NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan

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NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan LLC

Headquarters at Atago Green Hills in Atago, Minato, Tokyo
Native name	NBCユニバーサル・エンターテイメントジャパン合同会社
Romanized name	EnubīshīYunibāsaru Entāteimento Japan gōdō gaisha
Formerly	LaserDisc Corporation (1981–1989) Pioneer LDC, Inc. (1989–2003) Geneon Entertainment Inc. (2003–2009) Geneon Universal Entertainment Japan, LLC. (2009–2013)
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Mass media
Founded	March 1981; 43 years ago (1981-03)
Founder	Pioneer Corporation
Headquarters	Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Area served	Japan
Key people	Shoji Doyama (CEO and president)
Products	Anime Film Music
Services	Broadcasting Licensing Publishing
Owner	NBCUniversal
Parent	Pioneer Corporation (1981–2003) Dentsu (2003–2008) Universal Pictures (2008–present)
Website	www.nbcuni.co.jp

NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan LLC (Japanese: NBCユニバーサル・エンターテイメントジャパン合同会社, Hepburn: Enubīshī Yunibāsaru Entāteimento Japan Gōdō gaisha) (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, owned by American telecommunications/media company Comcast headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distribution of anime within Japan.

The company was founded in March 1981 by Pioneer Corporation as LaserDisc Corporation, a LaserDisc player production company. In 1989, the company was renamed Pioneer LDC, Inc. as it branched into the anime, music, and film industries, and later Geneon Entertainment Inc. (after being acquired by Dentsu in 2003). In 2008, Geneon merged with Universal Pictures Japan to form Geneon Universal Entertainment Japan, LLC; in 2013, the company changed its name to the current NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan. Some of the well-known anime series the company has produced are A Certain Magical Index, The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Danganronpa: The Animation, Golden Kamuy, Seraph of the End, and Is the Order a Rabbit? among many others.

Despite the name, NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan does not distribute Universal Pictures films theatrically in Japan; Toho (through Toho-Towa) exclusively distributes them for Japanese theaters.

Evolution of Comcast NBCUniversal

1912	Universal Pictures is founded
1926	NBC is founded
1928	Walter Lantz Productions is established
1943	MCA Inc. establishes Revue Studios (later Universal Television)
1953	NBC begins first compatible color broadcasts, preceding other networks by nine years
1956	NBC's first peacock logo debuts
1963	American Cable Systems is founded
1964	Universal Studios Hollywood opens
1967	NBC broadcasts the first Super Bowl
1968	American Cable Systems rebrands to Comcast
1972	Comcast began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
1975	Universal releases Jaws Filmworks is founded
1976	Filmworks becomes Casablanca Record & Filmworks
1980	PolyGram renames Casablanca Record & Filmworks to PolyGram Pictures MCA Videocassette‚ Inc. (later Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) is established
1982	Universal releases E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1983	PolyGram Pictures closes
1984	Walter Lantz Productions' assets are sold to Universal Telemundo is founded
1985	Universal releases Back to the Future
1986	General Electric re-purchases its former subsidiary RCA for $6.4 billion, including NBC and a stake in A&E
1987	PolyGram Movies is founded
1989	NBC relaunches Tempo Television as CNBC
1990	Universal Studios Florida opens Law & Order premieres on NBC PolyGram Movies is renamed PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting merge to form British Sky Broadcasting Universal Cartoon Studios (later Universal Animation Studios) is established
1993	Universal releases Jurassic Park
1994-1997	DreamWorks Animation is founded Seagram acquires Universal through it's acquisition of MCA NBC and Microsoft replace America's Talking with MSNBC Barry Diller purchases Universal's domestic television assets
1998	Seagram acquires PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Universal Television is renamed Studios USA Television
1999	PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is folded into Universal Pictures Universal Studios Florida expands to become Universal Orlando Resort Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premieres on NBC
2000	Seagram is sold to Vivendi and merged with StudioCanal to become Vivendi Universal Entertainment
2001	Grand opening of Universal Studios Japan Universal releases The Fast and the Furious Vivendi purchases Studios USA
2002	NBC acquires Telemundo and Bravo Studios USA assets are folded into Universal Focus Features is formed Comcast acquires AT&T Broadband for $44.5 billion
2003	Universal becomes the first studio with five summer releases breaking the $100 million mark
2004	GE and Vivendi merge NBC and Universal into NBCUniversal
2005	The Office premieres on NBC Comcast sets up a joint-venture with PBS, Sesame Workshop & HIT Entertainment to form PBS Kids Sprout Comcast & Time Warner Cable jointly acquire Adelphia Cable assets for $17.6 billion
2006	USA Network begins 13-year streak as #1 cable network in total viewers
2007	Illumination is founded
2010	Universal releases Illumination's first film Despicable Me
2011	Vivendi divested in NBCU; Comcast buys 51% of NBCU from GE, turning it into a limited liability company NBCUniversal Archives is founded
2012	Universal celebrates its 100th anniversary NBCUniversal divests its A&E Networks minority stake
2013	Comcast buys GE's remaining 49% of NBCU Comcast/NBCU assumes full ownership of Sprout
2014	Comcast attempts to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion NBCUniversal reaches a new long-term deal with WWE
2016	NBCU acquires DreamWorks Animation
2017	Sprout relaunches as Universal Kids
2018	Comcast acquires Sky after a heated bidding war with 21st Century Fox
2019	NBCU acquires Cineo Lighting
2020	NBCU launches Peacock DreamWorks’s Trolls World Tour is releasing on Video on Demand
2021	Grand opening of Universal Beijing Resort
2023	The Super Mario Bros. Movie becomes Illumination's highest-grossing film
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Pioneer Corporation founded the LaserDisc Corporation (レーザーディスク株式会社, RēzāDisuku Kabushiki-gaisha) in March 1981 to produce LaserDisc players in Japan.^[1] The LaserDisc Corporation changed its name to Pioneer LDC, Inc. (パイオニア エル・ディー・シー株式会社, Paionia Eru Dī Shī Kabushiki-gaisha) in 1989 as part of an attempt to branch off into the anime, film, and music industries.^[1] As Pioneer LDC, they developed and published several video games for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation, such as games based on Magical Girl Pretty Sammy, Tenchi Muyo!, and Serial Experiments Lain.^[2][3][4]

