Sony Pictures Entertainment
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| Type | Subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America |
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| Founded | 1987 as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.,[1] renamed Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. in 1991 |
| Headquarters | Culver City, California, U.S. |
| Key people | Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman Jeff Blake, Vice Chairman |
| Industry | Motion pictures Television Production Television Syndication Online games Mobile Entertainment Video on demand Digital distribution |
| Revenue | ▲US$8.58 billion (2007) |
| Operating income | ▲US$540 million (2007) |
| Website | sonypictures.com |
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (SPE) is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese technology and media conglomerate Sony. Its group sales in 2007 has been reported to be of $8.58 billion.[2][3]
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[edit] History
In 1989, Sony acquired the American film and television production company Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, etc.) from The Coca-Cola Company for US$3.4 billion.[4][5][6] The company was renamed Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1991.
Sony has since created numerous other film production and distribution units, such as creating Sony Pictures Classics for art-house fare, by forming Columbia TriStar Pictures (also known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group) by merging Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures in 1998, revitalizing Columbia's former television division Screen Gems, and expanded its growth on April 8, 2005, when a consortium led by Sony and its equity partners acquired the legendary Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in a deal worth nearly US$5 billion.[7] On June 4, 2008, SPE's wholly-owned group 2JS Productions B.V. acquired Dutch production company 2waytraffic N.V., famous for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and You Are What You Eat for £114.3 million ($223.2 million in US dollars).
Paramount Pictures could merge with either Sony Pictures Entertainment or Universal Studios, depending on the consolidation in the industry.[8]
[edit] Sony Pictures Franchises
This is a list of franchises by Sony Pictures Entertainment
- I Dream of Jeannie: Based on the television series by Screen Gems with the cartoon series Jeannie in 1973.
- Bewitched: Based on the television series by Screen Gems with a cartoon series Tabitha & Adam and the Clown Family in 1972, a spin-off series Tabitha in 1978, and a movie sequel in 2005.
- The Karate Kid: Four films including the television series The Karate Kid: The Animated Series.
- Spider-Man: Beginning with the 2002 film with two sequels including two series Spider-Man: The New Animated Series and The Spectacular Spider-Man in conjunction with Marvel Comics
- Stuart Little: Beginning with the 1999 film with two sequels and one television series Stuart Little: The Animated Series. Based on the novel by E. B. White.
- Wheel of Fortune: Created by Merv Griffin in 1975 and syndicated in September 1983 by King World (now CBS Television Distribution. Including spin-off Wheel 2000. Acquired in 1986 after acquiring Merv Griffin Enterprises.
- Jeopardy!: Created by Merv Griffin in 1964. Including spin-offs (Super Jeopardy!, Rock & Roll Jeopardy!, and Jep!). First syndicated in September 1983 until officially syndicated in September 1984 by King World (now CBS Television Distribution). Acquired in 1986 after acquiring Merv Griffin Enterprises.
[edit] Corporate structure
Headquartered in Culver City, California, USA, SPE comprises various studios and entertainment brands, including Columbia Pictures and GSN.
[edit] Senior management team
- Michael Lynton
- Chairman & CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment
- Amy Pascal
- Co-Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment
- Chairman, Motion Picture Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment
- Jeff Blake
- Vice Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment
[edit] List of holdings
[edit] Motion Pictures/Home Entertainment
- Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group With a library of more than 4,000 films (including 12 Academy Award for Best Picture winners), as of 2004 this unit of Sony distributes about 22 films a year under its various studio brands in 67 countries.[2] The group owns studio facilities in the United States, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Japan. In addition to the below company-owned brands, Columbia TriStar also has a contract to distribute films for independent Revolution Studios and select films by MGM and United Artists.
- Columbia Pictures: Founded in 1924 by Harry Cohn, Sony acquired the studio in 1989 from The Coca-Cola Company for $3.4 billion.[4][5]
- TriStar Pictures Formed in 1982 as a joint venture between Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS. Became part Columbia Pictures Entertainment in December 1987 and the Sony ownership in 1989.
- Sony Pictures India, production house established by Sony to release Indian movies and distribute hollywood movies, released under Columbia Pictures.
