Carsey-Werner's Declaration: Independence!

By Paige Albiniak
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Carsey-Werner-Mandabach will remain one of Hollywood's last independent production houses. The company's three partners announced Tuesday that they do not plan to sell.

"We wanted to examine all of our options to determine the best way for us to move forward as a creative entity," said partner Tom Werner. "Our investment bankers at UBS presented us with some very interesting and thoughtful proposals, but after careful analysis we decided that independence remains the best way for us to navigate the changing waters of the television business."

Werner, Marcy Carsey and Caryn Mandabach together run the company, which produces That 70s Show and Grounded for Life. CWM, in business for more than 20 years, also owns a TV library that includes The Cosby Show, Roseanne, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Grace Under Fire, Cybill, Cosby and A Different World.

It also runs CWM Films, which has a deal with Paramount Pictures. The three partners also have an investment in cable network Oxygen

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.