.svg) | |
| Formerly | List
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Home entertainment |
| Predecessors | List
|
| Founded | 1980; 45 years ago (1980), inLos Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Home video |
| Parent | Universal Pictures |
| Divisions | Universal 1440 Entertainment Universal Playback |
| Subsidiaries | Studio Distribution Services (joint venture withWarner Bros. Home Entertainment) |
| Website | uphe |
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC[1][2] (UPHE) is thehome video division ofUniversal Pictures, an American film studio owned byNBCUniversal, the entertainment unit ofComcast. The division was founded in 1980.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distributor of all of the Universal Pictures film library, all of theFocus Features film library, most of the 1929–1949Paramount Pictures film library held byEMKA, Ltd., and all of the shows of theNBCUniversal Syndication Studios library (NBC,E!,Syfy,USA Network, andOxygen).
The division also had distribution deals withUnited Artists Releasing,The Film Arcade,Aviron Pictures,STX Entertainment (excluding all of the films fromEuropaCorp Films USA, whichLionsgate holds the home video distribution rights to),[3]Mattel Television (for the longest-runningBarbie direct-to-video film series),[4] 101 Studios, Sovereign Films,Open Road Films,Briarcliff Entertainment,Pinnacle Peak Pictures,Picturehouse,Blumhouse Tilt,Neon andBleecker Street (until 2021),Funimation (in the United States and Canada; until 2018, after whichSony Pictures Home Entertainment took over) andEntertainment One (in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Spain, Germany and the United States; until 2024, after whichLionsgate Home Entertainment took over).[5]
Starting in 2021, their releases are currently distributed in North America byStudio Distribution Services, a joint venture between Universal Pictures Home Entertainment andWarner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, with select titles distributed by Allied Vaughn through itsManufacture-on-demand (MOD) solutions.
The company was founded in 1980 as MCA Videocassette, Inc. with Gene Giaquinto as president of the division. It released 24 films onBetamax andVHS in May 1980, includingJaws,Animal House andThe Deer Hunter as well as classic films such asDracula,Animal Crackers, andScarface.[6]Jaws 2 and1941 were also released that year. Before 1980Castle Films (known as Universal 8 after 1977) had served as Universal's home film distribution unit. In late 1983, both theLaserdisc sister label MCA Videodisc and the MCA Videocassette label were consolidated into a single entity, MCA Home Video, alternating with the MCA Videocassette, Inc. name until December 1983.
In the mid-1980s, MCA Home Video began to license catalog titles to smaller, independent video firms with a focus on sell-through product. The first was in 1986 withKartes Video Communications.[7] The deal was followed with a similar agreement withGoodTimes Home Video in 1987.[8]
Also in 1986, the company made agreements withMotown Productions[9] and with children's book publisherPrice Stern Sloan.[10] Both deals were intended to expand MCA's non-theatrical product.
1987 was a busy year for MCA Home Video; the company underwent an executive shuffle, signed an exclusive three-year deal withInternational Video Entertainment for video distribution, and began offering new content fromRingling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.[11][12]
In 1990, with the 75th anniversary of Universal Studios, it became MCA/Universal Home Video and used that name alternating with the MCA Home Video name from 1990 until 1997. On December 9, 1996, the company was renamed Universal Studios Home Video when MCA was reincorporated as Universal Studios, which would then later be merged intoVivendi Universal Entertainment in 2000.[2]
Universal's first titles on DVD, in 1997, were licensed toImage Entertainment for distribution. These early, bare-bones editions quickly fell out-of-print when Universal started making their own DVDs.[citation needed]
When Universal's then-parent company (Seagram) purchasedPolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1998, Universal gained not only the Post-March 1996 PolyGram library, but also a brand new genre for Universal, in a form ofStand-up comedy from the likes ofRoy Chubby Brown,Jethro,Jim Davidson,Billy Connolly andLee Evans, Universal additionally gained distribution rights to some classic British TV content as well, such as theSmallfilms library,The Vicar Of Dibley, the UK rights toBarney & Friends (until 2001, whenHIT Entertainment purchasedLyrick Studios, after which, HIT immediately started self-releasingBarney titles),Fun Song Factory and the then-upcomingLock, Stock... TV series, just to name quite a few.
