20th Television and 20th Century Fox served as two of Fox's four main units, along with the Fox Broadcasting Company and Fox Television Stations.[130] Following a 1994 restructuring of Fox's divisions, 20th Television was refocused on syndication and "non-traditional programs"; its television production arm was moved back under 20th Century Fox and took the 20th Century Fox Television name.[106]

20th Television distributed almost all programming and documentaries from the television production unit and its subsidiaries and the motion picture studio's output (and their own subdivisions).

Filmography

References

Elaine Low. Disney Rebrands TV Studios, 20th Century Fox TV to Become 20th Television Variety, August 10, 2020, retrieved August 10, 2020^
Nellie Andreeva. Disney Unveils Top TV Executive Structure Post Fox Acquisition: Peter Rice, Dana Walden, John Landgraf, Gary Knell Joining Deadline Hollywood, Penske Media Corporation, October 8, 2018, retrieved October 9, 2018^

20th Television

BrandAI briefing

Divisions

History

TCF Television Productions (1949–58)

Predecessors

20th Television (distribution arm)

Filmography

See also

References

20th Century-Fox Television (1958–89)

20th Century Fox Television and the Metromedia buyout/Murdoch era (1985–89)

20th Television (production arm) (1989–1994)

20th Century Fox Television and the New World era (1994–2019)

Under Disney Television Studios

Touchstone Television

MTM Enterprises

Four Star Television