2 Entertain
Encyclopedia
2 Entertain is a British video and music publisher, formed by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004.
The company is made up of two companies - 2 Entertain Video and Demon Music Group
. A third company, Banana Split Productions, was sold to its MD Laura Traill in April 2010.
In April 2008 2 Entertain was awarded a Queen's Award for Enterprise.
owns the whole company. At the time of Woolworths Group entering administration BBC Worldwide owned 60% of the company, while Woolworths Group
owned 40%. The entry into administration of Woolworth's retail and distribution businesses in 2008 did not affect 2 Entertain, though the company entered into talks to sell its 40% share to BBC Worldwide. On December 21 2008 The Daily Telegraph reported that the BBC had offered £40 million for the 40% stake in 2 entertain, and that the board of Woolworths agreed that BBC Worldwide should negotiate on the purchase direct with its bankers, GMAC and Burdale, rather than through the board. However The Daily Telegraph noted that a month previously the BBC had offered £110m for the 40% stake. In March 2010 BBC Worldwide announced that they had bought the remainder of the company for £17 million.
BBC Video was established in 1980 as a division of BBC Enterprises (later BBC Worldwide) with John Ross Barnard as head.
At launch, the BBC had no agreement with British talent unions such as Equity or the Musician's Union
(MU), so BBC Video was limited in the television programming it could release. Initial videocassette and laserdisc releases were either programmes with no Equity or MU involvement, such as natural history and other documentaries, or material licensed from third parties, including feature films such as High Noon
and the first video release of Deep Purple
's California Jam concert.
For the first few years, videos were produced on both VHS
and Betamax
formats. The BBC also worked with Philips
on early Laserdisc
releases, including a notable ornithology
disc called British Garden Birds, presented by David Attenborough
. This disc was published in 1982 and included digital data in the form of teletext
, which could be read by any suitably-equipped television. This pioneering use of a data channel on a consumer video led directly to the development of the BBC Domesday Project
in 1984-1986. Since videos could have stereo soundtracks, BBC Video produced stereophonic versions of many programmes that had been broadcast in mono. These included The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (although release was delayed due to the lack of an Equity agreement) and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.
By 1982 an agreement had been reached with the Musicians' Union and this led to some popular music releases (including compilations by John Martyn and Tom Robinson
).
The label established itself in 1984. The label grew significantly from £13 million turnover in 1989 to nearly £39 million in 1994. In 1991 BBC Video was the number 1 video label in the UK when more pre-recorded videotapes were sold by value and units than any other company, including all of the Hollywood studios.
BBC Video was well known for its releases of Fawlty Towers
, Doctor Who
, and Monty Python's Flying Circus
. Titles released in the United Kingdom were released through 3M and the company itself, while in America titles were released through CBS-Fox (from the 1980s-1990s, originally through the children's subsidiary Playhouse Video for Who until unedited releases began) and more recently Warner Home Video
(2000-present) and in Australia
through Roadshow Entertainment and ABC Video/DVD.
. It was formed in 1984 and established in 1985. Originally part of the Prestwich Group, based in New Southgate, London, it was subject to an MBO (management buyout) headed by Steve Ayres CEO and Paddy Toomey (ex Woolworths) as MD. The vision of 'Sell Through Video' was born with the strong Woolworths association driving the retail sales.
With these individuals at the helm, the company expanded rapidly, securing the market lead in retail video sales throughout the late 1980s into mid 1990s
The company mainly served as a publisher for ITV
television program
mes which later launched the Central Video, LWT Video, Granada Media, Thames Video, and Channel 4 Video labels in the process. In the early 1990s, it launched the Cinema Club label, which mainly consigned of re-releases of films from the late 1960s/early 1970s, which would normally be from Columbia TriStar Home Video
.
After suffering financial losses in 1995 it received an overhaul and the company name changed to VCI and with it the Central Video label was discontinued; Cinema Club was discontinued in 1999 and was re-established under the FilmFour name. In 1998, it began releasing DVDs. The company split into two arms; publishing (VCI) based in Dean Street, London, and VCI Distribution, which also handled third party distribution for 'labels' outside its own stable, based in Watford and the old premises in New Southgate.
Soon after, Thames Video was discontinued and the Granada Media label was introduced and would soon appear on most VCI titles, whereas Channel 4 Video (or also called 4 DVD) became a separate company.
Following the formation of ITV plc
in 2004, the Granada Ventures division was created. In 2006, Granada Ventures launched the ITV DVD label in place of Granada, LWT London, this was subsequently rebranded in 2010 as ITV Studios Home Entertainment
. VCI, by now, had become part of the Woolworths Group. BBC Worldwide and Woolworths Group merged VCI with BBC Video to create 2entertain Video, part of their new joint venture company 2entertain.
The company is made up of two companies - 2 Entertain Video and Demon Music Group
Demon Music Group
Demon Records is a United Kingdom record label founded in 1980 by former United Artists A&R executive Andrew Lauder and Jake Riviera who had previously started Stiff Records...
. A third company, Banana Split Productions, was sold to its MD Laura Traill in April 2010.
