Sony Wonder

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Sony Wonder
Type Subsidiary of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Industry Children and family's music and home video arm
Founded 1991 (as Sony Kids’ Music)
Headquarters New York City
Products Nickelodeon videos (1993-1996)
Kidsongs videos (1995-1998)
Sesame Street videos (1995-2007)
Classic Media videos (1998-2007)
Sony Pictures Entertainment family films (2007-present)
Owner(s) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Parent Sony Music Entertainment (1991-2007)
Sony Pictures Entertainment (2007-present)
Website http://www.sonywonder.com/

Sony Wonder (founded as Sony Kids’ Music) is a children and family music and home video arm of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, originally founded by its sister company, Sony Music Entertainment, in 1991. The division once distributed material from Sesame Workshop and Classic Media (CM). SW distributed Nickelodeon videos from 1993 to 1996 until Viacom's purchase of Paramount, which left Nickelodeon videos distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment (and CIC Video internationally until 1999). They also distributed releases from Random House's home video division from 1995 to 2007.

In 1995, Sony Wonder and Sony Pictures Entertainment joined forces with the Jim Henson Company by releasing new movies with Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures and new sing-along-songs on videocassette and DVD.

In 1998, SW bought Sunbow Productions and it was later bought by TV-Loonland in 2000 as well as Sony Wonder's television business assets.[1]

On March 13, 2007, Sony BMG announced that it was shutting down Sony Wonder to focus on its core music business. However on June 21, 2007, it was announced that SW became a division of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment as its kids’- and family-entertainment label. CM's, Sesame Workshop's and Random House's video deals were sold to Genius Products for an undisclosed amount. TV-Loonland held the television rights of the series by Sony Wonder (including—with certain exceptions—the Sunbow catalog).

Despite the similarity in name, Sony Wonder is not directly related to the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, a four-story interactive technology and entertainment museum for all ages located in midtown Manhattan, although they are both owned by Sony.

Notes and references [edit]

  1. ^ "Screen Daily" MIPCOM: TV-Loonland acquires Sony Wonder screendaily.com "Retrieved on May 22, 2012"

External links [edit]