Home entertainment company Anchor Bay Entertainment has been brought under the auspices of its Starz stablemate Overture Films.

Anchor Bay had been part of Starz Media, the television production, syndication and animation unit that in turn is wholly owned by John Malone's Liberty Media. Anchor Bay president Bill Clark will now report to Overture CEO Chris McGurk.

Overture Films, which recently released The Visitor and Mad Money, remains an independent film studio backed by Liberty.

'As Anchor Bay gets more deeply involved with distributing motion pictures in home entertainment - both its own and those produced by Overture - it made sense to have it become part of the motion picture studio rather than remain in the television division,' Starz chairman and CEO Robert B Clasen said.

'This change will allow closer coordination on marketing and promotion for the Overture theatrical films and provide Overture's expertise to help market and promote Anchor Bay's specialty product.'

'I have known Bill Clark for many years and have great respect for him and his team,' McGurk said. 'Joint management of Overture and Anchor Bay will help grow both businesses. Anchor Bay is also a unique and powerful platform to launch new entertainment initiatives.'

'We at Anchor Bay are delighted to be united with Overture Films,' Clark said. 'Although we will continue to be a leader in distributing children's, fitness, horror, classic television, and other genres of programming, our initiative to acquire and release films across multiple platforms is clearly an area where we can take our business to the next level and better serve the needs of filmmakers and consumers alike.

'This new structure better aligns Anchor Bay's growing and diverse home entertainment product lineup with Overture's high-profile theatrical business.'