In 2004, due to the merger of Universal Studios andNBC to formNBC Universal, Universal started releasing DVDs of shows from the newly establishedNBC Universal Television Distribution. Before 2004, NBC shows were distributed on DVD byLions Gate Home Entertainment andA&E Home Video under the label NBC Home Entertainment (formerly NBC Home Video underTrimark until it was bought by Lions Gate). NBC's home entertainment on-screen logo was simply theNBC Enterprises syndication logo.
In 2005 (by which point the company was renamed Universal Studios Home Entertainment), the group was restructured; Universal 1440 Entertainment was formed as an internal production arm, while the London-based Universal Pictures Visual Programming (formerlyPolyGram Visual Programming) unit was folded into Universal Pictures International;Universal Cartoon Studios was absorbed into the Family Productions unit.[13][14] The year after, USHE acquired distribution rights to theBarbie film series after negotiations between Mattel and their previous domestic distributor,Lionsgate Home Entertainment, fell apart (Universal had already been distributing these films internationally).[15][16][17]
Universal was also the worldwide video distributor forDreamWorks Pictures titles (throughDreamWorks Home Entertainment) until 2006, when DreamWorks was sold toParamount Pictures' parent company,Viacom, and as a result,Paramount Home Entertainment took over distribution. After Viacom spun off DreamWorks in 2008, Universal Studios Home Entertainment planned to resume distributing DreamWorks' movies, but this deal fell through. Until Lionsgate formed theirhome video division, Universal distributed their releases with the exception ofDogma, which was distributed byColumbia-TriStar Home Video. In 2007, it was signed on as home video distributor of releases bySummit Entertainment (ironically, Summit was later bought by Lionsgate).[18]
In addition to DVD releases, Universal was a major supporter of theHD DVD format untilToshiba discontinued the format. Starting on July 22, 2008, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has releasedBlu-ray Discs, and it was the last main major Hollywood movie studio to do so. The first three Blu-ray Disc releases to release in the United States wereThe Mummy, its sequelThe Mummy Returns andThe Scorpion King. Starting on August 9, 2016, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released4K Ultra HD Blu-rays.
In September 2013, Universal Pictures' digital distribution division was merged into Universal Studios Home Entertainment as the combined entity under the Universal Studios Home Entertainment name would oversume all home entertainment distribution of NBCUniversal's film & television content, Michael Bonner continued leading the domestic digital distribution team, overseeing domestic distribution for film and television across all platforms under Universal Studios Home Entertainment.[19]
In 2014, Universal Studios Home Entertainment took over releasing HIT Entertainment/Mattel Television titles from Lionsgate Home Entertainment (this would end in 2020, although Universal continues to distribute the Barbie direct-to-video titles for Mattel).
In 2015,Funimation (now known asCrunchyroll, LLC), formed a multi-year home video distribution deal with UPHE.[20] Two years later,Sony Pictures Television acquired a 95% stake in Funimation, which resulted inSony Pictures Home Entertainment taking over distribution after the UPHE deal expired.[21]
In 2016, the company was renamed Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Starting on June 5, 2018, becauseNBCUniversal acquiredDreamWorks Animation for a total of $3.8 billion 2 years prior, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment took over releasing the DWA library on home video after DWA's previous home video distribution deal with20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (throughDreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment) expired (resulting in DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment being folded into Universal Pictures Home Entertainment).
Outside North America, before 1999, Universal releases were distributed byCIC Video, their international home video joint-venture withParamount Pictures. When Universal nearly pulled out of UIP in 1999 following their then-parentSeagram's purchase ofPolyGram, they would pull out of CIC and renamed PolyGram's home video unit (PolyGram Video) as Universal Pictures Video.[22]
On February 28, 1999, Universal signed a multi-year distribution deal withColumbia TriStar Home Video to allow the latter to distribute Universal's DVD releases outside North America.[23]
At the start of 2015,Paramount Home Entertainment signed a distribution agreement with Universal, whereby the latter will distribute the former's titles overseas, particularly in the territories where Paramount holds an office. The deal began on July 1, 2015.[24]
Along with the announcement of the Universal/Warner Bros. NA physical home media joint-venture, Universal announced that they would begin distributing Warner Bros. titles in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan in the third quarter of 2020 through home video, while Warner Bros. announced that they would begin distributing Universal titles in the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in the first quarter of 2021 through home video.[25]
In theNetherlands, UPHE used to distribute mostDVDs of films released theatrically byIndependent Films and TV shows and films fromStudio 100 until 2006, although this is now limited to catalog releases, as more recent films are now released through Warner Home Video and later on,Belga Home Video.
