WWE Home Video

Last updated

WWE Home Video
Formerly
  • WWF Home Video (1997–2002)
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Biography, tape library
FoundedApril 16, 1997;26 years ago (1997-04-16)
DefunctDecember 26, 2023;2 months ago (2023-12-26)
Headquarters Stamford, Connecticut, United States
Parent WWE (TKO Group Holdings)

WWE Home Video was a video distribution and production company that distributed WWE programming. A division of WWE formed on April 16, 1997, as WWF Home Video, it replaced a similar independent company owned by Evart Enterprises, Coliseum Video which operated between 1985 and 1997.

Contents

History

Coliseum Video

The Coliseum Video logo Coliseum.jpg
The Coliseum Video logo

World Wrestling Federation initially began releasing home videos of its content through Coliseum Video under the "WWF Official Video" label. The company was initially founded in 1985 by Evart Enterprises and released VHS and Betamax cassettes that generally fell into several categories:

Coliseum Video released videos of the two World Bodybuilding Federation events and two non-Titan videos: the music video for the New York Giants' "We're The New York Giants" and a Wayne Gretzky instructional video, Hockey My Way.

At the beginning of 1997, the WWF decided to part ways with Coliseum and release content in-house. Following the contract expiration, Coliseum ceased operations. [1]

Legacy

On February 5, 2018, WWE released over 38 Coliseum Video releases on the WWE Network, branded as "WWE Home Video Classics". [2]

WWF/WWE Home Video

WWFclassicVideo.JPG
WWFHomeVideo.jpg
WWE Home Video (Until 2014).png
The logos for WWE Home Video from 1997 to 2014

After ending the deal with Coliseum, the WWF began releasing home video releases in-house through WWF Home Video, which was founded in April 1997. Videos that were being or had been released by Coliseum Video were re-released with new packaging and the WWF Home Video [3] [4] [ better source needed ] name and logo.

When the WWF became WWE in 2002, the name of the home video subsidiary changed as well. Content released by WWE Home Video [5] continued to release the same content as Coliseum did, and also releases content produced exclusively for home entertainment such as swimsuit videos and retrospective documentaries. Content from the World Wrestling Federation's "Attitude Era" (1998–2002), however, had to be edited due to the lawsuit that caused the WWF to become WWE. All WWF "scratch" logos and references to the initials WWF had to be blurred or edited out. However, the words "World Wrestling Federation" were not edited, and the old WWF logo was not blurred. Some of the early WWE home video releases were also not edited (such as The Rock Just Bring It; the 2002 editions of Backlash and Insurrextion also featured the WWE digital on-screen graphics inserted on top on the old WWF one). Some of the videos/DVDs in question were just renamed with the WWE logo.

In 2012, WWE and the World Wide Fund came to an agreement which allowed WWE to use the Scratch logo in past photos and videos, thus ending the blurring on 'Attitude Era' PPVs and shows; in return, the WWE is not permitted to use any WWF logos in new, original footage. [6]

On November 19, 2014, WWE entered into a distribution partnership with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment for North America. [7] The deal also saw DVD releases coming from the defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which was previously owned by Time Warner and sold to WWE in 2001. The deal came as a result of the success the two had with Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery , as well as a Flintstones crossover and a sequel to the Scooby-Doo crossover. Additionally, despite remaining top-sellers, WWE Home Video releases had been in a decline in recent years due to streaming media services such as WWE's own WWE Network. [7]

International Distribution

The WWF began releasing home video products in the United Kingdom in July 1990 through an exclusive partnership with Silver Vision, a division of home video distributor Clear Vision. Their releases were initially distributed by The Video Collection before Silver Vision began releasing products independently. Silver Vision began releasing WWE releases in other European territories such as Germany (previously released through PolyGram Video). One popular line from Silver Vision was the UK-exclusive WWE Tagged Classics DVD series, which did not have any edits or censoring of the WWF initials. On 19 September 2012, Silver Vision announced on their website that the partnership between their parent Clear Vision Ltd. and WWE would end on 31 December 2012, with SummerSlam 2012 and nWo: The Revolution being their final WWE release.

On 19 November 2012, it was announced that FremantleMedia (now Fremantle) would be the new WWE Home Video distributor for the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, [8] releasing all future WWE DVD, Blu-ray, and digital-file-based releases in Europe, replacing Silver Vision. Their official UK website [9] launched in January 2013 along with their initial releases - Night Of Champions 2012, Hell In A Cell 2012, Top 100 RAW Moments and The Attitude Era, all of which were issued on DVD and Blu-ray.

