Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the
home entertainment distribution division of
Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
.
Background
SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures library for home entertainment, mainly releases from the
Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group (
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
,
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation.
The compan ...
,
Sony Pictures Classics, and
Screen Gems) as well as releases from
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (
Triumph Films,
Destination Films,
Stage 6 Films and
Affirm Films) and
Crunchyroll, LLC
Crunchyroll, LLC is an American Entertainment#Industry, entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It currently operates the anime-focused Crunchyroll, eponymous over-the-top media service, over-the-top video on demand#Subscription models, ...
after the latter company's deal with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment as
Funimation
Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
expired. SPHE also releases and distributes products from
Lionsgate Home Entertainment (since 2021),
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
(since 2024),
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...
(since 2013) and Content Partners LLC (which includes titles from
FilmDistrict (now absorbed into
Focus Features),
Morgan Creek Entertainment,
Franchise Pictures and
Revolution Studios). Since June 20, 2007, SPHE has handled distribution of children's content formerly handled by
Sony BMG's
Sony Wonder label.
In Canada, Columbia TriStar Home Video helped distribute tapes from
Astral Video in the 1990s. It also has an Australian deal with
Hoyts.
History
Early history
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment was established in June 1978 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, and released 20 titles in November 1979. Its first 20 titles were licensed and distributed by
Time-Life Video, a unit of Time-Life Films, but the relationship didn't last long, and Columbia formed its own distribution arm.
In March 1981, Columbia Pictures established a joint venture with
RCA, RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video, to distribute tapes in overseas markets. The partnership expanded to North America as RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video the following year; this was in part to give RCA's
CED videodisc format a steady stream of titles. The venture distributed
NBC titles, as it was a subsidiary of RCA at the time. When
Tri-Star Pictures was formed in 1984, RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video became one of the three primary distributors of Tri-Star product for home video (the other two being
CBS/Fox Video and
Thorn-EMI/HBO Video , as
CBS and HBO originally held stakes in Tri-Star), and fully assumed distribution of TriStar titles in the early 1990s. In Australia, they signed a deal to distribute releases from
Hoyts Distribution and formed a longstanding relationship in August 1983.
They also distributed titles from various other film companies related to Columbia, including most of
New Line Cinema
New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...
's theatrical releases (though not all, as
Media Home Entertainment and
Family Home Entertainment distributed several New Line films during the Columbia deal). New Line formed
their own video label in 1990 (the result of acquiring
Nelson Entertainment, which had previously been
Embassy Home Entertainment, itself a former Columbia subsidiary), but continued to go through RCA/Columbia Pictures (as well as SVS-Triumph and then Columbia TriStar Home Video) for distribution until 1994, when
Turner Broadcasting
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its ass ...
acquired New Line and
Turner Home Entertainment assumed distribution functions. Other companies distributed by RCA/Columbia included
Weintraub Entertainment and
21st Century Distribution.
In 1987, once pre-existing distribution deals had expired,
Tri-Star Pictures announced that it would be launching a home video unit,
Tri-Star Video, with Saul Melnick, a former
MGM/UA Home Video employee, as its president. In 1988, after Coca-Cola sold its entertainment business, Tri-Star Video was merged into RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video. In late 1989, it was rumored that
Trans World Entertainment
Kaspien Holdings, Inc. (formerly Trans World Entertainment) was an American company that provided software and services for ecommerce. Kaspien Holdings operates on Amazon in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, German ...
would eventually sign a deal with RCA/Columbia to distribute its titles. This rumor bore fruit by that December when a deal with TWE -- which had by this point become a part of
Epic Productions, which struck a separate distribution deal with RCA/Columbia not long before -- was officially announced.
As Columbia TriStar Home Video
In March 1990, NBC filed a lawsuit against Columbia and its then-new parent company
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
under the perception that the latter two parties were violating their joint pact. Columbia purchased the foreign video rights to
Orion Pictures titles a month earlier. NBC alleged that they were unaware of this transaction and had become convinced that Columbia was forming their own video unit in strict defiance of the joint venture, which was set to expire in 1992. Sony and Columbia denied NBC's claims. As the lawsuit continued into 1991,
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
, the parent of NBC and RCA, announced that it was divesting its interest in RCA/Columbia.
