Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

company headquartered in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker

Charles Band Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies. Career Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...

. Media Home Entertainment also distributed video product under three additional labels — The Nostalgia Merchant (very old or classic films),

Hi-Tops Video Hi-Tops Video was a children's home video sublabel of Media Home Entertainment (a division of Heron Communications), active from 1986 until 1992. Some of its releases include some Charlie Brown specials, ''Madeline'' and primarily some of the or ...

(children's videos), and Fox Hills Video (special-interest videos/obscure B-movies and low-profile Cannon pictures). The "Fox Hills" name was derived from a geographical location near the company's headquarters at 5700 Buckingham Parkway.

History

The company got off to a rocky start when

ABKCO Records ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. (Allen & Betty Klein Company) is a major American independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and/or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the ...

successfully sued them for releasing

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

' Hyde Park concert on

Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975, ...

and VHS, followed by a successful suit against it,

VCI Home Video 2 Entertain (stylized as 2 , entertain) is a British video and music publisher founded in September 2004 by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004. Under CEO Richard Green, the company operated as a joint venture b ...

, and

Video Tape Network Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) system ...

filed by

Northern Songs Northern Songs Ltd was a limited company founded in 1963, by music publisher Dick James, artist manager Brian Epstein, and songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles, to publish songs written by Lennon and McCartney. In 1965, it ...

for releasing

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

material (Media's tapes included ''

Around The Beatles ''Around the Beatles'' was a 1964 television special featuring the Beatles, produced by Jack Good for ITV/Rediffusion London. It was taped in Wembley Park Studios (now Fountain Studios) in London on 28 April 1964, and broadcast international ...

''—featuring the Beatles and the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

as backup singers, with performers such as

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

—a

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

solo concert, ''

Magical Mystery Tour ''Magical Mystery Tour'' is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. The EP ...

'', a

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

concert, ''

Sextette ''Sextette'' is a 1978 American musical comedy film directed by Ken Hughes and released by Crown International Pictures. It stars Mae West, alongside an ensemble cast including Timothy Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, ...

''—featuring Beatles member

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

—and a

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

concert), but would eventually become one of the largest independent video distributors in the U.S., relying on acquired films, television programs, and children's programs to establish a library of product. Some releases from the company included the original ''

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

'', the majority of the ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and inf ...

'' specials (up to 1984), '' The Adventures of the Wilderness Family'', '' Enemies, A Love Story'', ''

I Come in Peace ''I Come in Peace'' (released under the alternative title ''Dark Angel'') is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Craig R. Baxley, and starring Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley and Matthias Hues. The film was re ...

'', some films from the

Cannon Films The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested ...

library, and all of the ''

Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenk ...

'' films in the 1980s (1984–1989), the first two '' Texas Chain Saw Massacres (1974's original and 1986's second, "2", both

Tobe Hooper Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror fi ...

's direction) and 1976's original

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

's '' Assault on Precinct 13''. In 1983, Media Home Entertainment entered into an agreement with film distributor United Film Distribution Company whereas Media would release seven United Film Distribution Company's film titles on videocassette. Also, the following year, in 1984, the company bought out the home video rights of the movie '' Santa Claus: The Movie'' for $2.6 million from the Salkinds. On April 18, 1984, the company received an agreement with Cinetel Productions and gave them right of first refusal on any direct-to-video project Cinetel has ever produced for Media Home Entertainment and the budget is in the $50-200,000 range for Cinetel/MHE projects. On April 25, 1984, Media Home Entertainment entered into an agreement in order to grab the home video rights to the ''

'' specials under the new "Snoopy's Home Video Library" banner and gave them the worldwide home video rights of all the specials, and has plans to produce direct-to-video material. On July 14, 1984, the company had bought out The Nostalgia Merchant, which was previously a distributor of classic, contemporary and modern films on videocassette, for an undisclosed seven-price tag. In 1984, Media Home Entertainment was bought by Heron Communications Inc., a subsidiary of

Gerald Ronson Gerald Maurice Ronson, CBE (born 27 May 1939) is a British business tycoon and philanthropist. He became known in the UK as one of the 'Guinness Four' for his part in the Guinness share-trading fraud of the 1980s as a result of which he was conv ...

's Heron International. However, by late 1990, Media Home Entertainment had begun downsizing its staff and selling off its video assets in the wake of Ronson's involvement in the Guinness share-trading fraud in Great Britain. On September 14, 1985, Media Home Entertainment and

The Cannon Group The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested ...

inked an agreement that they would pick up videocassette rights to upcoming 32 films from the studio's own feature film catalog, which is the largest deals in the video industry. In 1986,

Trans World Entertainment Kaspien Holdings, Inc. (formerly Trans World Entertainment) is an American company that provides software and services for ecommerce. Kaspien Holdings operates on Amazon in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Germany ...

had inked an agreement with Media Home Entertainment whereas the eight theatrical Trans World titles would be handled on video by Media Home Entertainment. In February 1986, Media Home Entertainment entered into the U.S. Hispanic market by launching its own Spanish product line Condor Video, which was growing to became the biggest video distributor in the sector, and had an agreement with American General Film Distribution, the largest U.S. Hispanic film distributor ever, and also had Spanish-subtitled versions of Media's flagship products, which were

, as well as entities in the ''

'' film franchise, which had a total of 124 titles in the library. In April 1987, Media Home Entertainment reportedly considered to be put up for sale by its owners, as

Carolco Pictures Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit ...