Discontinuation

On December 3, 2021, it was originally announced that WWE Home Video releases would be discontinued in the United States and Canada in early 2022. [10] although releases in the United Kingdom and Germany by distributor Fremantle would be continuing. [11] Despite this, WWE Home Video releases continued to be released throughout 2022 and 2023.

On December 5, 2023, Fremantle announced that they would not renew their British and German contract with WWE to continue releasing physical content. As such, Crown Jewel 2023 was the last WWE Home Video release in those regions. [12] On the same day, it was revealed that WWE Home Video releases would be discontinued in North America as well, as no announcements were made by the company that they would release physical products in 2024 and beyond. Survivor Series: WarGames 2023 was the last WWE Home Video release in North America as well as their last release altogether. [13] On December 31, 2023, they posted an announcement to their X (formerly known as Twitter) account that reads: [14]

Today the story of WWE Home Video comes to an end.

It would not have been possible — or as much fun — without your support, participation, and love for collecting physical WWE releases.

WWE will no longer licence DVD or Blu-ray releases globally. So sadly, our story must end at this point.

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our fans, followers, and collectors.

We know that many of you in the UK became WWE fans through video and DVD. The history of home video has been intrinsic to the WWE UK fanbase.

Hang onto those tapes and discs. They represent true passion and loyalty — not to mention WWE history.

Happy New Year to you" all.

— WWE Home Video UK

Expansion of the video library

With the expansion of the WWE Video Library, content has also been released from the vast library archives, including classic WWF, AWA, WCW, ECW, WCCW, and NWA content.

Formats

Content was released exclusively in the DVD and UMD format (for selected documentaries only, until the format was discontinued) from mid-2005 (SummerSlam 2005 was the last VHS release) until their closure in 2023. WrestleMania XXIV was the company's first show, and the first sports related event, to be released on Blu-ray Disc, being released in stores on May 20, 2008, as a 2-disc set; it was also the only pay-per-view released on UMD. Some content (primarily pay-per-views) were also available on Video CD format through certain licensors in some developing markets.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE</span> American professional wrestling and entertainment company

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into fields outside of wrestling, including film, football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to companies to produce video games and action figures.

<i>WCW Monday Nitro</i> WCW television program

WCW Monday Nitro, also known as WCW Nitro or simply Nitro, is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the United States from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Criterion Collection</span> American home video distribution company

The Criterion Collection, Inc. is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinephiles and public and academic libraries. Criterion has helped to standardize certain aspects of home-video releases such as film restoration, the letterboxing format for widescreen films and the inclusion of bonus features such as scholarly essays and documentary content about the films and filmmakers. Criterion most notably pioneered the use of commentary tracks. Criterion has produced and distributed more than 1,000 special editions of its films in VHS, Betamax, LaserDisc, DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray formats and box sets. These films and their special features are also available via The Criterion Channel, an online streaming service that the company operates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE Classics on Demand</span> WWE subscription television program

WWE Classics On Demand was an American subscription video on demand television service provided by WWE. It featured footage from WWE's vast archive of wrestling footage, including classic WWE, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and more. It offered around 40 hours of rotating programming per month, arranged into four "programming buckets", often centered on a specific theme. It was originally called WWE 24/7 On Demand. In September 2008, it was changed to WWE 24/7 Classics on Demand. In April 2009, it was changed again to WWE Classics On Demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWF One Night Only</span> 1997 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WWF One Night Only was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation and aired exclusively in Canada and the United Kingdom. It took place on September 20, 1997, at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England. The event featured eight matches, with two main events. In the first main event, The Undertaker challenged Bret Hart for the WWF Championship where Hart retained. In the second main event match, which closed the show, Shawn Michaels defeated The British Bulldog to win the WWF European Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment</span> The Walt Disney Companys home entertainment subsidiary

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, was the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, and other audiovisual content across several home media formats, such as Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and digital media, under various brand labels around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of WWE</span> History of American professional wrestling company WWE

The history of American professional wrestling promotion WWE dates back to the early 1950s when it was founded in 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). The public branding of the company has undergone several name changes throughout the years, from the CWC to the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1963, then the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979, and to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002. Since 2011, it has branded itself solely as WWE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SummerSlam (1990)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 1990 SummerSlam was the third annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on August 27, 1990, at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The card consisted of 10 televised matches, including two main events. The Ultimate Warrior successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Rick Rude in a Steel Cage match, and Hulk Hogan defeated Earthquake by countout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Pictures Home Entertainment</span> Home video distribution division of Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio, owned by NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Rumble (1993)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 1993 Royal Rumble was the sixth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on January 24, 1993, at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. It centered on the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE Libraries</span> Subdisiary of American professional wrestling company, WWE