In April 2008 2 Entertain was awarded a Queen's Award for Enterprise.
Ownership
As of 2010 BBC WorldwideBBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
owns the whole company. At the time of Woolworths Group entering administration BBC Worldwide owned 60% of the company, while Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
owned 40%. The entry into administration of Woolworth's retail and distribution businesses in 2008 did not affect 2 Entertain, though the company entered into talks to sell its 40% share to BBC Worldwide. On December 21 2008 The Daily Telegraph reported that the BBC had offered £40 million for the 40% stake in 2 entertain, and that the board of Woolworths agreed that BBC Worldwide should negotiate on the purchase direct with its bankers, GMAC and Burdale, rather than through the board. However The Daily Telegraph noted that a month previously the BBC had offered £110m for the 40% stake. In March 2010 BBC Worldwide announced that they had bought the remainder of the company for £17 million.
BBC Video
At launch, the BBC had no agreement with British talent unions such as Equity or the Musician's Union
Musicians' Union (UK)
-About the MU:The Musicians' Union is an organisation which represents over 30,000 musicians working in all sectors of the UK music business.-Campaigns:The MU stages regular campaigns in relation to relevant musical and industrial issues...
(MU), so BBC Video was limited in the television programming it could release. Initial videocassette and laserdisc releases were either programmes with no Equity or MU involvement, such as natural history and other documentaries, or material licensed from third parties, including feature films such as High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
and the first video release of Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
's California Jam concert.
For the first few years, videos were produced on both VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Betamax
Betamax
Betamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format...
formats. The BBC also worked with Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
on early Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
releases, including a notable ornithology
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
disc called British Garden Birds, presented by David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
. This disc was published in 1982 and included digital data in the form of teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
, which could be read by any suitably-equipped television. This pioneering use of a data channel on a consumer video led directly to the development of the BBC Domesday Project
BBC Domesday Project
The BBC Domesday Project was a partnership between Acorn Computers Ltd, Philips, Logica and the BBC to mark the 900th anniversary of the original Domesday Book, an 11th century census of England...
in 1984-1986. Since videos could have stereo soundtracks, BBC Video produced stereophonic versions of many programmes that had been broadcast in mono. These included The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (although release was delayed due to the lack of an Equity agreement) and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.
By 1982 an agreement had been reached with the Musicians' Union and this led to some popular music releases (including compilations by John Martyn and Tom Robinson
Tom Robinson
Tom Robinson is an English singer-songwriter, bassist and radio presenter, better known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson Band...
).
The label established itself in 1984. The label grew significantly from £13 million turnover in 1989 to nearly £39 million in 1994. In 1991 BBC Video was the number 1 video label in the UK when more pre-recorded videotapes were sold by value and units than any other company, including all of the Hollywood studios.
BBC Video was well known for its releases of Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
, Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, and Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
. Titles released in the United Kingdom were released through 3M and the company itself, while in America titles were released through CBS-Fox (from the 1980s-1990s, originally through the children's subsidiary Playhouse Video for Who until unedited releases began) and more recently Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
(2000-present) and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
through Roadshow Entertainment and ABC Video/DVD.
Video Collection International
Video Collection International was a video company based in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was formed in 1984 and established in 1985. Originally part of the Prestwich Group, based in New Southgate, London, it was subject to an MBO (management buyout) headed by Steve Ayres CEO and Paddy Toomey (ex Woolworths) as MD. The vision of 'Sell Through Video' was born with the strong Woolworths association driving the retail sales.
With these individuals at the helm, the company expanded rapidly, securing the market lead in retail video sales throughout the late 1980s into mid 1990s
The company mainly served as a publisher for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
mes which later launched the Central Video, LWT Video, Granada Media, Thames Video, and Channel 4 Video labels in the process. In the early 1990s, it launched the Cinema Club label, which mainly consigned of re-releases of films from the late 1960s/early 1970s, which would normally be from Columbia TriStar Home Video
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes, Bell, Book and Candle, Born Free, Breakout,...
.
After suffering financial losses in 1995 it received an overhaul and the company name changed to VCI and with it the Central Video label was discontinued; Cinema Club was discontinued in 1999 and was re-established under the FilmFour name. In 1998, it began releasing DVDs. The company split into two arms; publishing (VCI) based in Dean Street, London, and VCI Distribution, which also handled third party distribution for 'labels' outside its own stable, based in Watford and the old premises in New Southgate.
Soon after, Thames Video was discontinued and the Granada Media label was introduced and would soon appear on most VCI titles, whereas Channel 4 Video (or also called 4 DVD) became a separate company.
Following the formation of ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
in 2004, the Granada Ventures division was created. In 2006, Granada Ventures launched the ITV DVD label in place of Granada, LWT London, this was subsequently rebranded in 2010 as ITV Studios Home Entertainment
ITV Studios
ITV Studios is a television production company owned by the British television network ITV. It not only makes programmes primarily for its parent company, but also for other networks...
. VCI, by now, had become part of the Woolworths Group. BBC Worldwide and Woolworths Group merged VCI with BBC Video to create 2entertain Video, part of their new joint venture company 2entertain.