1990s
In late 1990, All American paved the way for success when it acquired the first-run syndication rights to Baywatch (a fledgling beach drama series that NBC canceled at the time) through LBS Communications. The move paid off and Baywatch went on to become one of the most popular TV shows until its cancellation in 2001.
In 1991, All American and Scotti Brothers Entertainment Industries merged in a stock swap that created the television and music recording core of what would eventually become All American Communications. Anthony Scotti became CEO of the combined entity, and in January 1991 he hired Myron Roth, a former MCA Records and CBS Records executive, to become the company's new president and COO. Syd Vinnedge was named senior executive vice president and Ben Scotti became executive vice president of the records division. All American was represented by Howard L. Mann of Schwartzman, Weinstock, Garelick & Mann, P.C. The Scotti Brothers Records label distributed its music through BMG Music from 1990 to 1996.
The company then acquired the assets of its Baywatch distribution partner, Lexington Broadcast Services Company (LBS), which at the time had declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. By October 1991, All American announced its long-awaited merger with LBS, and Anthony Scotti decided to name LBS founder Henry Siegel as All American's new president. Henry Siegel's brother Paul Siegel was named the company's new president of international and ancillary markets. The distribution rights of Baywatch and Family Feud reverted to All American in the agreement, while cancelling off LBS' collaboration with NBC, Memories...Then and Now.[8]
By late 1992, All American's first attempt to clone the success of Baywatch—an action series Acapulco H.E.A.T.—had been sold to half of the United States independent television market.
In December 1993, All American's Scotti Brothers Records subsidiary created a new urban rap division called Street Life Records which showcased African-American urban acts such as Skee-Lo, The Comrads, and Craig Mack. Also that year, it signed a deal with DIC Entertainment to launch Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, which was modeled on the success of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, for the 1994-95 syndicated TV season, using footage from Gridman the Hyper Agent, from Tsuburaya Productions and its Ultracom subsidiary.[9][10]
In 1994, All American found itself once again fighting its image as a "one-show wonder" when it was forced to cancel Acapulco H.E.A.T. after half a season and police drama Sirens after one season on the air. In July 1994, despite rumors that Henry and Paul Siegel were fired due to their dissatisfaction with the cancellation of Acapulco H.E.A.T., All American acquired interest in worldwide game show production company Fremantle International (not to be confused with the current incarnation of Fremantle where the rights to the original Fremantle and All American library stand today) from Interpublic Group of Companies.[11] In exchange for a 20% stake in All American, Interpublic gave All American some of the programming rights to Fremantle International's 93 game shows, which included local language versions of popular American game shows, such as The Price is Right and Family Feud (All American syndicated Feud in the U.S. at the time), all highly popular in their foreign markets. A month later, former Fremantle chairman Larry Lamattina replaced Henry Siegel as the new president and CEO of All American Television. Henry and Paul Siegel officially left the company to form SeaGull Entertainment, which handled syndication of children's programs, and signed a deal with DIC Entertainment.[12]
In October 1995, All American acquired 50% of the assets and library of Mark Goodson Productions, the producers of classic game shows including The Price is Right and Family Feud, which the company acquired the foreign distribution rights through Fremantle International.[13] By 1995, David Gerber had signed an agreement to join the studio, which was entitled All American Television Productions.[14] In March 1996, Scotti Bros. Records, which had released some 142 albums since 1982, was officially renamed All American Music Group and announced a distribution deal with Warner Music Group that promised to increase its penetration of the pop music market.[15] A month later, All American acquired the remaining 50% of Mark Goodson Productions from Interpublic, giving All American total ownership of the Goodson library of game shows.[16] Two months later, All American purchased international talk show producer and distributor Orbis Entertainment Company (not to be confused with now-defunct TV syndicator Orbis Communications, although both companies were created by the same two founders Robert Turner and Ethan Podell),[17]
By 1997, the record label was sold to Zomba Music Group's Volcano Records. Meanwhile, All American was sold to Pearson plc's Pearson Television subsidiary, and All American became Pearson Television's U.S. division. When Pearson Television merged with CLT-UFA to form the RTL Group in 2000, Pearson TV became the content production arm of the new group, then changed its name to FremantleMedia the next year, and eventually in 2018 renamed into Fremantle, thus reviving the name of that acquired companies.
Talbot Television was an international division of Pearson Television which identified itself as "All-American Fremantle".
