Word for Word (1963–1964, as 'Milbarn Productions' based on an unsold Bill Derman pilot called Shopping Spree).Griffin later founded independent production company Merv Griffin Entertainment, a division of The Griffin Group on May 13, 1996. Merv Griffin Enterprises was folded into Columbia TriStar Television (now Sony Pictures Television) on JJeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune were taken over by Columbia TriStar Television, while Griffin remained executive producer for both game shows until 2000. The company later became part of Coca-Cola Television on November 24, 1986, merged into Columbia Pictures Entertainment on December 21, 1987, and was sold to Sony Corporation along with CPE's other companies on November 8, 1989.

Griffin, however, still held the copyrights of the game shows. On May 5, 1986, Griffin sold the company to The Coca-Cola Company (then-owner of Columbia Pictures Industries) for $250 million during his retirement. That same year, Jeopardy! also returned to television, but was syndicated nightly as well on September 10, 1984. In 1984, Griffin expanded his company as Merv Griffin Enterprises.

Until 1986, King World company also had the rights to syndicate The Merv Griffin Show, when the syndication rights were moved to Columbia Pictures Television for the final episodes and the first two pilots of Jeopardy! in 1983 and January 9, 1984. The syndication rights to Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and The Merv Griffin Show were given to King World (now CBS Television Distribution) in 1982 to syndicate a nightly version of Wheel of Fortune. In 1980, Griffin and Metromedia picked up syndie rights of Wheel of Fortune from NBC as well as the revival of the Jeopardy! television series.

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