Sony to distribute Anchor Bay DVDs overseas

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 4/1/2008

APRIL 1 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has signed on to exclusively distribute Anchor Bay Entertainment content in all territories outside of the U.S., Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Under the three-year pact, Sony will release a variety of titles from Anchor Bay’s 3,500-title library, spanning such genres as horror, children’s, fitness, TV and theatrical product.

Anchor Bay titles already slated for Sony international distribution include the Hellboy Animated series, anime title Ghost in the Shell and all 26 installments of TV series Masters of Horror. Additionally in the pipeline are Streetfighter, Masters of Science Fiction and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy.

Bill Clark, Anchor Bay president, hopes the deal will draw new fans to its content in such territories as non-English-speaking markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

“Sony Pictures Home Entertainment gives Anchor Bay unbeatable access to international territories where we haven’t previously had a strong presence,” said Clark. “Sony really is the ideal partner for us, since they are a great fit for our library of products and a leading distributor of home entertainment content in key territories around the world.”

Matt Brown, Sony’s executive VP of international, added, “It’s great to be collaborating with Anchor Bay in bringing their product to new markets. Anchor Bay’s exciting catalog and reputation for quality titles make their slate a great complement to Sony’s existing library and should garner a great response from consumers and retailers alike around the world.”