On December 31, 1949, the theater business was spun off into an independent company called United Paramount Theaters (UPT). It was headed by Leonard Goldenson. In 1953 UPT purchased the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). This provided ABC's television network with a source of cash flow that allowed it to survive and eventually become competitive. The new company was named American Broadcasting-Paramount Theaters. In 1965 the corporation was renamed American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. The theater chain was renamed ABC Theaters. In 1974 ABC sold its movie theaters in the Midwest (a division called ABC Great States) to one of its executives, Henry Plitt, doing business as Plitt Theaters. Plitt subsequently bought the ABC Southern theater operations in 1978. In 1985, Plitt Theaters was sold to Cineplex Odeon Corporation.