It was announced earlier today that the new WWE DVD and Blu-ray distributor for the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa will be FremantleMedia Enterprises.
It was announced in the press release, that the deal will begin in January 2013 (after the Silver Vision deal expires) and gives FremantleMedia Enterprises the rights for all new and existing content.
The press release also confirms that Fremantle will begin with releasing the titles Silver Vision has not released: Night of Champions 2012, The Attitude Era, Hell in a Cell 2012 and The Top 100 Moments in Raw History.
Additionally the new distribution deal has provisions for content to be delivered digitally. This will mark the first time in which WWE content has been delivered digitally in these markets.
You can read the full press release below:
LONDON/NEW YORK, 19 NOVEMBER, 2012: FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) today announced a major new distribution agreement with WWE (NYSE:WWE) for the exclusive home entertainment rights to WWE’s catalogue of programming across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
The deal goes into effect in January of 2013 and will see FME manage the DVD, Blu-ray and digital rights for all new and existing WWE content, making it the first time that fans of WWE’s popular programming can access it digitally across EMEA. Some of the new titles that will be released include Night of Champions 2012, Hell in a Cell 2012, Top 100 Raw Moments, Attitude Era and WrestleMania 29.
WWE is a recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 600 million homes worldwide.
Pete Kalhan, SVP Home Entertainment & Archive EMEA, FME, commented, “WWE is an incredibly strong and ever-growing brand with a huge and extremely dedicated global fan base. The brand has a rich history and has performed exceptionally well on DVD for many years. We look forward to working with WWE to grow all aspects of their home entertainment catalogue and are particularly excited about introducing the content to the masses across EMEA via digital platforms.”
“WWE is pleased to partner with FremantleMedia Enterprises on the digital and retail distribution of our content in EMEA,” said Casey Collins, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products for WWE. “FME’s broad retail reach will allow us to place more WWE content across all channels where our fans shop.”
Thanks to William Slack, we have some exclusive pre-release pictures of the highly anticipated WWE: The Attitude Era Blu-ray.
The Attitude Era is released on Blu-ray and DVD tomorrow! You can pick up your copy by clicking here.
Get your copy now ::
Pre-order The Attitude Era at Amazon.
Pre-order The Attitude Era at WWEShop.
Dear Daniel, Mark, do you think that Freemantle will have the CM Punk BD/DVD?
@MARK D, so where is the UK & European WWE fans be able to purchase all of their WWE DVDS when Fremantle Media Enterprises is the new UK & European WWE Distributor
Does that include that they will produce the 26th annual Survivor Series 2012 on dvd as well
The Attitude Era blu ray is $24.99 at Best Buy. Just picked it up. I didn’t try to price match tho.
I know silvervision pretty much done all of the PPVs from the tagged classics. Now, what about their “best of” videos? i.e best of raw, wrestlefest & bret hart.
Anyone have any luck price matching the Blu-ray @ best buy for amazons $19.49 price? Is it $24.99 in store @ bb? Any other good deals in any stores for this set?
Lock your doors and hide your children!!! TV-14!!!!
My question is will Fremantle be re-releasing any previous releases (PPVs, superstar sets, etc.) that were previously released by Silver Vision? I ask because surely the customer should still be able to purchase a brand new, sealed item of a past WWE release and not always have to rely on Amazon Marketplace for a second-hand version, etc? I mean, for example, come late 2013, where does one go if they want a new, sealed copy of ‘Over The Limit 2012’, for example? It would be very odd if such recent titles were just completely deleted and not available on store shelves, and this surely wouldn’t do WWE much good at all.
The press release does state “all new and existing WWE content”, so this will more than likley mean that Fremantle will re-produce the back catologue. however the Silver Vision versions will be around in stores for a while to come.
Really its the same situation which has happened in the US when they changed distributors from Sony to Genius to Vivendi/Giaiam, you can still pickup the 2003 – 2006 titles.
I wouldn’t read too much into the “existing content” remark in the press release, as technically, Night of Champions 2012, Hell in a Cell 2012 etc. could be deemed as ‘existing content’ in WWE’s eyes (i.e. Fremantle do have the rights to some past events, not just 2013 and beyond).
What do they mean by ‘Additionally the new distribution deal has provisions for content to be delivered digitally’
Netflix?
I like how on the preview of the Attitude Era set they showed tonight on Raw they had Blurs on the WWF logo and showed the Undertakers entrance from Wrestlemania X Seven
During Survivor Series last night the commercial for the Attitude Era set showed DX from 2006.
