Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures) was an American home entertainment and production company formed in 1995. They distributed Thomas & Friends on VHS and DVD in the US from 1995 to 2008 and in Canada from 2001 to 2008. During its time of distribution by Anchor Bay, Thomas reached platinum-selling status and, in 2002, ranked consistently on the VideoScan ranking top 50 chart of children's weekly video sales.[1]
History
Anchor Bay Entertainment was formed through the merger of Video Treasures and StarMaker, two competing video distribution companies, when they were sold to the Handleman Company and formed a new corporate umbrella, Anchor Bay Entertainment, on May 2, 1995.
Previously, Video Treasures had purchased Strand Home Video from VCI in December 1993[2], inheriting the Thomas & Friends distribution rights in the process. Video Treasures began distributing Thomas on VHS in 1994, still using the Strand Home Video name on VHS tapes that year. In the early months of 1995, Video Treasures distributed Thomas on VHS using its own name, but later that year it was merged to form Anchor Bay Entertainment, though the Video Treasures name continued to be used on Thomas VHS tapes for the next two years. Video Treasures also had Canadian branch named HGV Video Productions formed in 1989, which was unaffected by the 1995 merger until 2001. HGV Video Productions distributed Thomas & Friends on VHS in Canada from 1992 to 2001, after which it was folded into its new parent company and was renamed Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada, Limited.[1]
In the 1990s and 2000s, Anchor Bay was primarily known for its distribution of horror and cult films, but it did distribute some children's shows as well. In addition to Thomas & Friends, Anchor Bay also distributed Shining Time Station, Bobby's World, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Anchor Bay also had a film studio known as Anchor Bay Films, which mainly distributed direct-to-video and independent films.
In 2003, Handleman sold Anchor Bay to IDT Entertainment, at the time a newly formed entertainment division of telecommunications company IDT Corporation. In 2006, Liberty Media, the owner of the Starz cable network, purchased IDT Entertainment from IDT Corporation and renamed it Starz Media. In May 2007, Anchor Bay was renamed as Starz Home Entertainment, but, the next year, Starz Home Entertainment was changed back to Anchor Bay Entertainment. On June 30, 2016, Lionsgate agreed to purchase Anchor Bay's parent company Starz Inc. for $4.4 billion in cash and stock. The merger was completed on December 8, 2016. On August 29, 2017, Lionsgate folded Anchor Bay into their own home media division.
In June 2021, Lionsgate was purchased by Shake Creations, Inc. for over $7 billion.
Thomas & Friends Releases
Originals
1995
- Thomas and the Special Letter and Other Stories (August 15, 1995)
1996
- Thomas and His Friends Help Out (February 2, 1996)
- The Gallant Old Engine and Other Thomas Stories (August 6, 1996)
1997
- Sing-Along and Stories (February 11, 1997)
- Thomas Meets the Queen and Other Stories (August 19, 1997)
1998
- Thomas and His Friends Get Along (February 10, 1998)
- Thomas Comes to Breakfast and Other Thomas Adventures (August 18, 1998)
- A Big Day for Thomas (August 18, 1998)
1999
- Thomas' Useful Stories (February 2, 1999)
- Cranky Bugs and Other Thomas Stories (February 2, 1999)
- Races, Rescues and Runaways and Other Thomas Adventures (August 10, 1999)
- 10 Years of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (September 14, 1999)
2000
- Spills and Chills and Other Thomas Thrills (February 29, 2000)
- Make Someone Happy and Other Thomas Adventures (July 25, 2000)
- Thomas' Christmas Wonderland and Other Thomas Adventures (September 26, 2000)
2001
