List of Saturday Night Live home video releases

Last updated

Traditionally, retail home video releases of Saturday Night Live material have consisted of "Best Of" compilations, comprising select performances (typically sketches) of past cast members, and notable guest hosts. Beginning in 1999, DVD releases were distributed by Lions Gate Home Entertainment under license from NBC, predating the network's merger with Universal, following Lions Gate's acquisition of NBC's previous distributor Trimark. Following the establishment of NBCUniversal in 2004, Universal Studios, owners of NBC, Saturday Night Live's broadcast home, ceased the existing arrangement of outside distribution of SNL material. [1] [2] While Lionsgate is no longer able to acquire new SNL-related content, they have retained reissuing rights to their existing SNL content library. [3]

Contents

On December 5, 2006, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released on DVD "Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season," comprising complete episodes. [4] Upon the set’s release, some criticism of its authenticity as complete and uncut episodes arose from reviewers and fans. [5] This was due to the existence of original live copies, which in comparison to the "complete" episodes reveal edits and omissions, which are common among the rerun versions of the shows in the set. [5] Following the successful sales of the first season, the next four seasons have been released. No subsequent releases are planned for the near future, due to prohibitive music licensing costs and the rise of streaming video. [6]

VHS releases

VHS TitlePackage Design Copyright
The Best of Saturday Night Live19851992, StarMaker Entertainment / Time Life Video
Saturday Night Live The Best of Chris Rock1999, Trimark Home Video / NBC Home Video
Saturday Night Live The Best of Gilda Radner1997, StarMaker Entertainment / Anchor Bay Entertainment
Saturday Night Live The Bad Boys of SNL1998, NBC Home Video
The Best of Saturday Night Live Classic Years 1975-801992, StarMaker Entertainment

DVD releases

Seasons

DVD NameRelease datesAdditional Information
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
SNL: The Complete First Season  2, 3December 5, 2006July 16, 2007
SNL: The Complete Second Season  2, 3December 4, 2007
SNL: The Complete Third Season  2, 3May 13, 2008
SNL: The Complete Fourth Season  2, 3December 2, 2008
SNL: The Complete Fifth Season  2, 3December 1, 2009

Specials

DVD NameRelease datesAdditional Information
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
SNL: 25th Anniversary 1, 3February 24, 2004
SNL: 25 Years of Music 1, 3August 12, 2003
SNL: Bad Boys 3, 6January 1, 1998
SNL: The Best of 06/07  2, 4March 4, 2008
SNL: The Best of 09/10  2, 4March 13, 2011
SNL: The Best of Adam Sandler  1, 3November 9, 1999
SNL: The Best of Alec Baldwin  2, 3January 24, 2006
SNL: The Best of Amy Poehler  2, 4October 20, 2009
SNL: The Best of Cheri Oteri  2, 3May 23, 2006
SNL: The Best of Chris Farley  1, 3April 25, 2000
SNL: The Best of Chris Kattan  1, 3September 7, 2004
SNL: The Best of Chris Rock  1, 3February 24, 2004
SNL: The Best of Christopher Walken  1, 3September 7, 2004
SNL: The Best of Commercial Parodies  2, 3May 23, 2006
SNL: The Best of Dan Aykroyd  1, 3September 6, 2005
SNL: The Best of Dana Carvey  1, 3February 15, 2000
SNL: The Best of David Spade  2, 3January 24, 2006
SNL: The Best of Eddie Murphy  1, 3February 24, 2004
SNL: The Best of Gilda Radner  1, 3September 6, 2005
SNL: The Best of Jimmy Fallon  2, 3January 25, 2005
SNL: The Best of John Belushi  1, 3September 6, 2005
SNL: The Best of Jon Lovitz  1, 3June 7, 2005
SNL: The Best of Mike Myers  1, 3February 24, 2004
SNL: The Best of Molly Shannon  1, 3August 12, 2003
SNL: The Best of Phil Hartman  1, 3February 24, 2004
SNL: The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse  2, 3October 24, 2006
SNL: The Best of Steve Martin  1, 3April 25, 2000
SNL: The Best of Tom Hanks  1, 3June 7, 2005
SNL: The Best of Tracy Morgan  1, 3September 7, 2004
SNL: The Best of Will Ferrell, Volume 1 1, 3August 12, 2003
SNL: The Best of Will Ferrell, Volume 2 1, 3September 7, 2004
SNL: The Best of Will Ferrell, Volume 3 4, 5August 3, 2010
SNL: Christmas 1, 3October 28, 2003
SNL: Halloween 1, 3October 28, 2003
SNL in the 80's: Lost and Found 2, 3March 4, 2008
Saturday Night Live - OHH NOOO MR BILLS CLASSICS 3January 1, 2000
SNL - The First 5 Years 1, 3September 6, 2005

1 Distributed by Lions Gate Home Entertainment
2 Distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
3 Aspect ratio: 4:3 (fullscreen)
4 Aspect ratio: 16:9 (widescreen)
5 Released in Canada only

6 Distributed by Trimark Home Video

Episode downloads and online streaming

Following the creation of Hulu in a joint venture by NBC, in 2007, NBC-owned content, including Saturday Night Live material, was removed from video sharing sites, notably YouTube, to the exclusion of NBC.com and the aforementioned Hulu. [7] Free, ad-supported streaming of new SNL episodes on NBC.com was announced on October 16, 2009. [8] In 2013, an official Saturday Night Live YouTube channel was created, which hosts clips from the show, musical guest performances, and behind-the-scenes content. The channel has amassed over 15.4 million subscribers and 17.2 billion views as of February 2025. [9]

In 2020, following the launch of NBC's online streaming service Peacock, the complete library of Saturday Night Live was made available to stream on the platform. [10] NBC ended its content-sharing deal with Hulu in 2022, making SNL exclusively available to stream on Peacock. [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Adding to the line of best-of DVDs in the "Saturday Night Live" series distributed by Lionsgate, Universal Studios Home Entertainment". Daily Variety. 2004-01-04. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  2. ↑ "Universal Studios Home Entertainment presents unforgettable moments from the most enduring and celebrated comedy franchise in television history". PR Newswire. 2005-12-21. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  3. ↑ Lionsgate releases Steve Martin (again) Archived 2008-06-21 at the Wayback Machine from TVShowsOnDVD
  4. ↑ Saturday Night Live at IMDb   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  5. 1 2 Saturday Night Live: The complete 1st season review Archived 2007-03-30 at the Wayback Machine from TVShowsOnDVD
  6. ↑ "Saturday Night Live DVD news: Word About Season Sets for Saturday Night Live | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  7. ↑ "NBC Confirms Pulling YouTube Content for Hulu". newteevee.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
  8. ↑ "NBC.com gives viewers a chance to stream NBC's 'Saturday Night Live' immediately following the broadcast". NBC Universal. 2009-10-02. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  9. ↑ "Saturday Night Live". YouTube. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
  10. ↑ Schneider, Michael (2020-09-25). "'Saturday Night Live' Full 45-Season Library to Start Streaming on Peacock". Variety. Archived from the original on 2025-01-26. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
  11. ↑ Hayes, Dade (2022-03-04). "NBCUniversal Cuts Programming Flow To Hulu, Re-Routing 'Saturday Night Live' And Other Shows To Peacock". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2023-10-02. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
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