WWE Libraries Inc., branded as the WWE Legacy Department, is an American media company that consists of the largest collection of professional wrestling videos and copyrights in the world. The Legacy Department is a subsidiary of WWE, the professional wrestling subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings. It comprises not only past and current works by WWE but also the works of now defunct professional wrestling promotions dating back to the 1930s. As of 2014, the library stands at 150,000 hours of content including weekly television shows, pay-per-views, and recorded house shows. The collection represents a very significant portion of the visual history of modern professional wrestling in the United States and Canada. WWE has made their classic holdings available through numerous home video releases, the Vintage television program, and on the WWE Network and WWE Classics on Demand services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE Tagged Classics</span> Professional wrestling direct-to-video series

WWE Tagged Classics was a series of two-disc DVD sets produced by Silver Vision and World Wrestling Entertainment for retail markets in Region 2 in PAL format. The majority of sets in the series feature a WWF/E pay-per-view event from one year on one disc, "tagged" with another disc that featured the same event from the following year, or two consecutive pay-per-views. The first Tagged Classics DVD set released was WrestleMania 1 and 2 in 2004 and the last to be released was UK Fan Favourites 1993 & 1995 in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Vision</span> British video production and distribution label

Silver Vision Limited was a British video production and distribution label, and a subsidiary of Clear Vision Limited. The company was based in Enfield, London, England. The company is most famous for being the official home video distributor for WWE in Europe from 7 July 1990 to 31 December 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Line Home Entertainment</span> US home video company between 1990–2010

New Line Home Entertainment was the home entertainment distribution arm of the film production studio of the same name, founded in 1990. According to New Line's website, Misery was the first New Line Home Video release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme Championship Wrestling</span> Defunct American professional wrestling company

Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate Eastern Championship Wrestling. The following year, businessman and wrestling manager Paul Heyman took over the creative end of the promotion from Eddie Gilbert. Under Heyman, the promotion was rechristened as Extreme Championship Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home video</span> Prerecorded video media that are either sold, rented, or streamed for home entertainment

Home video is recorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. In a different usage, "home video" refers to amateur video recordings, also known as home movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Mercy (UK)</span> 1999 World Wrestling Federation United Kingdom-exclusive pay-per-view event

The 1999 No Mercy held in the United Kingdom was the inaugural No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the American promotion, World Wrestling Federation. It took place on May 16, 1999, at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England and was broadcast exclusively for the United Kingdom. It was the only No Mercy held in the United Kingdom, as beginning with the October 1999 event, all further No Mercy events were held in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE Network</span> WWE produced subscription network

WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and documentary series, and a 24-hour linear channel produced by the eponymous professional wrestling promotion, alongside acquired programming from other wrestling promotions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle Royal at the Albert Hall</span> 1991 World Wrestling Federation event

Battle Royal at the Albert Hall was a live professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) that took place on 3 October 1991 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. The event was televised on Sky Movies Plus and later released on VHS and DVD. On 5 February 2018 the event became available on the WWE Network.

WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Stamford, Connecticut in the United States, owned by Endeavor. It has been promoting events in the United Kingdom (UK) since 1989. From 1989 to 2001, WWE was promoted under concert promoter's, brothers Harvey and Martin Goldsmith, for UK and European shows.

References

  1. ↑ Goldstein, Seth (December 27, 1997). "Picture This!" (PDF). Billboard . p. 157. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  2. ↑ "WWE Home Video Classics Now Available on WWE Network; Update on Edits". February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  3. ↑ "World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Home Video [us]". IMDb . Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  4. ↑ "WWF Home Video". IMDb . Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  5. ↑ "WWE Home Video [us]". IMDb . Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Update On The WWE Scratch Logo". PWInsider. August 19, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Warner Bros. Locks Down Multi-Year Deal to Distribute WWE Home video Titles (EXCLUSIVE) Variety (11/19/2014)
  8. ↑ "FremantleMedia Enterprises Gets Into the Ring with WWE". fremantlemedia.com. November 19, 2012. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  9. ↑ "WWE Home Entertainment - DVDs & Blu-rays - WWE Home Video UK".
  10. ↑ "WWE DISCONTINUING PHYSICAL DVD RELEASES IN UNITED STATES". December 3, 2021.
  11. ↑ "WWE DVDs Cancelled in United States & Canada". Wrestling DVD Network. December 3, 2021.
  12. ↑ Hausman, Nick (December 5, 2023). "Major Update On Future Of WWE DVDs, VHS Tapes, And Blu-rays". Haus of Wrestling. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  13. ↑ "WWE DVDS & Blu-Rays Are Officially Cancelled Beginning 2024. For Real This Time. | Wrestling DVD Network". December 5, 2023.
  14. ↑ @WWEHomeVideoUK (December 31, 2023). "Today the story of WWE Home Video comes to an end" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.