17 Facts About PolyGram Television

PolyGram Television traced its origins through Deutsche Grammophon back to the inventor of the flat disc gramophone, Emil Berliner.

Later on, PolyGram expanded into the largest global entertainment company, creating film and television divisions.

PolyGram Television was thereby folded into Universal Music Group, and PolyGram Television Filmed Entertainment was folded into Universal Pictures, which had been both Seagram successors of MCA Inc When the newly formed entertainment division of Seagram faced financial difficulties, it was sold to Vivendi, and MCA became known as Universal Studios, as Seagram ceased to exist.

PolyGram Television acquired United Distribution Corporation in 1973, and changed its name to Phonodisc, Inc, and signed international distribution deals with MCA and 20th Century Records in 1976.

In 1969, PolyGram Television established a direct mail-order business in the UK, Britannia Music Club, which ran till 2007.

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When US operations were running at full capacity, PolyGram Television expanded aggressively, and would press large quantities of records without knowing the demand.

In late 1979, PolyGram Television was caught off guard by the sudden end of the popularity of disco music, leaving it with an underutilized distribution network, profligate labels, and over optimistic product orders.

PolyGram Television took further loses when the disco craze ended in 1979 and record sales for both the Bee Gees and Casablanca's Village People plummeted.

PolyGram Television experienced losses with the defection of Casablanca's Donna Summer to newly formed Geffen Records as well as the dropping of Andy Gibb, whose personal problems with cocaine and alcohol began to affect his recording career, from RSO.

In 1980, PolyGram Television created PolyGram Television Pictures in a partnership with Peter Guber.

In 1981, Philips executive Jan Timmer became a member of the Group Management of PolyGram Television and was appointed president and chief executive officer of newly formed parent company, PolyGram Television International Ltd.

PolyGram Television cut the workforce from 13,000 to 7,000, reduced PolyGram's LP and cassette plants from eighteen to five, and decreased the company's dependence on superstars by spreading the repertoire across different genres and nurturing national and regional talent.

Under the new company, PolyGram Television decided to discontinue Philips as a pop and rock label in the UK and throughout much of Europe, though it was still frequently issued records in France and South East Asia by Chinese and Hong Kong pop artists.

In 1982, PolyGram Television purchased 20th Century Fox Records from its similarly named parent, which had just recently been bought out by oil magnate Marvin Davis, who was not interested in keeping the record company.

In 1993, PolyGram Television purchased the video arm of Virgin Group from General Electric Capital for $5.

The ITC Entertainment library was sold to Carlton Communications for £91 million, the pre-April 1996 PolyGram Television Filmed Entertainment library was sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, PolyGram Television's US distributor was sold to USA Networks, and Slash Records and London Records were sold to Warner Music Group.

Lionsgate and PolyGram agreed to a multiyear first-look television deal in August 2018 to develop projects for TV from UMG's portfolio of labels, artists and music, with UMG issuing the corresponding soundtracks.