Traditionally, retail home video releases of ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' material have consisted of "Best Of" compilations, comprising select performances (typically
sketches) of past
cast members
In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra (acting), extra for a particular role or part in a scr ...
, and notable
guest hosts. Beginning in 1999,
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
releases were distributed by
Lionsgate Home Entertainment under license from NBC, predating the network's merger with
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a t ...
. Following the establishment of
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
in 2004, Universal Studios, owners of
NBC, ''Saturday Night Lives broadcast home, ceased the existing arrangement of outside distribution of ''SNL'' material. While Lionsgate is no longer able to acquire new ''SNL''-related content, they have retained reissuing rights to their existing ''SNL'' content library.
On December 5, 2006,
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
released on DVD "''Saturday Night Live'': The Complete First Season," comprising complete episodes.
Upon the set’s release, some criticism of its authenticity as complete and uncut episodes arose from reviewers and fans.
This was due to the existence of original live copies, which in comparison to the "complete" episodes reveal edits and omissions, which are common among the rerun versions of the shows in the set.
[Saturday Night Live: The complete 1st season review](_blank)
from TVShowsOnDVD Following the successful sales of the first season, the next four seasons have been released. No subsequent releases are planned for the near future, due to prohibitive
music licensing
Music licensing is the licensed use of copyrighted music. Music licensing is intended to ensure that the owners of copyrights on musical works are compensated for certain uses of their work. A purchaser has limited rights to use the work without ...
costs and the rise of streaming video.
DVD releases
Seasons
Specials
1 Distributed by
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
2 Distributed by
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
3 Aspect ratio:
4:3 (fullscreen)
4 Aspect ratio: 16:9 (
widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
)
5 Released in Canada only
6 Distributed by Trimark Home Video
Episode downloads and online streaming
Following the creation of
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
by
NBC, among others, in March 2007, NBC owned content, including ''Saturday Night Live'' material, was removed from
video sharing
An online video platform (OVP), provided by a video hosting service, enables users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally u ...
sites, notably
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, to the exclusion of
NBC.com
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
and the aforementioned Hulu. A notable exception to this are
SNL Digital Shorts, created in conjunction by
SNL Studios
SNL Studios (also known as "Saturday Night Live Studios") is a production company founded in 1997 as a joint venture between ''Saturday Night Live'' creator and producer Lorne Michaels and NBC Studios. While this venture also initially included P ...
and
The Lonely Island
The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'').
The three ...
. Additionally, full seasons and specials have been released for sale on paid-content online media portals, including
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
and
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
. Free, ad-supported streaming of new ''Saturday Night Live'' episodes on NBC.com was announced on October 16, 2009.
Due to the region-specific nature of Hulu, the content is not accessible outside of the United States. In mid-2009
Broadway Video Enterprises formed a partnership with
Sevenload
Sevenload was a German-based video-sharing website on which users can upload, share and view videos. Since its founding in April 2006, the platform emerged on international markets to become a Social Media Network for photos, videos and web TV c ...
to distribute ''Saturday Night Live'' digital content to online-viewers in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
References
{{Saturday Night Live
DVDs