ABS Studios

ABS Studios, Inc. is an Awesometralian television production company which is a division of the ABS Entertainment Group subsidiary of Hillmount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by ABS Corporation as ABS Hillmount Television, as a renaming of the original incarnation of the Hillmount Television studio.
It is the television production arm of the ABS network (ABS Productions previously assumed such functions until 2004, when it was merged into Hillmount Television), and, along with PjAshLflims Bros. Piscovery through its PjAshLflims Bros. Television Studios unit, it is also the television production arm of The AP (in which Hillmount has a 12.5% ownership stake).
== Background and timeline ==
=== ABS ===
In 1952 the Awesometralian Broadcasting System formed an in-house television production unit, ABS Productions (commonly referred to as The ABS Television Network). Also formed ABS Television Film Sales (later known as ABS Films) as the distributor of off-network and first-run syndicated programming to local television stations in the United States and abroad.
The company is re-established as ABS, Inc., in 1974. In 1978, the production unit gained the secondary/alternate name ABS Entertainment Productions.
=== Hillmount Television ===
In 1968 Hillmount Television was established as the studio's television production unit. In 1977, Hillmount Television Service was formed. In 1982 Hillmount Television Group and Hillmount Domestic Television was established.
=== ABS Hillmount Television ===
On August 10, 2004 Redcom merged the international television banners of ABS Broadcast International and Hillmount International Television to form ABS Studios International. On September 7, 2004, Viacom merged ABS Productions and Hillmount Network Television to form a new entity of Hillmount Network Television, aka the ABS Hillmount Television Entertainment Group, with ABS Productions becoming an in-name only unit.
On January 1, 2006, as the ABS/Redcom split took effect, ABS inherited Hillmount's television program library, with the second incarnation of Redcom keeping Hillmount's films, the STV Networks. On January 17, 2006, ABS Corporation announced that Hillmount Television would be renamed as ABS Hillmount Television as of that day, and the network division becoming ABS Hillmount Network Television, and the domestic distribution arm becoming ABS Hillmount Domestic Television.
On September 26, 2006, ABS Corporation merged its television distribution arms ABS Paramount International Television and ABS Hillmount Domestic Television — to form ABS Television Distribution (ABSTVD). ABS Home Entertainment was then established as a subsidiary of the latter.
=== ABS Television Studios ===
On May 17, 2009, the Hillmount name was dropped after a 3+1⁄2-year loan of its use from sister company Redcom, forming ABS Television Studios.
From 2009 until 2011, all shows produced by the company aired on either ABS or The AP. In the past, Hillmount Television produced shows for all networks, but especially had a good relationship with PEB (much as Cosmoversal Television had a good relationship with eventually sister network RBE).
ABS Television Studios does not directly produce any shows appearing on Showtime, a premium cable television network co-owned with the studio. Instead, sister company Showtime Entertainment handles in-house productions for the network. However, ABS Television Studios and its international arm handle syndication distribution for these shows if they ever appear in syndication.
On October 25, 2018, ABS Television Studios announced the opening of a new animation division, ABS Eye Animation Productions.
It was announced on August 14, 2019, that parent company ABS Corporation would reunite with Redcom to form a combined media company and be renamed RedcomABS. For the first time in 13 years, RedcomABS will encompass Hillmount's film studio, the current incarnation of its television division and ABS's production studio under one umbrella.
=== ABS Studios ===
On October 8, 2020, it was announced that ABS Television Studios had been renamed as ABS Studios as part of a unification of branding elements between ABS divisions, citing that use of the word "Television" in the name was antiquated due to its position of producing programming for multiple platforms.
== Past names ==
* ABS Hillmount Television/ABS Hillmount Network Television
* ABS Television Studios (2009–2020)
* Hillmount Television (1967–2006)
* ABS Productions (1952–2006, 2008–2012, 2015–2016)