Communications and Entertainment Limited
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| Communications and Entertainment Limited | |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video distribution |
| Genre | all genres, depending on label |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Dissolved | 1990s |
| Headquarters | , Australia |
Communications and Entertainment Limited (often abbreviated to CEL) was an Australian home video cassette distributor in the 1980s. They were originally known as Publishing and Broadcasting Video (unrelated to Publishing and Broadcasting Limited).
PBV's labels included: Embassy Home Entertainment, MGM/UA Home Video, Muppet Home Video, Star Video (featuring low-budget films from around the world), Australian Video (featuring films from the South Australian Film Corporation), Film World Festival (like Star Video, but better-budget releases), The Storytime Collection (released children's videos of TV and movie versions of famous storybook characters), and Playaround Video (released low-budget horror films, and a few videos of rock (mostly heavy metal concerts).
Its logo consisted of a space background, with "PBV" in giant block letters inside a rounded rectangle, inside a square, then fading to the first logo for Star Video. Once the animation for Star Video was done, the square would turn (like a trilon) to reveal other logos, with Embassy Home Entertainment coming next, then Australian Video, then Film World Festival, then Playaround Video, followed by the Storytime Collection, Muppet Home Video, and finally, MGM/UA Home Video.
By the time PBV had become CEL, many of the labels were discontinued, or moved to another company (MGM/UA's releases were through Warner Home Video). CEL's labels included the aforementioned Muppet Home Video, and Thames Video (although this appears to be non-exclusive; some of Thames' video releases were through ABC Video and Festival Video). CEL also released RCA-Columbia Pictures Home Video releases prior to the joint venture with Hoyts.
The company was publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, but was delisted in 1989 for failing to pay annual fees to the ASX. The company continued for a few years into the 1990s, but has since disappeared altogether.
CEL had also bought Sundowner Film and Video Productions Pty Ltd.