- Sony Pictures Classics (SPC): Specializes in acquiring distribution rights to independent and art films as well as producing lower-budget productions geared to limited audiences.[2]
- Sony Pictures Releasing
- Sony Pictures Releasing International
- Screen Gems: Originally Columbia's animation division and later a television production company best known for TV's Bewitched and The Partridge Family, as well as bringing The Three Stooges short subjects to TV in 1958. Sony revived the Screen Gems brand to develop mid-priced movies (production budget of between $20 million and $50 million) in specific genres such as science fiction, horror, black cinema and franchise films.
- Triumph Films: The label Sony uses for its low-budget or direct to video films. Originally a joint venture between Columbia Pictures and Gaumont in 1982.
- Destination Films: A "niche" motion picture company purchased by Sony in 2001.
- Affirm Films: A motion picture label launched in 2008 to release gospel and christian films.
- FEARnet A joint venture between SPE, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Comcast for horror, suspense, and thriller movies online.
- Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: Manufactures and distributes the Sony film library on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, video cassette, and UMD forms to global markets.
- Sony Wonder: The former kids and family label of Sony Music Entertainment that was moved to SPHE on June 21, 2007.
[edit] Television Production/Distribution
- Sony Pictures Television Group: (formerly Columbia TriStar Television Group) The successor-in-interest to Columbia's television division (first Screen Gems, later Columbia Pictures Television, Coca-Cola Television, TriStar Television (A division of Columbia Pictures Television), and Columbia TriStar Television), as of 2004 the unit was producing 60 titles for various television outlets globally. Contains a library that includes more than 35,000 episodes of more than 270 television series and 22,000 game show episodes under the Columbia TriStar Television brand, and the television rights to the Embassy Pictures library (including The Graduate and The Lion in Winter) and also the owner of the television brand "Embassy Television"--among most recent notable shows in this library are Seinfeld, King of Queens, Days of our Lives and The Young and the Restless.
- Culver Entertainment
- The Minisode Network
- Crackle C-Spot:C-Spot is a production company of Sony Pictures. It hosts videos on Youtube, Crackle, and Hulu. The serials and shorts are produced for the channel or taken from other producers. One episode airs each day of the week and the budget for each episode is $10k.[citation needed]
- Merv Griffin Enterprises: Founded in 1964 by Merv Griffin as Merv Griffin Productions. He sold his company to The Coca-Cola Company in 1986 as Merv Griffin Enterprises. It is now a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment since 1991. MGE is located in Los Angeles, California.
- Barry & Enright Productions (post-scandal), including Jack Barry Productions: Formed in 1947 by Jack Barry and Dan Enright, shut down in 1959, and reformed in 1975
- Bob Stewart Productions: Formed in 1964 by Bob Stewart
- Barris Industries: Formed in 1965 by Chuck Barris as Chuck Barris Productions. Renamed to Barris Industries in 1986.
- ELP Communications (ELPC) and Tandem Licensing Corporation (TLC): The two in-name only units of Sony Pictures Television own the productions' copyrights presented by Norman Lear's companies: Tandem Productions and ELP Communications (series from TAT to ELP Communications). The companies were formed by Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear in 1963 as Tandem Productions. Yorkin sold his shares to Lear in 1975. Lear sold Tandem/Embassy Television to The Coca-Cola Company in 1985 and later became Embassy Communications in 1986 (later became ELP Communications in 1988). ELPC and TLC are part of Sony Pictures Entertainment since 1991.
- Sony Pictures Television International: Formed in 1995 as the worldwide television distribution arm for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Formerly known as Columbia TriStar International Television from 1995-2002.
- SPE Networks
- Sony Entertainment Television
- Animax: Instituted in Japan by Sony in 1998, Animax is the world's largest anime television network,[9] with respective networks operating across Japan, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, South America and other regions.[10]
- AXN: Formed in 1997, AXN is Sony's entertainment television network, which airs across Japan, Asia, Latin America and Europe.
- 2waytraffic Acquired by Sony in 2008, this television production company owns a number of formats, most notably including Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.
- SPE Networks
[edit] Other Sony Pictures operations
- Sony Pictures Music Group
- Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group
- Sony Pictures Consumer Products
- Sony Pictures Digital
- Sony Pictures Cable Ventures, Inc.