Also looks like WWE have to blur out the logo when advertising DVDs/Blu-rays since it would go against their agreement of “not promoting WWF” but only allowed to show the the logo during matches and flashback sequences, but not during advertisements.
The Lesnar CE and nWo advertisements also blurred out the WWF logo.
If they release Blu-rays that are not released in North America I hope they make them region free.
Blu rays are region free.
Actually WWE DVDs/Blu-rays are region locked…it all depends on the publisher/studio. Even in North America they’re locked to 1 (DVD) and A (Blu-ray).
Studios like Fox which distribute throughout the world have region free Blu-rays, but WWE which have different distributors throughout the world have region locked DVDs and Blu-rays.
Freemantle Media is a major upgrade from SilverVision, for sure. Freemantle is one of the top production companies in the world. They’re responsible for shows like American Idol, X Factor, America’s Got Talent and all of their overseas counterparts. If they don’t have a website dedicated to selling DVDs/Blu-rays directly then there’s always Amazon UK. This is great news for fans in those markets if they take a minute to really think about it.
Having successful TV shows (like X-Factor) and producing good DVDs is an entirely different area of business. For all we know, Fremantle may do a good job, but until they take over, nobody can say if it’s “good news” or not. Having to pay more for DVDs and failure to provide a next-day delivery, for instance, would definitely be a step backwards. I’d be surprised if their customer service matches SilverVision’s either; SV is a dedicated WWE specialist that knows exactly what its customers want, whereas to Fremantle, the WWE DVD deal is just a small drop in their vast ocean, and I can’t envision them taking the time to interact with fans. But again, only time will tell.
I’m sure Fremantle will offer everything that Silver Vision offers and hopefully more as they have digital rights I never saw Silvervision offering digital content .. I say it could be a good move Silver Vision have been good but feel they started to struggle with new ideas
Do you work for Silver Vision?
do all the copys have that sick sticker on it
This does not look good
WOW! I have never seen an “Explicit Content” sticker on a WWE DVD before. Looks like it will be pretty damn edgy. Like nothing we have seen in a DVD since Rise And Fall Of ECW.
Oh man do I hate hate hateeeee bluray cases!!! Why cant they just stick the bluray discs in the DVD box set cases and slap a bluray logo on it? It there some kind of law that says all blurays HAVE to be in these ugly cases? We all need to band together and write into the WWE and ask them to please release blurays in standard DVD box set cases…PLEASE!!!
I am a BIG fan of Blu-ray cases actually.
I actually prefer Blu-ray cases. They all have a more uniform look.
Will it be like SilverVision were it will have a WWE DVD website and you can go on and purchase your DVD’s. Also what do you mean when you say “At the moment it does not appear that Fremantle Home Entertainment have an outlet to purchase DVDs, like Silver Vision. So its very possible that you may need to pick up the releases from retailers – just like in the US” … Finally what does “delivered digitally” mean?
Basically it appears that Fremantle don’t have a website where you can purchase their DVDs directly. It’s possible that they could develop a site to sell WWE DVDs direct; however I don’t believe they do this for any of there other titles. So if they don’t you will need to pick up the DVDs from retail stores or online (via Amazon, HMV, Play etc.).
Delivered digitally, for example via iTunes.
FremantleMedia? Really? Really? At least we are getting the DVD’s & Blu-Rays now, feel gutted for silvervision!
Most likely they will be the same prices or slightly higher like by £1 or £2 but not too high, it wud be interesting to see what they will do, i have a feeling we will be getting the dvds/ blu-rays the same time as america do or the latest a week late but not like 2 months hopefully, as long as they do the exclusives for blu-ray ppvs like for night of champions 2012, hell in a cell 2012, Survivor Series 2012 and TLC 2012, they pretty much have to because this day and age Blu-rays having taken over many households every one buys movies on blu-ray now pretty much every movie thats ever been released is on blu-ray bar 1 or 2, so i be very suprised if they did not release the ppvs on blu-ray over here like silvervision did!!
It is very possible that Fremantle will encounter the release delays (verses the US) which Silver Vision had because of adding additional audio tracks and subtitles. Plus it appears that the Fremantle deal includes the Middle East and Africa (which the Silver Vision deal doesn’t) so this also has potential to slow down production, should additional languages and subtitles be required.
I hope we will get again fair and good prices in Europe.
So are freemantlemedia actually selling the Dvd’s like SIlvervision did on their website?
At the moment it does not appear that Fremantle Home Entertainment have an outlet to purchase DVDs, like Silver Vision. So its very possible that you may need to pick up the releases from retailers – just like in the US.
Great choice for the image on the back of the set. Looking forward to getting it in february?