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 Lionsgate Home Entertainment under license from NBC, predating the network's merger with Universal. 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 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 | |||
| 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 Lionsgate 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
Following the creation of HulubyNBC, among others, in March 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] A notable exception to this are SNL Digital Shorts, created in conjunction by SNL Studios and The Lonely Island. Additionally, full seasons and specials have been released for sale on paid-content online media portals, including iTunes and Amazon.com. Free, ad-supported streaming of new Saturday Night Live episodes on NBC.com was announced on October 16, 2009.[8]
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 to distribute Saturday Night Live digital content to online-viewers in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.[9]