- Sony Pictures Studios: The actual physical buildings, land and movie-making equipment properties in Culver City, California. Includes 22 sound stages, ranging in size from 7,600 to 43,000 square feet (700 to 4,000 m²)
- Sony Pictures Studios Post Production Facilities
- Worldwide Product Fulfillment
- Game Show Network: (joint venture with Liberty Entertainment)
- Crackle (formerly known as Grouper Networks)
- Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) (SPEJ): The company plans, produces, manufactures, sells, imports, exports, leases, broadcasts and distributes movies, TV programs, videos and audio-visual software in Japan. The company web site says it was established on February 10, 1984,[11] predating Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures Entertainment by 5 years. SPEJ was formed in 1991 through the merger of Columbia Tristar Japan, RCA Columbia Pictures Video Japan, and Japan International Enterprises.[12] Based in Tokyo, Japan.
- Sony Pictures Loot: A newly formed group of developers that creates experiences and products for PlayStation Home. Their products include premium personal spaces and decorative ornaments and clothes/costumes for the users personal spaces and avatars. The premium personal spaces have equipment that allows users, if hooked up to a video capture system, make their own machinimas in Home.[13]
[edit] Affiliates
MGM Holdings, Inc. (MGM): [14]
- MGM is an American media company, involved in the production and distribution of films and television programs. Its operating units include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, United Artists (UA), Orion Pictures, MGM Television, MGM Worldwide Television, MGM Home Entertainment and others.
- On April 8, 2005, a consortium led by Sony, Comcast and their equity partners acquired the legendary Hollywood studio in a deal finalized, worth nearly $5 billion.[7][15] MGM ownership is as follows: Providence Equity Partners (29%), TPG Capital, L.P. (formerly Texas Pacific Group) (21%), Sony Corporation of America (20%), Comcast (20%), DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (7%) and Quadrangle Group (3%).
- Officially, unlike Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is not a part of Sony Pictures Entertainment.[16][17][18][19] Sony owns 20% of the total equity (which includes 45% of the total outstanding common stock) of MGM Holdings, Inc.
- MGM has operating agreements with SPE in regard to the distribution of MGM's library and co-production of new films. In 2006, MGM ended their distribution agreement with SPE and transferred their home video output from SPE to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (excepting those Columbia TriStar/MGM/UA co-productions).[16]
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.: Private Company Information BusinessWeek
- ^ a b c Sony Pictures - Corporate Factsheet, sonypictures.com
- ^ Consolidated Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2008 Sony Corporation
- ^ a b Rudolph B (1994) So many dreams so many losses. Time vol. 144, no. 22 (November 28, 1994)
- ^ a b Griffin N, Masters K (1996) Hit and Run: How Jon Peters and Peter Guber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood. (Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-684-83266-6)
- ^ Nathan, J. (1999) Sony: The Private Life. (Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-89327-5, ISBN 0-618-12694-5)
- ^ a b Sony will purchase MGM in a deal worth about $5 billion, CNN, September 14, 2004.
- ^ Paramount Could Merge with Another Studio, The Malaysian Insider, June 16, 2009
- ^ The Anime Biz - By Ian Rowley, with Hiroko Tashiro, Chester Dawson, and Moon Ihlwan, BusinessWeek, June 27 2005.
- ^ Animax Asia - Corporate Profile - Animax-Asia official website.
- ^ Sony Pictures Online SPEJ - Company Profile, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan), Inc. official website.
- ^ History of Columbia Pictures Part 3, Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan (in Japanese)
- ^ "Sony Pictures' Loot: A group of developers making Home wares". Destructoid. http://www.destructoid.com/sony-pictures-loot-a-group-of-developers-making-home-wares-131448.phtml.
- ^ MGM Media Center - Operating Units
- ^ Acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Completed. April 8, 2005, Press Release, Sony Corporation of America
- ^ a b "Why Sony Is Now A Bit Player At MGM". BusinessWeek. November 20, 2006. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_47/b4010065.htm. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
- ^ Sony Annual Report (SEC Form 20-F) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006
- ^ Sony 2006 Annual Report
- ^ Sony Consolidated Financial Statements, For the year ended March 31, 2008
[edit] External links
- Sony Pictures Entertainment
- Sony Pictures Entertainment Museum
- Sony Pictures Entertainment at the Internet Movie Database
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