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King World Led Way With Syndicated Game, Talk Shows
Syndication titan Roger M. King, most recently CEO of CBS Television Distribution, died Dec. 8 at his home in Boca Raton, FIa., from complications of a stroke he suffered the previous day. He was 63.
Mr. King, through his King World Productions, was responsible for the launch, sales and distribution of some of syndication's biggest successes, including "Wheel of Fortune," "Jeopardy!," "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Dr. Phil."
Under the guidance of Mr. King and his brother, Michael, King World grew from a small company founded in 1964 by their father-who built it on distributing "The Little Rascals" comedies-into the preeminent distributor of first-run syndicated programming.
The defining moment for the latter-day King World came in 1983 after Mr. King and his brother set their sights on a 7-year-old network game show, "Wheel of Fortune," produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises. When King World set out to syndicate "Wheel" to stations, it not only demanded no barter time as part of the licensing agreement, but also...