 | |
| Formerly | Paramount Home Video (1976–1999) Paramount Video (1982–1987) Paramount Home Entertainment (1999–2011) Paramount Home Media Distribution (2011–2019) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Home media |
| Predecessors | CIC Video (1980–1999) DreamWorks Home Entertainment Dimension Home Video (pre-2005 titles only) |
| Founded | 1976; 49 years ago (1976) |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bob Buchi (president) |
| Products | Home video releases |
| Brands | |
| Services | |
| Parent | Paramount Pictures (Paramount Skydance) |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly known asParamount Home Media Distribution until 2019,Paramount Home Video until 1999, and operating as the namesake film studioParamount Pictures from 2022 to 2025) is thehome video distribution arm ofParamount Pictures. The division was founded in 1976.[2]
The division overseesParamount Skydance's home entertainment and transactional digital distribution activities worldwide. The division is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf ofParamount Pictures,Paramount Players,Nickelodeon Movies,Paramount Animation,Paramount Television Studios,Skydance Media,CBS,Paramount Media Networks (Showtime,MTV,Nickelodeon,Nick Jr.,VH1,BET, andComedy Central),Paramount+, and applicable licensing and servicing of certain pre-2011DreamWorks Pictures titles,Miramax, pre-2005Dimension Films titles, and as well as selectIFC Films titles andSaban Films titles. PHE additionally manages global licensing of studio content and transactional distribution across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technologies.[3]
Before Paramount Home Entertainment was formed, Paramount released its video library throughFotomat.[4] The relationship ended and Paramount soon formed its own video arm in 1979.
In the United Kingdom and other countries, theParamount Pictures film library were released on VHS byCIC Video (which was an international home video joint-venture withUniversal Pictures) until 1999, when Universal pulled out of CIC in favour of its then-newly purchasedPolyGram Filmed Entertainment's home video division (PolyGram Video; which was promptly renamedUniversal Pictures UK Ltd), CIC Video would be kept by Paramount and renamed Paramount Home Entertainment UK. In February 2015, Paramount Home Media Distribution signed a distribution agreement withUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment, whereby Universal distributed Paramount's titles overseas, particularly the territories including the United Kingdom where Paramount Home Media Distribution holds an office. The deal began on July 1, 2015.[5] However, the deal expired in July 2020 when Paramount Home Entertainment signed a new UK home entertainment distribution deal with Elevation Sales (a joint venture betweenStudioCanal UK andLionsgate UK), as well as signing other home entertainment distribution deals withKoch Media (later Plaion Pictures) for Italy, Divisa Home Video for Spain, ESC Distribution for France andDutch FilmWorks for Benelux, all starting in January 2021[6] andHappinet for Japan, starting on July 1, 2025.[7]
In 2008, Paramount Home Entertainment launched a direct-to-video label,Paramount Famous Productions (with the "Famous" part of the name a throwback to the days when the company was called Famous Players).
In 2011, due to a company restructure, Paramount Home Entertainment was renamed Paramount Home Media Distribution.[8]
Between 2013 and 2017, Paramount titles were distributed byWarner Home Video,[9] and participated in Warner-owned series likeWarner Archive and 4 Film Favorites.
In May 2019, Paramount Home Media Distribution reverted its name back to Paramount Home Entertainment, which is the name they carried from 1999 to 2011.[10]
Paramount brands the majority of its HD content under the label 'Paramount High Definition' which is seen both on the title box cover and as an in-movie opening. Films from Paramount subsidiaries such asNickelodeon Movies andMTV Films as well as from former sister studioDreamWorks use no special branding,Paramount Vantage (another subsidiary) releases only select titles under the Paramount High Definition banner.
In October 2005, Paramount announced that it would be supporting theHD video formatBlu-ray in addition to rival formatHD DVD, becoming the first studio to release on both formats.[11] Its first four HD DVD releases came in July 2006,[12] and it released four titles on Blu-ray two months later.[13] In August 2007, Paramount (along with DreamWorks andDreamWorks Animation) announced their exclusive support for HD DVD.[14] However, when other studios eventually dropped HD DVD and players for the technology stopped being manufactured, Paramount switched to Blu-ray. In May 2008, it released three titles on Blu-ray and continues to release its high-definition discs in that format exclusively.[15]
Paramount DVD is a sub-label of PHE exclusively found on DVD releases, generally noted by a logo animation with a DVD flying into the Paramount mountain and taking the shape of the outline created by the mountain, which was introduced in 2003.
Paramount High Definition is a sub-label focusing on HD-DVD and Blu-ray releases of Paramount's film and television library in high definition video formats.
Paramount Presents is a series that showcased important classic titles from the Paramount and DreamWorks back catalogs, remastered for Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD, often with deluxe packaging and new bonus material. The label debuted in 2020.[16]
Paramount Gateway Video is a sublabel of Paramount Home Video, releasing titles in the midprice range. The label was originally formed in 1982.[17]
Paramount Famous Productions was a sub-label of PHE, handling films released exclusively to home video formats without a theatrical release.
Peanuts Home Entertainment (originallyPeanuts Home Video until 2000) was a sub-label used under license fromUnited Feature Syndicate to distribute episodes ofThe Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show andPeanuts specials, includingSnoopy! The Musical,It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown and the then-annually-repeated specialsBe My Valentine, Charlie Brown,It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown,It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,A Charlie Brown Christmas andHappy New Year, Charlie Brown. It was active from 1994 to 2007, when distribution transferred toWarner Home Video.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
