The Wizard of Oz, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, was first released in theatres on August 15, 1939. The film was then re-released nationwide in 1949, and once more in 1955. The Wizard of Oz was broadcast on television for the first time on Saturday, November 3, 1956. The film was shown as the last installment of the CBS anthology series Ford Star Jubilee. Since that telecast, The Wizard of Oz has been shown respectively by CBS, NBC, The WB, and several of Ted Turner's national cable channels. The film has never been licensed to any local affiliate broadcast TV station. From 1959-1991, the showing of The Wizard of Oz was an annual tradition on American commercial network television. During these years (and several years afterwards,) the film was always shown as a television special.