Warner Bros. to Run Most of Turner’s Entertainment Units

Time Warner Inc. said its Warner Bros. unit will oversee Turner Broadcasting System Inc.’s entertainment businesses, except for Turner’s Hollywood studios.

The New York-based company said it continues to explore ways to “maximize value” for New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Entertainment and Turner Pictures. Turner executives have said New Line and Castle Rock are for sale.

Time Warner said the move is part of its plan to create four major businesses after it completes its $6.7-billion purchase of Turner next month.

The businesses will be entertainment, news and information, telecommunications and cable networks.

Under the plan, Warner Bros. will oversee the combined companies’ film libraries, including the one purchased from MGM, the TBS film and television libraries and the Hanna-Barbera animation library. The combined libraries will have more than 6,000 feature films, 28,500 television titles and 6,500 episodes of animation.

The companies will also combine their animation operations; worldwide syndication businesses, excluding Cable News Network; consumer products, including retail stores and merchandising activities; and Turner Home Video.

All of the businesses’ technical functions, including library management and film preservation, would also be combined into Warner Bros.

“We intend to direct the growth of each of these activities by putting them under a single leadership with common strategic direction and operating practices,” Gerald Levin, chairman of Time Warner, said in a statement.