InSouth Africa, UPHE distributes films on DVD and VHS throughCIC Video in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1999, the company was moved toSter-Kinekor Home Entertainment after CIC Video was dissolved in the same year. In 2007, it was moved later toNu Metro Home Entertainment on DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs until 2013, when Next Entertainment took over until 2021.
UPHE also formerly distributedStudioCanal titles on home media inFrance (until 2024 when distribution moved to ESC Distribution), most of theRepublic Pictures library in theUK and most of theCarolco Pictures library in Australia, Latin America, and several European countries (along with otherStudioCanal properties) until StudioCanal's global distribution deal with Universal expired in January 2022.[26] In the 1980s until the late 1990s, they also distributed tapes released byCineplex Odeon in Canada.
In theUK, UPHE previously distributed its films on video internationally throughCIC Video (a division ofCinema International Corporation, laterUnited International Pictures) alongside Paramount Pictures. In Japan, releases from both Universal and Paramount appeared on CIC-Victor Video, Ltd. (a joint venture between CIC Video andJVC) for VHS and onPioneer LDC, Inc. for Laserdisc.
In June 2002, Columbia-TriStar Home Entertainment formed a joint-venture with Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd called UCA (Universal Columbia Alliance), under which Universal would distribute back catalogue Columbia Tristar titles through retail.[27]
UPHE's international operations are a carryover from the PolyGram Video days,[28] but UPHE operates a joint venture inAustralia,New Zealand andScandinavia withSony Pictures Home Entertainment called Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The venture distributes UPHE and SPHE titles on home media in those countries and also licensedanime series and films from the anime library ofNBCUniversal Entertainment Japan, theJapanese division of UPHE's sister company, Universal Pictures International Entertainment, formerly known as Pioneer LDC from 1981 to 2003, Geneon Entertainment from 2003 to 2009 and Geneon Universal Entertainment from 2009 to very late 2013, the year they switched to their current name. The name of the joint venture is Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia. Before that, though,NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan had a marketing and distribution division inNorth America called Geneon USA, which, like UPHE, also distributed home video. At the time, NBCUEJ was known as Geneon Entertainment. Geneon USA shut down in late 2007, and Universal has licensed all of NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan's catalog to other companies rather than directly distributing them themselves. Starting on March 26, 2022, NBCUEJ (through UPHE) distributes and licenses anime series and films.
From 2017 to 2018,Funimation began directly distributing a select number of its titles in Australia and New Zealand through Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia. In September 2018, Funimation transferred distribution toMadman Entertainment, with Madman handling distribution and classification within the region.[29][30]
On October 3, 2014, Universal established global headquarters for its home video division in Los Angeles.[2]
The Universal deal expired upon the announcement of the Universal/Warner Bros. physical media joint-venture, and as a result, Paramount signed a new UK home entertainment distribution deal withStudioCanal UK andLionsgate UK's Elevation Sales on July 14, 2020, that began in November that year.[31]
In 2020,SF Studios had signed a distribution deal with Universal to handle titles across the Nordic region.[32]
In late 2023 and late 2024,Plaion Pictures and Spirit Entertainment signed a distribution deal with Universal to handle titles respectively in Italy and the United Kingdom, which caused Universal's deal with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment to expire in those countries. Since early 2024, ESC Distribution now handles Universal's titles on home media in France. Since 2025, Plaion Pictures is now handling home video rights to all of Warner Bros. titles in German-speaking countries after Universal's deal expired.[33]
 | |
| Formerly | Universal Studios Family Productions (2005–2012) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Direct-to-video |
| Predecessor | MCA Family Entertainment (1990–1996) |
| Founded | 2005; 20 years ago (2005) inLos Angeles, California |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | United States Worldwide |
Key people | Patti Jackson (SVP, Live action production)[34] |
| Parent | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment |
| Divisions | Universal Animation Studios |
Universal 1440 Entertainment is the direct-to-video entertainment label of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment created in 2005. The entity is a successor to MCA Family Entertainment (formerly Universal Family Entertainment).
It was originally known as Universal Studios Family Productions, andUniversal Animation Studios (formerly Universal Cartoon Studios) is a subsidiary of the company.[14]
Universal Playback is a division of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and specializing in DVD and Blu-ray releases of TV shows, either it be produced or distributed byUniversal Pictures. It offers a variety of titles across different TV genres, including TV shows, documentaries, and special interest content.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| International | |
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