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Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. <tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:16px 0 16px 0;"></td></tr>
Type	Subsidiary of Sony Corporation
Founded	CBC Film Sales (1919) by Harry Cohn, Jack Cohn and Joe Brandt<ref name="SPE History">Sony Pictures History, Sony Pictures Entertainment Museum</ref>, or 1989 acquisition of Columbia Pictures Entertainment by Sony <ref name="Nathan">Nathan, J. (1999) Sony: The Private Life. (Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0395893275, ISBN 0618126945)</ref> or February 10, 1984 founding of Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan), Inc. in Tokyo, Japan <ref name="profile">Sony Pictures Online SPEJ - Company Profile, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan), Inc. official website.</ref>
Headquarters	Image:Flag of the United States.svg Culver City, California, USA Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Tokyo, Japan (Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan), Inc.) <ref name="profile" /> <tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Key people</th><td>Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation; Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO; Amy Pascal, Vice Chairman; Jeff Blake, Vice Chairman; Yair Landau, Vice Chairman</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Industry</th><td>Motion pictures, television</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Revenue</th><td>Image:Green Arrow Up.svg$6.6 billion (2005)</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Website</th><td>sonypictures.com (United States); sonypictures.net (Global gateway); sonypictures.jp (Japan)</td></tr>

Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (SPE) is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japan-based media conglomerate Sony. Its group sales in 2005 has been reported to be of $6.6 billion.<ref name="Profile">Sony Pictures - Corporate Factsheet, sonypictures.com</ref>

Contents 1 History 2 Corporate structure 2.1 Senior management team 2.2 List of holdings 3 Notes and references 4 External links

[edit] History

In 1989, Sony acquired the American film and television production company Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, etc.) from The Coca-Cola Company for $3.4 billion. <ref name="Time">Rudolph B (1994) So many dreams so many losses. Time vol. 144, no. 22 (Nov. 28, 1994)</ref> <ref name="Griffin Masters">Griffin N, Masters K (1996) Hit and Run: How Jon Peters and Peter Guber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood. (Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0684832666)</ref> <ref name="Nathan" /> The company renamed Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1991.

Sony has since created numerous other film production and distribution units, such as creating Sony Pictures Classics for art-house fare, and expanded its growth on April 8, 2005, when a consortium led by Sony and its equity partners acquired the legendary Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. in a deal worth nearly $5 billion.<ref name="CNN">Sony will purchase MGM in a deal worth about $5 billion, CNN, September 14 2004.</ref>

[edit] Corporate structure

Headquartered in Culver City, California, USA, SPE comprises various studios and entertainment brands, including Columbia Pictures, MGM and GSN.

[edit] Senior management team

• Michael Lynton
  • Chairman & CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Amy Pascal
  • Vice Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment
  • Chairman, Motion Picture Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Jeff Blake
  • Vice Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment
  • Chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
• Yair Landau
  • Vice Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment
  • President, Sony Pictures Digital

[edit] List of holdings

• Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group (result of a merger between Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures in 1998): With a library of more than 4,000 films (including 12 Academy Award for Best Picture winners), as of 2004 this unit of Sony distributes about 22 films a year under its various studio brands in 67 countries. <ref name="Profile" /> The group owns studio facilities in the United States, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Japan. In addition to the below company-owned brands, Columbia TriStar also has a contract to distribute films for independent Revolution Studios and films by MGM/UA.
  • Columbia Pictures: Founded in 1924 by Harry Cohn, Sony acquired the studio in 1989 from The Coca-Cola Company for $3.4 billion. <ref name="Time" /> <ref name="Griffin Masters" />
  • TriStar Pictures
  • Sony Pictures India, production house estabilished by Sony to release Indian movies and distribute hollywood movies, released under Columbia Pictures.
  • Sony Pictures Classics (SPC): Specializes in acquiring distribution rights to independent and art films as well as producing lower-budget productions geared to limited audiences. <ref name="Profile" />
  • Sony Pictures Releasing
  • Sony Pictures Releasing International
  • Screen Gems: Originally Columbia's animation division and later a popular television production company best known for TV's Bewitched and The Partridge Family, Sony revived the Screen Gems brand to develop mid-priced movies (production budget of between $20 million and $50 million) in specific genres such as science fiction, horror, black cinema and franchise films.
  • Triumph Films: The label Sony uses for its low-budget or direct to video films.
  • Destination Films: A "niche" motion picture company purchased by Sony in 2001.
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: Manufactures and distributes the Sony film library in DVD, video cassette, and UMD forms to global markets.
• Sony Pictures Television Group: The successor-in-interest to Columbia's television division (first Screen Gems, later Columbia Pictures Television, Coca-Cola Television, TriStar Television (A division of Columbia Pictures Television), and Columbia TriStar Television), as of 2004 the unit was producing 60 titles for various television outlets globally. Contains a library that includes more than 35,000 episodes of more than 270 television series and 22,000 game show episodes under the Columbia TriStar Television brand, and the television rights to the Embassy Pictures library (including The Graduate and The Lion in Winter) and also the owner of the television brand "Embassy Television"--among most recent notable shows in this library are Seinfeld, King of Queens, Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless.
  • Merv Griffin Entertainment: Founded in 1964 by Merv Griffin as Merv Griffin Productions. He sold his company to The Coca-Cola Company in 1986 as Merv Griffin Enterprises. It is now a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment since 1991. MGE is located in Los Angeles, California.
  • Barry & Enright Productions (post-scandal), including Jack Barry Productions: Formed in 1947 by Jack Barry and Dan Enright, shut down in 1959, and reformed in 1975
  • Chuck Barris Productions: Formed in 1965 by Chuck Barris. Formed Barris Industries in 1968.
  • Bob Stewart Productions: Formed in 1965 by Bob Stewart
  • Sony Pictures Television International: Formed in 1994 as the worldwide television distribution arm for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Formerly known as Columbia TriStar International Television from 1994-2002.
    • Sony Entertainment Television
    • Animax: Instituted in Japan by Sony in 1998, Animax is the world's largest anime television network <ref>The Anime Biz - By Ian Rowley, with Hiroko Tashiro, Chester Dawson, and Moon Ihlwan, BusinessWeek, June 27 2005.</ref>, with respective networks operating across Japan, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, South America and other regions <ref>Animax Asia - Corporate Profile - Animax-Asia official website.</ref>.
    • AXN: Formed in 1997, AXN is Sony's entertainment television network, which airs across Japan, Asia, Latin America and Europe.
• Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group
• Sony Online Entertainment
• Sony Pictures Animation
  • Adelaide Productions
• Sony Pictures Consumer Products
• Sony Pictures Digital
  • Sony Pictures Imageworks
    • Sony Station
  • Sony Pictures Network
  • Sony Pictures Mobile
  • Sony Pictures Digital Networks
    • SPiN
    • SoapCity
    • Screenblast
    • Advanced Platform Group APG
  • Grouper Networks, Inc.

