Private Media Group, Inc. is a Swedish production and distribution company that distributes adult entertainment via print publications, DVDs, and the Internet. It first published a magazine called Private in Stockholm in 1965. Private Media Group was purchased in 2019 by WGCZ Holding, the owner of XVideos.[1]
Origins
Private magazine was established in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1965 as the world's first full-color hardcore magazine by Berth Milton Sr. In the early 1990s, his son Berth Milton Jr. took over and started to produce movies and internet content, taking Private public soon after.[2]
Product lines
The firm provides content through DVD, Video on Demand (VOD), Internet Protocol television (IPTV), PSP, mobile and magazines. It supplies adult entertainment films to thousands of major hotels around the world through their Hotel Pay Per View services. The company also runs the adult channels Private TV (Europe) and Private Gold (Latin America)
In 1998 the company launched Private Circle,[3] a designer clothing label, at the Cannes Film Festival.[4] The label would later be changed to Private Clothing and a boutique would be opened in Los Angeles.[5]
In August 2008 Private Media Group announced it had established an alliance with Marc Dorcel to collaborate in the home video market. The collaboration started with a three-year DVD distribution agreement for France.
The firm's 2009 acquisitions of video on demand companies Gamelink LLC and Sureflix, and the ecommerce technology firm eLine LLC established it as a leading adult content and distribution company in the digital media sector.[6][7]
In June 2014 the firm announced the released of its full archive of images and (film and video) scenes dating back to the 1960s when Private magazine launched in Sweden. The material is available via a website, PrivateClassics.com.[8]
Movies
Private is known for high-budget, adult movies, such as the two-part series Millionaire, directed by Alessandro del Mar, with a reported budget of $1.9 million.[9] In the last few decades, Private has earned more than 130 adult industry awards. The film Millionaire alone earned 16 Venus Award nominations in 2004.[10] Best-selling releases include the Private Gladiator series, Cleopatra, Millionaire and Chateau.
In 1999, Private released The Uranus Experiment, a three-part pornographic science fiction video that is notable for part of it having been shot in microgravity during a parabolic flight, representing the first time a sex act had been carried out in zero-g conditions.[11][12]
Awards
The following is a selection of some of the major awards Private films have won:
- 1994 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (Private Video Magazine 1)
- 1995 AVN Award – Best Counting Video Series (Private Video Magazine)[13]
- 1995 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (Virgin Treasures 1 & 2)[13]
- 1996 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (The Tower, Parts 1, 2 & 3)[13]
- 1996 AVN Award – Most Outrageous Sex Scene (Private Video Magazine 20)
- 1997 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (The Pyramid, Parts 1, 2 & 3)[13]
- 1998 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (The Fugitive 1 & 2)[13]
- 1999 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (Tatiana 1, 2 & 3)[13]
- 2000 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (Amanda's Diary 2)[13]
- 2001 AVN Award – Best Foreign Vignette Series (Private XXX)[13]
- 2003 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (Private Gladiator)[13]
- 2004 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (The Scottish Loveknot)[13]
- 2006 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (Robinson Crusoe on Sin Island)[13]
- 2007 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (Porn Wars: Episode 1)[13]
- 2007 Eroticline Award - Best European Film (The Sexual Adventures of Little Red)
- 2009 AVN Award – Best BDSM Release (House of Sex and Domination)[14]
- 2009 AVN Award – Best Foreign Feature (Jason Colt, Mystery of the Sexy Diamonds)[14]
- 2017 VENUS Award – Best International Label[15]
External links
References
- xxxReporter. Private Media Group Sold: Xvideos Merger Mike South, 2020-01-02, retrieved 2026-04-20^
- Richard Morais. Porn goes public 6 June 1999, retrieved 8 November 2014^
- Nicola Veash. Porn hits the high street as hardcore merchants challenge big-name fashion labels Guardian News, 25 July 1999, retrieved 8 November 2014^
- Valli Herman-Cohen. For Clothing Line, Sex Doesn't Sell--but It Does Finance Los Angeles Times, 9 February 2001, retrieved 8 November 2014^
- Private Clothing Opens Fashion Boutique in Los Angeles - PRIVATE MEDIA GROUP INC PRVT, 1999-02-22, retrieved 2014-04-20^
- PRIVATE MEDIA GROUP COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF LEADING U.S. ONLINE DISTRIBUTION PLATFORM GAMELINK AND CREATES GLOBAL DIGITAL POWERHOUSE Private Media Group Press Releases, retrieved 8 November 2014^
- PRIVATE MEDIA GROUP Completes Acquisition Of Leading Online Distribution Platform SUREFLIX Private Media Group Press Releases, retrieved 8 November 2014^
- Allen Smithberg. Private Releases Full Media Archive on PrivateClassics.com AVN.com, Adult Video News, retrieved 9 June 2014^
- Private U.S.A. Sets Release Date For Multimillion-Dollar Feature, Millionaire, AVN Media Network, 3 September 2004^
- AVN - Jesse Jane Named Best Actress USA at Venus Awards Business.avn.com, 2004-10-21, retrieved 2014-05-30^
- