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Sony Pictures Entertainment's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home video acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, development of new entertainment technologies and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries worldwide.
Sony Pictures Entertainment is a leading creator and distributor of entertainment products, services and technology.
Motion Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment's motion picture company, the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, generates a diverse range of films for audiences worldwide. Founded in 1924, Columbia Pictures has amassed one of the largest motion picture libraries in the industry, with more than 3,500 classic film titles, including 12 Best Picture Academy Award winners. This year, the studio celebrates its 75th anniversary as a brand name synonymous with cinematic excitement.
Recently, Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced the creation of two new divisions: Screen Gems, a movie distribution label that will provide a haven for a type of film that falls between those currently released by the highly valued Sony Pictures Classics and the wide release movies that are more traditionally developed and released by Columbia Pictures. Separately, Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group was created to better serve the growing worldwide market for character-based family entertainment. This new division will create, produce and distribute television programs, feature films and home videos primarily targeted to the kids market.
Television
The Columbia TriStar Television Group traces its history to the founding of Screen Gems in 1948, the first television business created by a major studio. While maintaining strength in its traditional prime time network, off-network syndication, daytime programming and game show core businesses, the company has diversified into first-run syndication, barter advertising, the talk show arena and international production. Sony Pictures Entertainment is one of the leading suppliers of prime time series to the U.S. networks, with nine new shows and 10 renewals for the fall 1999 television season.
International Expansion
Sony Pictures Entertainment's international television business has invested in more than 20 channel ventures, satellite distribution platforms and co-production arrangements throughout the global marketplace. Sony Pictures Entertainment's filmed entertainment now reaches more than a billion viewers around the world through its co-production and distribution channels.
In the past three years, the company has dramatically expanded its international broadcasting operations, joining or creating: HBO Olé/Cinemax, HBO Brazil, the Warner Channel, Mundo Ole and E! Entertainment in Latin America; the VIVA music channels in Germany; HBO Poland; the HBO/Cinemax and Channel V partnerships in the Far East; the TV1, Showtime and Encore Movie Channel ventures in Australia; the innovative co-production partnership with the Beijing Television Arts Center (Ivy Theatre) in China; and co-production agreements in France, Germany, the U.K. and Australia.
In late 1997, Sony Pictures Entertainment inaugurated the Pan-Asian AXN channel serving Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia and announced its equity investment in Taiwan's Super TV. Sony Pictures Entertainment has also just launched another AXN channel in Japan and a third AXN channel in Spain as well as launching the ANIMAX channel, incorporating Japanese-style animation, to serve the large and fast-growing Japanese marketplace.
Sony Pictures Entertainment has launched networks with the Sony Entertainment Television brand name in India and Latin America. In addition, Sony Pictures Entertainment is augmenting its move into international distribution ventures with increased emphasis on building international content creation capabilities that match its domestic production strength. The company currently creates local programming in seven languages around the globe and produces approximately 80 shows and 3,000 episodes worldwide each year.
In November 1997, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced a major investment in Telemundo, providing the company with entry to the Spanish-language market in the U.S., Latin America and Spain. In February 1998, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced the first step in its global motion picture production strategy, forming a local movie company, Deutsche Columbia TriStar Film Production GmbH, in Brandenburg, Germany.
Digital Era
Sony Pictures Entertainment has established several major technologies designed to add value to its filmed entertainment product. Sony Pictures Imageworks, formed in 1992 and led by five-time Academy Award-winner Ken Ralston, uses computer-driven digital imaging to expand opportunities available to filmmakers and create revolutionary visual effects for audiences. Imageworks has already established a strong industry reputation for its innovative visual effects work for TriStar's "Starship Troopers" and "Godzilla," Warner's "Contact," Columbia Pictures' "Anaconda," Warner's "City Of Angels" and Universal's "Patch Adams," as well as Columbia's recent film, "Stuart Little," its upcoming films "Hollow Man" and "Jumanji 2," and Universal's "Snow Falling On Cedars."
The Sony Pictures High Definition Center, founded in 1991, applies high definition digital imaging to motion pictures and television at both the production and postproduction levels. The company recently enhanced its capabilities with the installation of a film-to-high-definition transfer system, the first in the U.S., and opening Sony Pictures Entertainment's filmed entertainment library to this new format.
The Sony Pictures DVD Center is a world-class authoring facility and a leader in the digital authoring field, which integrates entertainment programming with cutting edge technology to provide the finest home theater experience. The facility is engineered to produce the highest quality authored titles by offering state-of-the-art compression, audio and video monitoring and quality control procedures. Sony Pictures Entertainment released 150 of its top current and library titles from its Columbia and TriStar motion picture studios by the end of 1998.
The Game Show Network (GSN) is Sony Pictures Entertainment's 24-hour game show programming service, which utilizes the latest Sony technology in digital video editing equipment.
So far, Sony Pictures Entertainment is the leading media corporation backed by its mother company, Sony Electronics. |
