History
In 1985, former K-Tel International executives Mickey Elfenbein (president/CEO) and Philip Kives (founder) departed from said company and founded Simitar Entertainment. The first film released by Simitar was the animated film Shinbone Alley, which retailed at $39.95, and a soundtrack album would be marketed through television commercials. In the meantime, the company acquired Pickwick Records. Overtime, the company became a longtime leader in the budget VHS market throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.
In 1986, Simitar Entertainment had reached a deal with the United States Hot Rod Association to promote Monster Madness. By 1987, Minnesota-based Wedding Information Services had inked an agreement with Simitar Entertainment, whereas Simitar would release several titles on videocassette to mass merchandise and their video stores. Reach Entertainment produced sports home video programs for Simitar.
In 1991, Simitar scored a hit with Desert Shield, a documentary on the Gulf War. On February 25, 1997, Simitar Entertainment released the six-part documentary series Hollywood Starlets, produced by Promotions Plus in cooperation with Orphen Enterprises, which primarily focused on B-movie actresses. By April 1997, Simitar was the first independent in the U.S. with DVD releases. On May 18, 1998, Simitar secured the rights to 14 Jackie Chan movies, and several Godzilla movies to bring it onto DVD release, under license from United Productions of America, which was the U.S. holder of the franchise at the time. In 1999, Simitar's revenues rose from $5 million to $40 million in just three years.
On March 9, 1999, Titan Sports, Inc., doing business as World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and its music publishing partner, The Cherry River Music Co., sued Simitar Entertainment for copyright infringement relating to WWF The Music, Vol. 3 and won. Subsequently, in 2000, Simitar folded due to problems in the music division; the company's total assets were $19,570,059, with debts of $25,556,878. Simitar auctioned off its assets later that year, including its film library, which sold to Brentwood Communications, Inc. (BCI) for $215,000. Ed Goetz and Greg Glass went to BCI to start a DVD division. In October/November 2003, BCI was purchased by Navarre Corporation. Naverre's assets have since been sold to Speed Commerce in 2012, then to WYNIT Distribution in 2014. Following the bankruptcy of WYNIT in 2017, Sereno Holdings acquired most of the company assets and relaunched Navarre Distribution as "Encore Software."