In December 1985, Pioneer LDC made an effort to expand into the North American business, by establishing a subsidiary in the region named LaserDisc Corporation of America in an effort to consolidate the Pioneer Video and Pioneer Audio units, who maintained the Pioneer Artists label, which was initially based near New Jersey, following the introduction of a combined CD/laserdisc player.^[5]

In late 1991, Pioneer LDC established a European division, Pioneer LDCE (short for LaserDisc Corporation of Europe), hoping to revive interest of Laserdiscs in the European market after Philips' Laserdisc players flopped in Europe.^[6] Around the same time, the company begin licensing titles from Guild Film Distribution to release 140 films to Laserdisc for the United Kingdom market, and additionally licensed titles from VCL Communications/Carolco Pictures to release 20 titles to the German market.^[7]

In 1992, LaserDisc released their first anime title Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki.^[1]

On July 21, 2003, the company was acquired by Japanese advertising and marketing company firm Dentsu and renamed to Geneon Entertainment Inc. (ジェネオン エンタテインメント株式会社, Jeneon Entateinmento Kabushiki-gaisha), while its North American division, Pioneer Entertainment, was renamed Geneon USA.^[8][9]

On November 12, 2008, Dentsu announced that it was selling 80.1% of its ownership in the company to NBC Universal's Universal Pictures International Entertainment (UPIE), who planned to merge the company with its Universal Pictures Japan division—which had no longer theatrically distributed Universal Pictures films in Japan, having delegated its theatrical distribution tasks to Toho subsidiary Toho-Towa since the dissolution of United International Pictures Japan in 2007—to form a new company.^[10][11] The merger later closed, with the new company known as Geneon Universal Entertainment Japan, LLC. (ジェネオン・ユニバーサル・エンターテイメントジャパン合同会社, Jeneon Yunibāsaru Entāteimento Japan Gōdō-kaisha).^[12] On December 9, 2013, the company once again changed its name to NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan LLC.^[13]

On February 17, 2013, they made a partnership with Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment to distribute their anime titles directly in Australia and New Zealand.^[14]

On January 1, 2016, Paramount Japan was purchased by NBCUniversal and dissolved shortly afterwards.^[15] This was due to Paramount Pictures establishing a joint-venture with Toho-Towa named Towa Pictures Company Limited, which would distribute Paramount's films in Japan.^[16]

On July 12, 2017, they announced a partnership with Crunchyroll to co-produce anime with "international appeal".^[17]

• Official website (in Japanese)