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Warner Communications, Inc. was established in 1972 when Kinney National Company spun off its non-entertainment assets and changed its name.
It was the parent company for Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Music Group from 1972 to 1990. It also owned DC Comics and Mad magazine. Warner made considerable profits with Atari, Inc., which it owned from 1976 to 1984.
In 1979, Warner formed a joint venture with credit card company American Express, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, which owned cable channels like MTV, Nickelodeon and The Movie Channel. Warner bought out American Express's half in 1984, and sold the venture a year later to Viacom, which renamed it MTV Networks.
In 1982, Warner purchased Popular Library from CBS Publications.
In 1987, it was announced that Warner Communications and Time Inc. were to merge, though it took two years for the merger to take place. Before the merger closed in 1989, Warner purchased Lorimar-Telepictures. In early 1990, the combined companies were named Time Warner.
The Warner Communications name was still credited on releases from Elektra Records and its sister labels until 2004. The Warner Music Group continues to use the "Circle W" logo, designed by Saul Bass in 1972, even after being spun off by Time Warner.
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