The deal closed in August of that year and the litigation officially ended with Sony renaming the company as Columbia TriStar Home Video (CTHV). In 1998, CTHV signed a deal with
The Jim Henson Company to launch its own video label,
Jim Henson Home Entertainment, with CTHV distributing; at the time, Columbia Pictures and Henson were also allied theatrically for the
Jim Henson Pictures venture.
On February 28, 1999, CTHV and
Universal Studios Home Video signed a multi-year deal to allow CTHV to distribute Universal's products on DVD outside North America. For a short time, titles from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment also distributed by Universal on VHS between 2002 and 2003.
As Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
It was renamed as Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (CTHE) from April 2001 until a name change to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) in November 2004.
SPHE had a three-year deal with
Starz's
Anchor Bay Entertainment
The revived Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company owned by Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz. Anchor Bay Entertainment markets and releases "new release genre ...
for worldwide DVD releases, with the exceptions of North America, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
On February 21, 2010,
The Weinstein Company (TWC) struck a home video distribution deal with SPHE through
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.
On August 31, 2010, SPHE partnered with
RLJ Entertainment in a multi-year agreement, marketing and distributing DVDs and Blu-rays by RLJ. RLJ retained their own sales and marketing.
In September 2011, the Australian division of SPHE announced they would merge their video operations with the local operations of
Universal Pictures International Entertainment to form a joint-venture called Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
On April 23, 2012, Mill Creek announced that they had signed a home video distribution deal with SPHE, acquiring the rights to distribute 250 films from the Sony Pictures catalog on DVD and Blu-ray. On August 27, 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment signed a deal with SPHE to distribute 665 SPE films and 54 television series on DVD.
Anime News Network reported in February 2013 that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's Australian joint venture with
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast.
UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...
licensed
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
television series from
NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan for distribution in Australia, with its initial titles, ''
A Certain Magical Index'', ''
Shakugan no Shana'' and ''
Armitage III'', scheduled for release on April 24, 2013. From 2017 to 2018,
Funimation
Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
began directly distributing a select number of its anime titles in Australia and New Zealand through Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's Australian joint venture with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. In September 2018, Funimation transferred distribution to
Madman Entertainment, with Madman handling distribution and classification within the region.
On December 18, 2013, SPHE president David Bishop, who had served since 2006, announced he would leave when his contract expired in March 2014. It was announced that Man Jit Singh would replace Bishop.
On July 22, 2015, SPHE and Transmission Films reached a multi-year distribution pact to release Transmission's library in Australia (through Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia Pty Limited) and in New Zealand.
On November 20, 2015, SPHE announced that it would release Ultra HD
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
releases.
On March 15, 2016, SPHE partnered with
eOne to distribute films by
Momentum Pictures across the globe except for Canada on physical and digital home entertainment platforms.
[SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT TO DISTRIBUTE ENTERTAINMENT ONE’S MOMENTUM PICTURES](_blank)
entertainmentone.com, Retrieved on June 22, 2017 In January 2017, SPHE expanded its distribution deal with
Genius Brands to include all properties and acquired an equity stake in the company.
On February 6, 2018, Man Jit Singh stepped down as president of SPHE and was replaced by Keith LeGoy.
[Sony Pictures Shakes Up TV, Home Entertainment for Digital Age](_blank)
Anousha Sakoui bloomberg.com February 6, 2018, Retrieved on February 28, 2018
In February 2021, Sony announced it would distribute releases by
Lionsgate Home Entertainment in North America beginning in July 2021, when Lionsgate's distribution deal with
20th Century Home Entertainment (owned by
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
) expires.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
In 2005, when Sony and four partners acquired
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
(MGM) from
Kirk Kerkorian, SPHE held the domestic home entertainment rights to MGM's 4,000 film and 10,400 television episode library, though the releases used the MGM DVD label. However, thanks to a cooling DVD market, sales did not meet projections; this was one of several factors that led to MGM splitting off from Sony Pictures' control. On May 31, 2006, MGM ended its distribution deal with SPHE and transferred most of its output to
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
. The MGM fiasco directly led to long time SPHE president Ben Feingold's departure in the fall of 2006, and was replaced by, ironically,
MGM Home Entertainment
MGM Home Entertainment LLC (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment, d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of the American med ...
executive Dave Bishop, who brought along numerous MGM employees to replace Sony staffers.
In February 2011, Sony was in negotiations with MGM for a co-financing deal that would've included full distribution rights to the MGM Home Entertainment library; this deal, however, ultimately did not include home media rights to MGM's catalog (which instead remained with Fox), though Sony would distribute some of the films they co-financed on video as part of the deal.