, who owned a majority interest in rival home video distributor

International Video Entertainment Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...

were all bidding $100 million, along with other investments who bid lots of millions, but no talks were interested. Over time, in the late 1980s, the company had set up labels such as Hi-Tops Video, Fox Hills Video and The Cinematheque Collection. Heron decided to raise $100 million into the Heron Communications branch in 1987, an there are no talkers because the price is too high, but the plan was to abort the purchase of various buyers and spent $75 million budgeted for Heron Communications that paid programming acquisitions during fiscal 1987. In July 1987, Media Home Entertainment and parent Heron Communications had inked a pact with Troma Entertainment to distribute nine films on videocassette, namely ''

Surf Nazis Must Die ''Surf Nazis Must Die'' is a 1987 American post-apocalyptic action exploitation film directed by Peter George and starring Gail Neely, Barry Brenner, and Robert Harden. It was produced by The institute, a production company formed by George, Cr ...

'', ''Student Confidential'', ''

Lust for Freedom ''Lust for Freedom'' is a 1987 "women in prison" film directed, produced and co-written by Eric Louzil, and starring Melanie Coll. The film was originally shot at a cost of $50,000 in 1985, under the title of ''Georgia County Lock-up''. In 198 ...

'', ''

Story of a Junkie ''Story of a Junkie'' is a 1987 drama film directed by Lech Kowalski and starring John Spacely. Distributed by Troma Entertainment. Filmed in documentary-style, the film follows the character of Gringo, a young man looking for fortune in New Y ...

'', ''Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters'', ''Deadly Daphne's Revenge'', ''

Troma's War ''Troma's War'', also known as ''1,000 Ways to Die'' in the United States, is a 1988 American action-adventure comedy film written by Lloyd Kaufman and Mitchell Dana and directed by Michael Herz and Kaufman (credited as Samuel Weil). It began pr ...

'', ''Fortress in America'' and an untitled picture. In late August 1987, Media Home Entertainment and Trans World Entertainment made a third agreement that would cover six pictures shown in the agreement, namely ''

Full Moon in Blue Water ''Full Moon in Blue Water'' is a 1988 film directed by Peter Masterson. It stars Gene Hackman and Teri Garr. Plot Floyd owns a bar called the Blue Water Grill in a town of that name on an island off the gulf coast of Texas. He has lost interest i ...

'', ''

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

'', '' Killer Klowns from Outer Space'', ''Hardcover'', ''Cinderella Rock'' and ''

Teen Witch ''Teen Witch'' is a 1989 American teen fantasy comedy film directed by Dorian Walker, written by Robin Menken and Vernon Zimmerman, and starring Robyn Lively and Zelda Rubinstein. Originally pitched as a female version of ''Teen Wolf'' (1985) ...

'', which paid $15 million, and the company already had video rights to the prior 14 TWE titles that Heron held, such as ''

Rage of Honor ''Rage of Honor'' is a 1987 American martial arts film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Sho Kosugi. Cast *Sho Kosugi – Shiro Tanaka * Lewis Van Bergen – Havlock *Robin Evans – Jennifer Lane *Richard Wiley – Ray Jones *Ulises Dumon ...

'', ''Programmed to Kill'' and '' Iron Warrior'', and the six films involved in the Heron deal was expected to go by early 1988, before all rights reverted from Heron to TWE by 1989. They briefly picked up the home video rights of the

Morgan Creek Productions Morgan Creek Entertainment is an American film production company that has released box-office hits including '' Young Guns'', '' Dead Ringers'', '' Major League'', ''True Romance'', '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', '' The Crush'', '' Robin Hood: ...

library. Media Home Entertainment ceased final operations in 1993. At that time, its final titles being prepared for video release were acquired by and subsequently distributed by Fox Video (also some by CBS/Fox Video), while their laserdisc releases continued to be distributed by

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

. In the meantime, Media sold their library to budget label

Video Treasures Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...

. Videos from the Media Home Entertainment library were also distributed overseas in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

by VPD (Video Program Distributors) and

Video Classics {{Use Australian English, date=February 2016 Video Classics was one of the first major home video distributors in Australia. Between 1979 and 1984, Video Classics was one of the leading names in Australian home video and claimed to have "Australi ...

and in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

Tohokushinsha Film is a Japanese film distributor, production company and dubbing studio based in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It was founded in 1961 by Banjirō Uemura (who was also once the head of the Japanese branch of ITC Entertainment) as a dubbing house for fo ...

, respectively. Some releases by Media Home Entertainment and its associated sublabels were distributed in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

by Astral Video, a now-defunct subsidiary of the present-day

Astral Media Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channels ...

(now part Of

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

). Media Home Entertainment also had exclusive rights to the

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ...

video library from the late 1980s to about 1992 before

PolyGram Video PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to b ...

would finally get the rights later in that same year. After it shut down, MHE moved the Kathy Smith titles to

A*Vision Entertainment Warner Music Vision (also known as Warner Vision) was a music video company formed in 1990 by Warner Music International to make music videos from artists and bands on Warner Bros. Records, Maverick Records, Sire Records, Atlantic Records, Elektra ...

under the then-new BodyVision label.

References

{{Authority control Home video companies of the United States Defunct mass media companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Mass media companies established in 1979 Mass media companies disestablished in 1993 1979 establishments in California 1993 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles