Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. [3] (doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, and other audiovisual content across several home media formats, such as Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and digital media, under various brand labels around the world.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
- Walt Disney Home Entertainment (1978–1984, 2001–2008)
- Walt Disney Home Video (1980–1987)
- Buena Vista Home Video (1987–1993)
- Buena Vista Home Video, Inc. (1993–1997)
1978
Worldwide
Tony Chambers (EVP, Theatrical Distribution)
- The Walt Disney Studios (1978–2018)
- Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International (2018–2020)
- Disney Platform Distribution (2020–present)
The division was legally incorporated as Buena Vista Home Video on February 13, 1987.[4] It was renamed to its current legal name in 1997,[3] although it is currently known in the UK as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (UK & Ireland) since 2013. The division adopted the current Walt Disney Studios-branding in its public name in 2007, but kept the Buena Vista-branding for corporate use.[5]
In recent years, sales in the physical media market have significantly fallen due to the rise of digital media and streaming services like Disney's own Disney+, which has led the company to let other home video distributors (such as Elevation Sales and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) handle distribution for them or exit out of the market depending on the region.
History[edit]
Background[edit]
Before Disney began releasing home video titles itself, it licensed some titles to MCA's DiscoVision label for their newly developed disc format, later called LaserDisc. Disney's agreement with MCA ended in December 1981.[6]
In 1980, Disney established its own video distribution operation as part of Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company (WDTNT) with Jim Jimirro as its first president.[7] Home video was not considered to be a major market by Disney at the time. WDTNT Co. also handled marketing of other miscellaneous ancillary items such as short 8 mm films for home movies.
Disney's first releases on videotape were 13 titles that were licensed for rental to Fotomat on March 4, 1980,[8] initially in a four-city test (Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose), to be expanded nationwide by the end of 1980. The agreement specified rental fees ranging from $7.95 to $13.95.
Disney was unusual among the major studios in offering a program for authorized rentals. Most of the other studios involved in the videocassette market at the time were trying to find ways to stop dealers from renting out their movie tapes. Magnetic Video (with titles from 20th Century Fox and others) ceased doing business with Fotomat after Fotomat began renting Magnetic Video cassettes without authorization.[9]
In the late 1980s, Disney began seeking other outlets to distribute its video, and signed deals with mass-merchant retailers such as Target, Caldor, and Wal-Mart. Around this time, the studio began partnering with major retailers for advertising campaigns.[10]
Buena Vista Home Video[edit]
The name Buena Vista Home Video originated as a label of WDTNT in 1983, originally used to distribute tapes of Hopalong Cassidy. Soon, BVHV became the label utilized for a variety of miscellaneous content; such content included animation not created by Disney (such as Rocky and Bullwinkle and Alvin and the Chipmunks), concerts and other adult music titles, and various special-interest programs, including The Very Best of The Ed Sullivan Show. Buena Vista Home Video was legally incorporated on February 13, 1987.[1] The "Buena Vista" name was adopted from Buena Vista Pictures Distribution,[5] who also acted as copyright holder for video tapes released directly under the BVHE banner.
In November 1992, Buena Vista Home Video entered into a worldwide joint venture with Jim Henson Productions to form Jim Henson Video, which distributed Henson-owned material, including various Muppet productions; the company had previously distributed Muppet content in the United States from 1983 to 1985 under the Muppet Home Video label.[11] This lasted until late 1997. The following year, the label moved to Sony Pictures' Columbia TriStar Home Video division.
In July 1993, Buena Vista Home Video signed a multimillion-dollar multiyear North American licensing deal with DIC Entertainment. The deal included over 1,000 half-hours worth of animated content from DIC, alongside the creation of the DIC Toon Time Video label and interactive and multimedia opportunities.[12] In December 1993, Buena Vista Home Video's European Spanish unit signed a distribution deal with Acclaim Entertainment for the distribution of Acclaim's video game titles in Spain.[13]
In April 1996, due to ongoing realignment stemming from Disney's merger with Capital Cities/ABC, Buena Vista Home Video was transferred out of the Disney Television and Telecommunications group to The Walt Disney Studios.[14] In August 1996, Disney and Tokuma Shoten Publishing entered a deal wherein Buena Vista Home Video would acquire the worldwide home media distribution rights to the Studio Ghibli animated films.[15][16] Disney would go on to produce the English dubs and distribute 15 of Ghibli's films, through the Walt Disney Pictures, Buena Vista Home Video, Miramax and Touchstone Pictures banners.[17]
In July 1998, Walt Disney Home Entertainment entered into a distribution agreement with Warner Home Video where the latter would distribute over 100 Disney/Touchstone/Hollywood titles on DVD in Europe and Australia until the end of 2000.[18] The distribution of VHS releases, however, remain under Disney's full control.
In 2000, following Andy Heyward's purchase of DIC back from Disney,[19][20] DIC's rights with BVHE expired. With this, DIC later signed a new deal with Lions Gate Home Entertainment in 2001.[21]
In 2001, following Disney's acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide (including Fox Family, the Fox Kids brand and Saban Entertainment).[22] A year later in 2002, Saban became BVS Entertainment and BVHE took distribution over from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
In 2005, Roger Corman-owned production company New Concorde signed a distribution deal with Buena Vista Home Entertainment, giving BVHE home video distribution rights to 400 Corman-produced films, including the pre-1984 New World Pictures library until 2008.[23][24][25][26]
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment[edit]
As part of a broader company-wide effort, Buena Vista Home Entertainment dropped the "Buena Vista" branding in 2007 and was renamed as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.[5] However, the division retained Buena Vista as its legal corporate name. In July 2017, GKIDS and Shout! Studios acquired the North America home video rights of the Studio Ghibli films from Disney. However, Disney still handles home video distribution of the company's films in Japan and China.[27][28] In March 2019, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox's film assets, and after 20th Century Fox was renamed to 20th Century Studios in January 2020, a few months later that year, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment was folded into Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
Following the launch of Disney+ in 2019 and its international expansion in the following years, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has begun to discontinue physical distribution entirely in certain regions such as Latin America, Australia,[29] New Zealand, Portugal, Asia (except Japan), Greece, Russia (ceased in early 2020), Hungary and Romania, or to outsource its activities to other regional distributors in markets like the United Kingdom (Elevation Sales), Poland (Galapagos), Czech Republic (Magic Box), Spain (Divisa Films), Italy (Eagle Pictures), Scandinavia (SF Studios), France (ESC Distribution)[30] and Germany (Leonine Studios).[31]
In February 2024, Disney entered into a home video distribution agreement with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, in which Sony would handle all physical media production and distribution for Disney's home entertainment assets in North America.[32]