1990
Blockbuster
adds Applause Video, Video Express, Movie Emporium, and other chains
- stores now exceed 1,500
ASA
Film Production facilities sold to Danish government
Packer
regains control of Nine television network
Abril
buys Editora Primavera in Spain
Japan's
Matsushita buys MCA for $6.1 billion
MGM
bought by Italian financier Gincarlo Parretti for $1.3 billion
1991
Granada
cinemas sold to Bass
Paxson
Broadcasting founded
75%
of US homes reported to own VCRs, 60% have cable tv
1992
US
cable television revenue reaches $22 billion
900
million TV sets in the world; 201 million in the US
Blockbuster
becomes largest video renter in UK after purchase of Cityvision
chain of 875 stores
Rank
sells Rank Screen Advertising to MBO
CBS
buys MTM interest in San Fernando studios
Blockbuster
buys two of US biggest music retailers, Sound Warehouse and Music
Plus, and begins music "Megastores" in joint venture with
Virgin Retail Group
US
Dept of Justice releases studios from consent decree, freeing them
to rebuild exhibition arms
Cisneros
buys stake in Univision
Egmont
merges with Nordisk Film
CBS
buys MTM's interest in Studio City
MGM
taken over by French bank Credit Lyonnais
US
National Science Foundation appoints NSI to manage .com, .net, and
.org domain names
1993
Blockbuster
buys 35% of Republic Pictures
Paramount
and Chris-Craft Industries announce plans to launch new broadcast
network
Paramount
Publishing announces plans to acquire Macmillan Publishing Company
USA
Belusconi
forms Forza Italia
1994
Showtime
Networks and Castle Rock Entertainment enter into multi-year, 50-picture
exclusive output deal
Disney
becomes first studio to gross $1 billion at box office
Viacom
buys Paramount Pictures after a bidding war with USA Networks/QVC
Steven
Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen form DreamWorks studio
Blockbuster
invests $1.25 billion in Viacom, which then buys Blockbuster for
$8.4 billion
Viacom
sells its 33% of Lifetime Television to Hearst Corporation and Capital
Cities/ABC (subsequently acquired by Disney)
Viacom
sells Madison Square Garden for $1.075 billion
Elsevier
buys LEXIS-NEXIS
Netscape
founded
1995
estimated
25 million mobile phone subscribers in US
Amazon.com
founded
Seagram
sells Du Pont stock, buys MCA from Matsushita for $5.7 billion and
renames it Universal Studios
Cox
buys Times Mirror Cable Television
Grupo
Cinemex cinema chain founded in Mexico
Westinghouse
buys CBS, subsequently changes name to CBS
Viacom
launches United Paramount Network (UPN), with it's flagship series,
Star Trek: Voyager, and the purchase of Spelling Entertainment
Toy
Story is first computer-animated feature
Disney
buys ABC network
AMC
opens first megaplex (16 screens or more) theatre in Dallas
1996
AMC
opens 30 screen megaplex
Schibsted
buys Swedish Aftonbladet group
Kirk
Kerkorian and Australia's Seven Network buy MGM from Credit Lyonnais
for $1.3 billion
1997
Blockbuster
buys 39 Video Flicks stores in Australia
Viacom
sells educational, professional and reference publishing businesses
to Pearson for US$4.6bn, with Viacom retaining the consumer operations
(including the Simon & Schuster name)
CBS
buys American Radio Systems chain for $2.6 billion, increasing its
radio stations to 175
Viacom
sells interest in USA Networks to Seagram
United
Artists cinema chain bought by Hicks Muse Furst & Tate for $850
million
KKR
buys Act II cinemas for $660 million
Warburg
Pincus buys Cinamerica chain for $165 million
Cinamerica
Theaters joint venture of Viacom and Time Warner sold to WestStar
Holdings
Viacom's
equity in Spelling Entertainment increased to 80%
Paramount
sells ten-station Radio Group to Chancellor Media
Paramount
Stations Group increases to 17 stations, making it 6th-largest broadcasting
group in US
Cumulus
broadcasting group founded in US
Emmis
broadcasting group founded in US
Alma
Media group formed through merger of MTV with Aamulehti newspaper
group
UFA
merges with CLT broadcast group
Microsoft
invests $1 billion in Comcast
Rank
sells Rank Film Distributors and Rank film library (740 feature
films) to Carlton Communications for 65 million pounds
Wiley
buys Van Nostrand Reinhold for $28 million
MGM
buys Metromedia-controlled Orion Pictures, Goldwyn Entertainment
and Motion Picture Corp. of America for $573 million
Fox's
Titanic goes on to gross $580 million in domestic market which is
largest ever.
1998
AOL
buys Netscape
ICANN
created
Seagram
buys Polygram from Matsushita rival Philips for $10.4 billion
Sony/Loews
cinema chain completes merger with ailing Cineplex Odeon - 2,900
screens
United
Artists chain and ACT II Cinemas merge with Regal Cinemas (5,347
screens in 727 cinemas)
Rank
buys Bell & Howell Columbia Paramount Video Services (BHCP)
1999
Euro
created as EU currency
Fanning
founds Napster
RIAA
litigation against Napster
CBS
buys King World Productions, leading television program syndicator,
for $2.5 billion
Viacom
buys CBS for $50 billion
Rank
sells Pinewood Studios
<-
1980's + 2000's ->
