Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
June 1978 marked the birth of Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, a new division created to manage home video releases. The company released its first batch of twenty titles in November 1979 through an agreement with Time-Life Video. This initial partnership proved short-lived as Columbia quickly moved to establish its own distribution arm. By March 1981, the studio had formed a joint venture with RCA called RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video to handle overseas markets. The following year, this partnership expanded into North America under the name RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video. This arrangement helped push RCA's CED videodisc format by providing it with a steady stream of movie titles. When Tri-Star Pictures launched in 1982, the joint venture became one of three primary distributors for their home video products. The other two partners were CBS/Fox Video and Thorn-EMI/HBO Video. By the early 1990s, the RCA/Columbia entity fully assumed distribution duties for all TriStar titles. In Australia, they signed a deal with Hoyts Distribution in August 1983 that established a long-standing relationship. They also distributed films from New Line Cinema, though not every single title since Media Home Entertainment handled some releases during the same period.
March 1990 brought legal trouble when NBC filed a lawsuit against Columbia and Sony over their joint pact. NBC claimed the parties violated their agreement regarding the distribution of foreign video rights to Orion Pictures. General Electric, which owned both NBC and RCA, announced it was divesting its interest in the RCA/Columbia partnership later that year. The deal closed in August 1991, ending the litigation and allowing Sony to rename the company as Columbia TriStar Home Video. In March 1998, CTHV signed an agreement with The Jim Henson Company to launch Jim Henson Home Entertainment. This label allowed CTHV to distribute products while Columbia Pictures and Henson remained allied theatrically. On the 28th of February 1999, CTHV and Universal Studios Home Video signed a multi-year deal to distribute Universal's products on DVD outside North America. Titles from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment were also distributed by Universal on VHS between 2002 and 2003. The company changed its name again in April 2001 to Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment before becoming Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in November 2004.
In 2005, Sony acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer along with four partners from Kirk Kerkorian. SPHE held domestic home entertainment rights to MGM's library of 4,000 films and 10,400 television episodes. Sales failed to meet projections due to a cooling DVD market. This failure contributed to MGM splitting off from Sony Pictures control. On the 31st of May 2006, MGM ended its distribution deal with SPHE and transferred most output to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The situation directly led to the departure of long-time SPHE president Ben Feingold in the fall of 2006. Dave Bishop replaced him as president, bringing numerous former MGM employees to replace Sony staffers. In February 2011, Sony negotiated a co-financing deal with MGM that would have included full distribution rights to the MGM Home Entertainment library. That deal ultimately did not include home media rights to MGM's catalog since they remained with Fox. Sony distributed some of the films they co-financed on video as part of the agreement.
February 2021 saw Sony announce it would distribute releases by Lionsgate Home Entertainment in North America starting July 2021. This followed the expiration of Lionsgate's previous deal with 20th Century Home Entertainment. On the 24th of June 2024, SPHE entered into a distribution deal with Studio Distribution Services. SDS is a joint venture between Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. This arrangement allows SDS to handle physical distribution for titles from Sony Pictures, Disney, Lionsgate, and The Criterion Collection through existing deals. Earlier agreements included a three-year pact with Starz's Anchor Bay Entertainment for worldwide DVD releases excluding North America, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The Weinstein Company struck a home video distribution deal with SPHE on the 21st of February 2010. SPHE also partnered with RLJ Entertainment on the 31st of August 2010, to market and distribute DVDs and Blu-rays while retaining their own sales and marketing functions. In September 2018, Funimation transferred distribution to Madman Entertainment after handling anime titles through Sony's Australian joint venture since 2017.
The company operates several specialized domestic labels including Magic Window which handles children's titles like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. SVS-Triumph released low-profile films from Columbia, TriStar, New Line, CineTel Films, and Epic Productions. Musicvision served as a short-lived music video division in the mid-1980s releasing artists linked to RCA Records. Columbia Classics released classic films on DVD while Screen Classics by Request offered obscure films manufactured on demand via the web. International operations include RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video used for videos distributed outside the US and Canada. A British rental label called 20/20 Vision released films by TriStar Pictures, Goldcrest Films International, and New Line Cinema. Gaumont-Columbia-RCA Video formed a joint-venture with Gaumont in 1982 to release products on VHS. An Australian joint venture with Hoyts Distribution was established in August 1983 to release products from Hoyts, Cannon Films, and Columbia Pictures. VideoServis operated as a Russian home video label created in 1994 that released films by Columbia Pictures, Monumental Pictures, and TriStar alongside Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
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Common questions
When was Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment founded?
Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment was established in June 1978 to manage home video releases. The division released its first batch of twenty titles in November 1979 through an agreement with Time-Life Video.
What happened to the RCA/Columbia partnership in 1990 and 1991?
NBC filed a lawsuit against Columbia and Sony over their joint pact regarding foreign video rights to Orion Pictures in March 1990. General Electric announced it was divesting its interest in the RCA/Columbia partnership later that year, and the deal closed in August 1991 ending the litigation.
How did Sony Pictures Home Entertainment acquire Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer distribution rights?
Sony acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer along with four partners from Kirk Kerkorian in 2005 holding domestic home entertainment rights to MGM's library of 4,000 films and 10,400 television episodes. Sales failed to meet projections due to a cooling DVD market which contributed to MGM splitting off from Sony Pictures control on the 31st of May 2006.
Which companies does Studio Distribution Services distribute for as of June 2024?
Studio Distribution Services is a joint venture between Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment that entered into a distribution deal with SPHE on the 24th of June 2024. This arrangement allows SDS to handle physical distribution for titles from Sony Pictures, Disney, Lionsgate, and The Criterion Collection through existing deals.
What specialized labels does Sony Pictures Home Entertainment operate domestically?
The company operates several specialized domestic labels including Magic Window which handles children's titles like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. SVS-Triumph released low-profile films while Musicvision served as a short-lived music video division in the mid-1980s releasing artists linked to RCA Records.