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== History ==
In 1981, ColumbiaCBS Records' then-parent company, CBS Inc., formed the CBS Video Library, which not only released content from CBS Productions, CBS Inc.'s television production division, but also had licensing agreements with other motion picture and television companies. The following year, in 1982, the CBS Video Library officially became part of the Columbia House family. Later in 1982, it secured a duplication contract with [[The CBS/Fox Company (Duplicator)|The CBS/Fox Company's duplication division]], which was later sold to Technicolor Videocassette, Inc. in Q3 1987. In late 1987, the CBS Video Library secured a new duplication contract with [[MediaCopy, Inc.|West Coast Video Duplicating]]. In January 1988, CBS Inc. sold CBS Records, which included the Columbia House brand, to Sony Corporation, a Japanese-based electronics conglomerate. The following year, in 1989, the CBS Video Library was renamed to the Columbia House Video Library, or simply known as Columbia House Video. In 1991, CBS Records was renamed to Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Corporation itself sold a 50% stake in Columbia House to Time Warner, then-parent of Time-Life. By late 1991, membership was over 10 million. In the interim, some of the major home video labels/distributors began selling their own releases through the Columbia House Club, and the company secured another new duplication contract with [[Deluxe Video Services|Rank Video Services America]]. Columbia House Club copies of various VHS releases from the following home video labels/distributors are identifiable by a red-orange seal sticker placed between the packaging and the tape itself that says "CHC." Usually, the tapes do not have previews at the beginning, nor the end. However, the regular video label/distributor's packaging, stock number and product labels are unaltered as always. In 1996, club membership was at 16 million and Columbia House launched their website, and the following year, in 1997, Columbia House launched the re-tv video library.
In 2005, Columbia House merged with BMG Direct Marketing, Inc., an Indianapolis-based mail-order subsidiary of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, to form BMG Columbia House, Inc. In 2008, Sony BMG Music Entertainment was renamed back to Sony Music Entertainment and its subsidiary BMG Columbia House, Inc. was renamed back to Columbia House. Technically, Sony Music Entertainment still owns the trademark rights to the Columbia House brand, but as of 2016, it is currently used under license by Edge Line Ventures LLC.
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