By MCN Editor editor@moviecitynews.com

WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION TO OFFER TITLES FROM SONY PICTURES’ “SCREEN CLASSICS BY REQUEST”

Posted Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 - Comments Off on WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION TO OFFER TITLES FROM SONY PICTURES’ “SCREEN CLASSICS BY REQUEST”
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150 Manufactured On Demand Titles from the Columbia Film Library to be featured
at both WarnerArchive.com and Columbia-Classics.com

Burbank and Culver City, Calif., (April 13, 2011) – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group (WBHEG). and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) today announced that Warner Archive Collection (WAC), Warner’s online on-demand distribution arm, will offer select catalog titles from SPHE’s “Screen Classics By Request.” Beginning April 13, www.warnerarchive.com will feature approximately 150 manufactured-on-demand titles from the Columbia Pictures film library. Fan favorites among these films include Genghis Khan, A Song To Remember and A Study In Terror.

The joint announcement was made today by Warner Executive Thomas Gewecke, President, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and SPHE’s John Calkins, Executive Vice President, Global Digital and Commercial Innovation.

“Our companies share the excitement of offering fans access to even more previously unreleased, hard to find titles all in a single location,” said Gewecke. “This is yet another exciting opportunity for us to provide even more films to aficionados and collectors, who have voracious appetites for the classics, and who value them for entertainment, historical context and collectability.”

“Warners has long been a pioneer in the deep catalog business, and we’re thrilled to partner and extend the reach of our extensive catalog to consumers,” added Calkins. “This is another step in the execution of our multi-platform distribution strategy to cultivate the market for the remarkable films in our vault.”

The Warner Archive Collection, established in March 2009, was the first online, manufacturing on-demand service to offer rare film and TV titles from their library, the world’s largest. DVDs are created only after consumers order them via the web. In a little more than two years, WAC has released nearly 1,000 previously unavailable films, short subjects, TV movies and mini-series.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s “Screen Classics by Request” program was announced last September with the introduction of 100 digitally remastered titles (never-before-released on DVD) spanning 75 years of movies from Columbia Pictures.

About Warner Bros. Digital Distribution
A Division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD) oversees the electronic distribution of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group’s content through Video-On-Demand, Pay-Per-View, Electronic Sell-Through and Subscription Video-On-Demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels. WBDD also distributes content through third party digital retailers and licensees. A worldwide industry leader since its inception, WBDD also manages the Studio’s E-commerce sites that include WBShop.com and WarnerArchive.com. Twitter: @WBDigitalDist

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group (WBHEG) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s home video, digital distribution, interactive entertainment, technical operations and anti-piracy businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHEG oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHEG distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees, as well as directly to consumers through WBShop.com.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company. SPE is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 140 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com

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