On this day March 20 1985 The Coca-Cola Company made a major move into the entertainment industry by purchasing Tandem Productions and Embassy Television for 485 million dollars. The acquisition gave Coca-Cola control over some of the most popular television shows of the time including hits like The Jeffersons Diff’rent Strokes and Who’s the Boss.
This deal was part of Coca-Cola’s strategy to expand beyond the beverage industry and strengthen its presence in media. Embassy Television later became part of Columbia Pictures Television which Coca-Cola also owned at the time before selling it to Sony in 1989.
80s insight: The Coca-Cola Company owned Columbia Pictures during the 1980s and played a role in financing major films like Ghostbusters and The Karate Kid.