EMKA, Ltd.

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EMKA, Ltd. is an in-name-only division of Universal Studios' television unit whose sole function is overseeing Paramount Pictures' pre-1950 film library. EMKA was formed by MCA (Music Corporation of America) in 1957 (the company's name is a pronunciation of the initials in MCA).

In the aftermath of the landmark 1948 United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. case requiring studios to divest of their movie theatres (and marking the unofficial end of the Golden Age of Hollywood), movie studios such as Paramount suffered, and had to sell off their product in order to be profitable, especially in the midst of the rise of television.

Paramount sold a majority of their pre-1950 theatrical sound library (including films by Cecil B. DeMille and Preston Sturges) to MCA, and thus, through their new dummy company, EMKA, they were able to make a profit via airings on television.

EMKA continues to exist today as an in-name-only entity (technically a part of Universal's television division, now called Universal Media Studios), while holding the copyright on the classic Paramount library, even though it is now officially incorporated into Universal's film catalogue. These films became part of Universal's library after MCA bought Universal.

In 2004, Vivendi Universal, by then the owners of Universal, merged its entertainment division (which included Universal) with General Electric's NBC to form NBC Universal, and the EMKA-copyrighted films are now distributed on television by NBC Universal Television Distribution.

Ironically, several Alfred Hitchcock films originally released by Paramount, including Psycho, and The Trouble with Harry, are now part of Universal's film library (but negotiated in a series of separate deals with Hitchcock and his estate).

This is not the same EMKA that was run by late Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke.

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