Bonton Group is a media and entertainment holding company in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

established in 1990 by co-Presidents Zdenek Kozak and Mick Hawk. The company's first product was Czech President

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...

reading one of his own plays. Bonton Group grew from the

Bonton Music Bonton may refer to: * Bonton, Dallas, neighborhood in Dallas, Texas * Bonton Group, a media/entertainment holding company *A brand name for Lorazepam Lorazepam, sold under the brand name Ativan among others, is a benzodiazepine medication. ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

established in May 1989 by Czech

jazzman "Jazzman" is a 1974 song performed by Carole King, from her album ''Wrap Around Joy''. King composed the music for the song, while David Palmer (formerly of Steely Dan) wrote the lyrics. The song is best known for its lengthy saxophone solos, ...

Martin Kratochvíl Martin Kratochvíl (born 22 May 1946) is a Czech jazz / jazz fusion keyboardist and businessman born in Prague. He cofounded the Jazz Q quartet in 1964. During his career, he has performed in various countries around the world, launched his own ...

, who became chairman. By the late 1990s group sales reached US$50 million, and Bonton had established itself as a market leader in the Czech Republic in film, music, broadcasting and video. It operated the largest music retailer, was exclusive film distributor of major Hollywood films, and even produced the first privately made Czech film ' (1991) which set box office records.Corporate Close-Up; in Czech, Bonton Means Entertainment; Strength Keeps Competitors Out While Company Looks at New Markets
Retrieved 7 April 2019 Sales reached US$200 million before the company was largely deconsolidated in 2012. In 2014 Hawk led a group which reacquired Bonton's film production and distribution business.

Holdings

* Albatros nakladatelství, a.s. – book publisher * Ateliéry Bonton Zlín a.s. – filmateliérs * AZ Rádio, s.r.o. – regional radio (now Rock Max) *

a.s. – music label; merged with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

into Sony Music / Bonton. In 2003 Sony Music bought out the shares of Bonton *

Bontonfilm Bontonfilm is a Czech film company. It was founded in 1994 by transformation from Lucernafilm Video (successor of Ústřední půjčovna filmů). As of 2022, Bontonfilm holds a 10.4% market share being 4th largest Czech distributor (behind Falcon ...

a.s. – film production and distribution, later divided into Alfa a Beta * Bonton Home Entertainment * Bonton Home Video,a.s. – video distributor * Centrum Českého Videa, a.s. – distribuce českých filmů * Bontonland, a.s. – prodejny médií * Bonton Promotions, a.s.– propagace * Bonton Plus a.s. – podpůrná společnost * Bonton Online a.s. – internet company (dříve Bonton TV, dnes Supraphon) * ''

Cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...

'' – film magazine * Hybernia a.s. – theatre company * Panther, akciová společnost – distribution media * Radio Bonton akciová společnost – Prague, later multiregional radio station, after the collapse of the holding company was renamed new Italian owner on

Radio DeeJay Radio DeeJay is an Italian radio station. It was founded on 1 February 1982 by the Italian radio and television personality Claudio Cecchetto and was acquired by the Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso in 1989. In 2020 EXOR (of the Agnelli-family) became ...

, now, after another ownership change again Radio Bonton *

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. T ...

a.s. – record label; also labels Panton and Ultraphon

References

{{reflist Entertainment companies of the Czech Republic Mass media in the Czech Republic