List of Saturday Night Live home video releases
Traditionally, retail home video releases of Saturday Night Live material have consisted of "Best Of" compilations, comprising select performances (typically sketches) of past cast members, and notable guest hosts. Beginning in 1999, DVD releases were distributed by Lions Gate Home Entertainment under license from NBC, predating the network's merger with Universal, following Lions Gate's acquisition of NBC's previous distributor Trimark. Following the establishment of NBCUniversal in 2004, Universal Studios, owners of NBC, Saturday Night Live's broadcast home, ceased the existing arrangement of outside distribution of SNL material.[1][2] While Lionsgate is no longer able to acquire new SNL-related content, they have retained reissuing rights to their existing SNL content library.[3]
On December 5, 2006, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released on DVD "Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season," comprising complete episodes.[4] Upon the set’s release, some criticism of its authenticity as complete and uncut episodes arose from reviewers and fans.[5] 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.[5] 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 costs and the rise of streaming video.[6]
DVD releases
[edit]Seasons
[edit]| DVD Name | Release dates | Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| SNL: The Complete First Season 2, 3 | December 5, 2006 | July 16, 2007 | ||
| SNL: The Complete Second Season 2, 3 | December 4, 2007 | |||
| SNL: The Complete Third Season 2, 3 | May 13, 2008 | |||
| SNL: The Complete Fourth Season 2, 3 | December 2, 2008 | |||
| SNL: The Complete Fifth Season 2, 3 | December 1, 2009 | |||
Specials
[edit]| DVD Name | Release dates | Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| SNL: 25th Anniversary 1, 3 | February 24, 2004 | |||
| SNL: 25 Years of Music 1, 3 | August 12, 2003 | |||
| SNL: Bad Boys 3, 6 | January 1, 1998 | |||
| SNL: The Best of 06/07 2, 4 | March 4, 2008 | |||
| SNL: The Best of 09/10 2, 4 | March 13, 2011 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Adam Sandler 1, 3 | November 9, 1999 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Alec Baldwin 2, 3 | January 24, 2006 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Amy Poehler 2, 4 | October 20, 2009 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Cheri Oteri 2, 3 | May 23, 2006 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Chris Farley 1, 3 | April 25, 2000 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Chris Kattan 1, 3 | September 7, 2004 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Chris Rock 1, 3 | February 24, 2004 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Christopher Walken 1, 3 | September 7, 2004 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Commercial Parodies 2, 3 | May 23, 2006 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Dan Aykroyd 1, 3 | September 6, 2005 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Dana Carvey 1, 3 | February 15, 2000 | |||
| SNL: The Best of David Spade 2, 3 | January 24, 2006 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Eddie Murphy 1, 3 | February 24, 2004 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Gilda Radner 1, 3 | September 6, 2005 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Jimmy Fallon 2, 3 | January 25, 2005 | |||
| SNL: The Best of John Belushi 1, 3 | September 6, 2005 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Jon Lovitz 1, 3 | June 7, 2005 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Mike Myers 1, 3 | February 24, 2004 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Molly Shannon 1, 3 | August 12, 2003 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Phil Hartman 1, 3 | February 24, 2004 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse 2, 3 | October 24, 2006 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Steve Martin 1, 3 | April 25, 2000 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Tom Hanks 1, 3 | June 7, 2005 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Tracy Morgan 1, 3 | September 7, 2004 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Will Ferrell, Volume 1 1, 3 | August 12, 2003 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Will Ferrell, Volume 2 1, 3 | September 7, 2004 | |||
| SNL: The Best of Will Ferrell, Volume 3 4, 5 | August 3, 2010 | |||
| SNL: Christmas 1, 3 | October 28, 2003 | |||
| SNL: Halloween 1, 3 | October 28, 2003 | |||
| SNL in the 80's: Lost and Found 2, 3 | March 4, 2008 | |||
| Saturday Night Live - OHH NOOO MR BILLS CLASSICS 3 | January 1, 2000 | |||
| SNL - The First 5 Years 1, 3 | September 6, 2005 | |||
1 Distributed by Lions Gate Home Entertainment
2 Distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
3 Aspect ratio: 4:3 (fullscreen)
4 Aspect ratio: 16:9 (widescreen)
5 Released in Canada only
6 Distributed by Trimark Home Video
Episode downloads and online streaming
[edit]Following the creation of Hulu in a joint venture by NBC, in 2007, NBC-owned content, including Saturday Night Live material, was removed from video sharing sites, notably YouTube, to the exclusion of NBC.com and the aforementioned Hulu.[7] Free, ad-supported streaming of new SNL episodes on NBC.com was announced on October 16, 2009.[8] In 2013, an official Saturday Night Live YouTube channel was created, which hosts clips from the show, musical guest performances, and behind-the-scenes content. The channel has amassed over 15.4 million subscribers and 17.2 billion views as of February 2025.[9]
In 2020, following the launch of NBC's online streaming service Peacock, the complete library of Saturday Night Live was made available to stream on the platform.[10] NBC ended its content-sharing deal with Hulu in 2022, making SNL exclusively available to stream on Peacock.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Adding to the line of best-of DVDs in the "Saturday Night Live" series distributed by Lionsgate, Universal Studios Home Entertainment". Daily Variety. 2004-01-04. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- ^ "Universal Studios Home Entertainment presents unforgettable moments from the most enduring and celebrated comedy franchise in television history". PR Newswire. 2005-12-21. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- ^ Lionsgate releases Steve Martin (again) Archived 2008-06-21 at the Wayback Machine from TVShowsOnDVD
- ^ Saturday Night Live at IMDb
- ^ a b Saturday Night Live: The complete 1st season review Archived 2007-03-30 at the Wayback Machine from TVShowsOnDVD
- ^ "Saturday Night Live DVD news: Word About Season Sets for Saturday Night Live | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
- ^ "NBC Confirms Pulling YouTube Content for Hulu". newteevee.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
- ^ "NBC.com gives viewers a chance to stream NBC's 'Saturday Night Live' immediately following the broadcast". NBC Universal. 2009-10-02. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
- ^ "Saturday Night Live". YouTube. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (2020-09-25). "'Saturday Night Live' Full 45-Season Library to Start Streaming on Peacock". Variety. Archived from the original on 2025-01-26. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
- ^ Hayes, Dade (2022-03-04). "NBCUniversal Cuts Programming Flow To Hulu, Re-Routing 'Saturday Night Live' And Other Shows To Peacock". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2023-10-02. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
