Paramount Home Entertainment

Paramount Home Entertainment is home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of ViacomCBS.

PHE oversees home entertainment and transactional digital distribution activities worldwide. Division is responsible for sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television Studios, Paramount Players, Showtime, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, CBS and other contents like Miramax and back catalogue of DreamWorks Pictures pre 2010. PHE additionally manages global licensing of studio content and transactional distribution across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technologies. CBS Films releases, however, are distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and later on, Lionsgate Home Entertainment, though they may revert to PHE when the respective deals expire.

History
In 2008, PHE launch a direct to video label, Paramount Famous Productions with Famous part of name a throwback to days when company was call Famous Players.

In UK and Australia, Paramount Pictures film library was released by CIC Video alongside Universal Pictures until 1999 before CIC turned into 2 separate units Paramount Home Entertainment International and Universal Studios Home Entertainment International.

On May 27, 2010, IFC Films struck another home video distribution deal with PHE.

In October 2012, it was announced that PHMD and Warner Home Video had sign a distribution deal, allow Warner to gain US and UK DVD, Blu ray, Ultraviolet, Flixster, and DVD manufacturing on demand distribution rights to over 600 Paramount titles. Deal came into effect as of January 1, 2013. Deal, however, has expired as of 2017 as evidenced by Paramount titles no longer appearing on Warner Home Video web store. Distribution of titles included in Warner deal have since reverted to Paramount.

In 2015, PHE signed a distribution agreement with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, whereby latter will distribute former titles overseas, particularly territories where Paramount holds an office. Deal began on July 1, 2015, in UK.

In 2016, Paramount started releasing 4K Ultra HD Blu ray discs.

HD DVD and Blu ray support
Paramount brands majority of it HD content under label Paramount High Definition which is seen both on title box cover and as an in movie open. Films from Paramount subsidiaries such as Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films as well as from former studio DreamWorks Pictures use no special branding, Paramount Vantage another subsidiary releases only select titles under Paramount High Definition banner.

In 2005, Paramount announced that it would be supporting HD video format Blu ray in addition to rival format HD DVD, becoming 1 studio to release on both formats. It 1 4 HD DVD releases came in 2006, and it released 4 titles on Blu ray 2 months later. In 2007, Paramount along with DreamWorks and DreamWorks Animation SKG announced their exclusive support for HD DVD. However, when other studios eventually drop HD DVD and players for technology stop being manufactured, Paramount switched to Blu ray. In 2008, it released 3 titles on Blu ray and continues to release it high definition discs in that format exclusively.