Sony Struck Multi-Year Distribution Agreement With Transmission Home Entertainment In Australia

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) has entered into an exclusive multi-year distribution agreement with leading Australian distributor Transmission Films. From October 1, SPHE will distribute Transmission’s titles on both physical and digital formats for the home entertainment market in New Zealand and in Australia through its joint venture, Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia Pty Limited.

As reported by Variety, Mr Man Jit Singh, the president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, said, “This collaboration fits very much into our strategy to continue to grow and leverage our distribution strength worldwide.” Meanwhile, Richard Payten and Andrew Mackie, joint managing directors of Transmission Films, said, “We’re incredibly excited about building our business alongside the entire SPHE team,” as reported by Mumbrella. They also clarified that the company’s release schedule includes high profile quality commercial theatrical releases which will complement the SPHE portfolio. They opined that this association with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will provide tremendous foundation for building Transmission.

According to Daniel Greentree, head of Home Media for Transmission Films, the company’s catalogue includes a wide range - from quality theatrical, to family favourites, gripping action and intriguing arthouse. He also expressed his excitement to see how the next episode unfolds with SPHE who has championed a diverse range of titles and genres.

Transmission’s future releases include Todd Haynes’ "Carol" starring Cate Blanchett; "Suffragette" starring Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep; Sundance Film Festival hit "Brooklyn;" and Martin Scorsese’s "Silence" starring Liam Neeson and Adam Garfield. The distribution deal also includes productions from sister company See-Saw Films such as Mr Holmes, starring Ian McKellan and Laura Linney, and extraordinary true story "Lion" featuring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman.

The Australian video and DVD space is slowly shrinking under the influence of piracy and growing availability of movies on online platforms. According to Variety, predictions by IBISWorld’s Motion Picture and Video Distribution revealed that Australian home entertainment revenues to fall by 3.6 percent accounting to $AUD 1.8 billion in 2014-15. The report ranked SPHE as the third largest with a 10.8 per cent market share among many home entertainment distributors.

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