Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment (formerly known as Vivendi Entertainment, Vivendi Visual Entertainment and Visual Entertainment) was a film, television, DVD and digital distribution company that operated in the United States and Canada. It was also a distribution partner for independent content providers.Home Media Magazine

History

Visual Entertainment was founded in 2004 to distribute DVDs as a division of

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, which in turn is a subsidiary of

Universal Music Group Distribution Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

. In 2006, Visual Entertainment was renamed Vivendi Visual Entertainment. In 2008, Vivendi Entertainment expanded from home video into theatrical distribution. In April 2012, NBCUniversal sold Vivendi Entertainment to

Gaiam Gaia, Inc. is an American media company founded in 1988 by Jirka Rysavy in Louisville, Colorado. It owns and operates Gaia TV, a subscription video on-demand service consisting of original and licensed alternative media documentaries. While the ...

and was merged with its home entertainment division, renaming the combined subsidiary Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment. In October 2013,

Cinedigm Cineverse Corp. (originally Access IT Digital Media, Inc., and later, Cinedigm) is an American entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Cineverse’s businesses encompass digital cinema, streaming channels, content marketi ...

acquired Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment for $51.5 million. Cinedigm merged Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment into their existing home video business,

New Video New Video ( stylized as NEWVIDEO) is an American independent entertainment distributor and collector of independent digital content. The company works with independent producers, filmmakers and television networks to curate content for many ty ...

Services

The company has provided sales, marketing, and distribution services to studios such as

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company, Inc., formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc. (commonly referred to as Henson), is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is kn ...

, Salient Media,

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

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...

GoodTimes Entertainment GT Media, Inc. was an American home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well known due to its distribution of media from third parties and classics. The ...

, ARC Entertainment LLC,

Classic Media DreamWorks Classics is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded as Classic Media in 2000 by Eric Ellenboge ...

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

, Indomina Releasing, Nasser Entertainment, Event Film, RHI Entertainment, Polychrome Pictures,

Sid and Marty Krofft Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (April 9, 1937 – November 25, 2023), known as The Krofft Brothers and born as Cydus and Moshopopoulos Yolas, were a Canadian sibling team of television creators, writers and puppeteers. Through ...

Eagle Rock Entertainment Eagle Rock Entertainment is an international producer and distributor of music films and programming. It operates two record labels (Eagle Records and Armoury Records), a full-service production company (Eagle Rock Productions) and a music publis ...

, Blowtorch Entertainment, Mill Creek Entertainment,

DHX Media WildBrain Ltd. is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest independent library of children's television programmin ...

Saban Brands Saban Brands was an American brand management and production company and a defunct subsidiary of Saban Capital Group based in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Israeli American media mogul Haim Saban as a successor to an earlier company he co-f ...

Saban Entertainment BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it ...

, Palisades Tartan,

Palm Pictures Palm Pictures is an American entertainment company owned and run by Chris Blackwell. Palm Pictures produces, acquires, and distributes music and film projects with a particular focus on the DVD-Video format. Palm places an emphasis on such proj ...

Nelvana Nelvana Limited (; also known as Nelvana Enterprises, Nelvana International or Nelvana Digital; commonly known as Nelvana; stylized as "nelvana") is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment s ...

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles and ...

, Dargaud Media,

Pure Flix Entertainment Pinnacle Peak Pictures (formerly Pure Flix Entertainment until January 2021) is an American independent evangelical Christian film production and distribution studio founded by David A. R. White and Russell Wolfe. Pinnacle Peak produces Chri ...

, Codeblack Entertainment, Melee Entertainment, A&E Home Entertainment, which included A&E,

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

, and Lifetime Dimension Extreme and

Genius Products Genius Products (formerly known as Genius Entertainment) was a home entertainment company based in Santa Monica, California, United States. The ''Baby Genius'' line was one of a number of "smart toys" that came out in response to a study book ab ...

. The company has partnered with DHX Media by creating free episodes, "special collections", and "discounted seasons" for fans of the ''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...

'' franchise in the US. In September 2013, the company released ''Secret Millionaires Club: Volume 2'' on DVD.

References

{{Reflist 2004 establishments in California American companies established in 2004 Mass media companies established in 2004 Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States Home video companies of the United States Former Vivendi subsidiaries Companies based in Los Angeles County, California 2012 mergers and acquisitions 2013 mergers and acquisitions Universal City, California Cineverse