20th Century Fox Home Entertainment: A History of Distinction

With the March 20 closure of Walt Disney Co.’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, much has been written about the storied history of the celebrated film studio, responsible for nearly a century’s worth of big-screen favorites, from Shirley Temple musicals to Star Wars, from The Sound of Music to Avatar.And yet hardly anything has been said about the legacy of the studio’s home video division, which in many respects is the birthplace of home entertainment.“It was the first,” recalls Bill Mechanic, the veteran film producer — and chairman and CEO of Pandemonium Films — who later ran 20th Century Fox studios.Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter! More than 40 years ago, in 1978, entrepreneur Andre Blay licensed 50 films from 20th Century Fox, including The Sound of Music and Patton, and released them on his own Magnetic Video banner. The occasion marked the first time movies were available for home viewing on demand, a key tenet of home entertainment. The films were sold through an ad in the back of TV Guide.A year later, Blay — who died last August at the age of 81 — sold Magnetic Video to 20th Century Fox and became the first president and CEO of the industry’s very first studio home video division.