• Sony Pictures Studios: The actual physical buildings, land and movie-making equipment properties in Culver City, California. Includes 22 sound stages, ranging in size from 7,600 to 43,000 square feet (700 to 4,000 m²)
  • Sony Pictures Studios Post Production Facilities
  • Worldwide Product Fulfillment
• Game Show Network: (joint venture with Liberty Media)
• Movielink: (joint venture with MGM, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, and Warner Bros.)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) (SPEJ): The company plans, produces, manufactures, sells, imports, exports, leases, broadcasts and distributes movies, TV programs, videos and audio-visual software in Japan. The company web site says it was established on February 10, 1984<ref name="profile">Sony Pictures Online SPEJ - Company Profile, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan), Inc. official website.</ref>, predating Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures Entertainment by 5 years. SPEJ was formed in 1991 through the merger of Columbia Tristar Japan, RCA Columbia Pictures Video Japan, and Japan International Enterprises.<ref name="SPEJcinemaparadise">History of Columbia Pictures Part 3, Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan (in Japanese)</ref> Based in Tokyo, Japan.

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc.: A consortium led by Sony and its equity partners acquired the legendary Hollywood studio in a deal finalized on April 8, 2005, worth nearly $5 billion.<ref name="CNN" /><ref name="SCA Press Releases 050408">Acquistion of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Completed. April 8, 2005, Press Release, Sony Corporation of America</ref> Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. is held by the consortium through the Delaware-registered company MGM Holdings, Inc., which wholly owns the Century City-based holding company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. MGM ownership is as follows: Providence Equity Partners (29%), Texas Pacific Group (21%), Sony Corporation of America (20%), Comcast (20%), Credit Suisse (7%) and Quadrangle Group (3%). Sony Corporation of America owns 20% of the total equity (which includes 45% of the total outstanding common stock) of MGM Holdings, Inc. Officially Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is not a part of Sony Pictures Entertainment.<ref name="Sony 2005 Form 20F">Sony Annual Report (SEC Form 20-F) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006</ref><ref name="Sony 2006 Annual Report">Sony 2006 Annual Report</ref> MGM has operating agreements with SPE in regard to the distribution of MGM's library and co-production of new films. The company is located in Santa Monica, California.
  • United Artists Corporation: MGM's sister specialty studio also acquired by the Comcast/Sony partnership.
  • Orion Pictures Corporation: In-name-only unit of MGM, its library also now part of the Comcast/Sony acquisition.
    • Filmways, Inc.
    • American International Pictures
    • Heatter-Quigley Productions
    • Streamline Pictures: In-name-only anime-dubbing unit of Orion.
  • The Samuel Goldwyn Company: Founded by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. in 1979. It is also part of the Comcast/Sony partnership. Also known as Samuel Goldwyn Films and G2 Films.
  • Motion Picture Corporation of America
  • MGM Television: MGM's television division established in 1955. MGM Television owns shows from United Artists Television, Orion Television, Filmways Television, American International Television, Samuel Goldwyn Television, Heatter-Quigley Productions, and post-1986 shows by MGM/UA.
    • MGM Worldwide Television: MGM's global television arm of MGM Television established in 1996
    • MGM Networks
  • MGM Home Entertainment: Manufactures and distributes the MGM film library for DVD and video cassette.
    • Soul Cinema
  • MGM Interactive
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation
  • MGM Consumer Products
  • MGM On Stage

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Official Japan website
• Official Sony Pictures Releasing International website
• Sony Pictures Entertainment Museum

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