Recent history
In February 2024, it was reported that SPHE had reached an agreement to distribute physical releases by Disney in North America, succeeding
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, who has begun to discontinue physical distribution entirely.
On June 24, 2024, it was reported that SPHE had entered into a distribution deal with
Studio Distribution Services, a joint venture between
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast.
UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...
and
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. The deal will allow SDS to handle the physical distribution of titles from Sony Pictures as well as
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
,
Lionsgate, and
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...
through their existing distribution deals with SPHE.
Sub-labels
During this time, the company also has and had some sub-labels, including:
* Magic Window – Children's titles (including ''
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' and ''
The Real Ghostbusters'', as well as classic Columbia/UPA cartoons).
* SVS-Triumph – Some low-profile Columbia, TriStar, New Line, CineTel Films and Epic Productions releases, and releases from
Triumph Films (it was founded in 1979 as Sony Video Services, then Sony Video Software, and renamed after the formation of Sony Pictures Entertainment, to be used briefly in-between the ending of the RCA joint venture and the formation of Columbia-TriStar).
* Musicvision – A short-lived music video division of RCA/Columbia Pictures HV in the mid-1980s, primarily releasing artists linked to
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
.
* Columbia Classics – A label releasing classic films on DVD by Columbia Pictures; it was previously used for VHS and LaserDisc releases as well.
* Screen Classics by Request -- A service available on the web, where classic films are pressed and ordered directly from Sony, similar to Warner Bros.' "
Warner Archive" brand.
*
Superbit
International sub-labels
* RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video – Used for videos distributed outside the US and Canada. Orion Pictures films were distributed globally via this label.
* 20/20 Vision – A British rental home video label that released films by TriStar Pictures, Goldcrest Films International, New Line Cinema, Triumph Films and Columbia Pictures.
* Cinema Club - British joint-venture with
Video Collection International for budget-priced movies mainly from CTHV's catalog that VCI would distribute. The venture was later sold entirely to VCI, who used it as their low-price budget label for mainstream releases.
*
First Independent Films – a British film distributor and home video company formed by
HTV after acquiring
Vestron Video International's UK operations in May 1990. First Independent was sold to Sony in 1997 and was entirely folded into Columbia TriStar Home Video by 1999. However, Columbia TriStar continued to use the First Independent Films label for some years afterwards.
* First Release Home Entertainment – A mixture of B-movies, Magic Window, music videos, TriStar, top TV shows, re-releases,
Thames Video and some mainstream Hoyts/Columbia/Cannon/Triumph/other film releases in Australia and The Netherlands.
* Gaumont-Columbia-RCA Video – A joint-venture with
Gaumont that released Gaumont, Columbia, TriStar, and Triumph products on VHS. They were formed in 1982, renamed as Gaumont/RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video in 1986, and under its final name as Gaumont/Columbia TriStar Home Video in 1992.
* RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts Video Pty. Ltd. – An Australian joint-venture with Hoyts Distribution that was formed in August 1983.
The company released products from Hoyts,
Cannon Films, Columbia Pictures, TriStar and Triumph Films in the market.
* Video Box Office – a mixture of B-movies, HBO and some mainstream releases in Australia.
* VideoServis – A Russian home video label with
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment that released films by Columbia Pictures, Monumental Pictures, TriStar and Screen Gems, created in 1994.
During the time that James Packer, Consolidated Press Holdings, and later Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and West Australian Newspapers owned Hoyts, they re-established the Hoyts Distribution arm of the company. SPHE Australia releases Hoyts titles, including the recent box-office hit, ''Twilight
Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...
''. They also released the handful of films from the Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
's film arm, Nine Films and Television
Nine Television is the television arm of Nine Entertainment.
Channels
* Nine Network, an Australian commercial free-to-air television primary channel
**
* 9HD is an Australian free-to-air HD digital television multichannel using the prim ...
.
SPHE also handles the Australian DVD distribution of Lionsgate titles (via Hoyts), after that company was unsuccessful in purchasing Magna Pacific, and the subsequent collapse of the successful bidder, Destra Entertainment.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Home video distributors
Home video companies of the United States
Home Entertainment
Entertainment companies based in California
Companies based in Culver City, California
Entertainment companies established in 1978
1978 establishments in California
Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group
Former joint ventures