- Thomas' Trackside Tunes and Other Thomas Adventures (February 13, 2001)
- Best of Percy (July 24, 2001)
- Best of Thomas (September 25, 2001)
2002
- Best of James (March 5, 2002)
- Thomas' Fan Favorite Adventures (March 5, 2002)
- Thomas' Magical Musical Ride (September 24, 2002)
- Salty's Secret and Other Thomas Adventures (September 24, 2002)
2003
- Two Thomas Adventures (February 25, 2003)
- Percy's Chocolate Crunch and Other Thomas Adventures (February 25, 2003)
- Best of Gordon (July 22, 2003)
- James and the Red Balloon and Other Thomas Adventures (July 22, 2003)
- Thomas' Sodor Stories (July 22, 2003)
- Fun with Thomas (July 22, 2003)
- Thomas' Snowy Surprise and Other Adventures (October 14, 2003)
2004
- New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures (March 16, 2004)
- Thomas and the Jet Engine and Other Adventures (July 20, 2004)
- The Early Years (October 26, 2004)
2005
- Hooray for Thomas and Other Adventures (January 25, 2005)
- Quarry Adventures on Sodor (May 3, 2005)
- Percy Saves the Day and Other Adventures (July 26, 2005)
2006
- Thomas and the Really Brave Engines and Other Adventures (February 7, 2006)
- On Site with Thomas and Other Adventures (August 15, 2006)
- Thomas' Halloween Adventures (August 29, 2006)
2007
- Thomas' Trusty Friends (May 1, 2007)
- Thomas and the Toy Workshop (September 18, 2007)
- Ultimate Christmas (October 23, 2007)
2008
- Thomas and the Treasure (January 29, 2008)
- Mud Glorious Mud (May 6, 2008)
Re-releases
1995
- Thomas Gets Tricked and Other Stories (August 15, 1995)
- James Learns a Lesson and Other Thomas Adventures (August 15, 1995)
- Thomas Breaks the Rules and Other Stories (August 15, 1995)
- Trust Thomas and Other Stories (August 15, 1995)
- Thomas Gets Bumped and Other Stories (August 15, 1995)
- Thomas, Percy and the Dragon and Other Stories (August 15, 1995)
- Daisy and Other Thomas Stories (August 15, 1995)
- Percy's Ghostly Trick and Other Thomas Stories (August 15, 1995)
1996
- James Goes Buzz Buzz and Other Thomas Stories (February 2, 1996)
- Rusty to the Rescue and Other Thomas Stories (June 18, 1996)
- Thomas' Christmas Party and Other Favorite Stories (August 6, 1996)
DVD Packs
2003
- Best of Thomas, Percy and James Platinum Edition (July 22, 2003)
- Best of Collection (October 14, 2003)
2004
- Totally Thomas Volume 1 (June 22, 2004)
- Totally Thomas Volume 2 (June 22, 2004)
- Totally Thomas Volume 3 (June 22, 2004)
2005
- Percy Saves the Day and James and the Red Balloon 2 Pack (October 11, 2005)
- 10 Years of Thomas & Friends and Best of Gordon 2 Pack (October 11, 2005)
- Thomas' Snowy Surprise and Percy Saves the Day 2 Pack (October 11, 2005)
- James Learns a Lesson and New Friends for Thomas 2 Pack (October 11, 2005)
2006
- Thomas and the Jet Engine and Races, Rescues and Runaways 2 Pack (February 7, 2006)
- Best of Thomas and Best of Percy 2 Pack (February 7, 2006)
- Thomas and the Really Brave Engines and Percy's Chocolate Crunch 2 Pack (February 7, 2006)
2008
- Totally Thomas Volume 4 (August 12, 2008)
- Totally Thomas Volume 5 (August 12, 2008)
- Totally Thomas Volume 6 (August 12, 2008)
- Totally Thomas Volume 7 (October 7, 2008)
- Totally Thomas Volume 8 (October 7, 2008)
- Totally Thomas Volume 9 (October 7, 2008)
- Ultimate Thomas Collection (October 14, 2008)
Double Features
- Thomas Gets Tricked/Percy's Ghostly Trick (2007)
- Thomas' Trusty Friends/On Site with Thomas and Other Adventures (2007)
- Thomas and the Toy Workshop/Thomas and the Really Brave Engines (2007)
- Trust Thomas/A Big Day for Thomas (2007)
- James Goes Buzz Buzz/Thomas and the Special Letter (2008)
- Percy Takes the Plunge/Thomas Gets Bumped (2008)
- Trackside Tunes/Thomas and His Friends Help Out (2008)
- Thomas and the Treasure/Thomas, Percy and the Dragon (2008)
Shining Time Station Release
1997
- 'Tis a Gift (October 7, 1997)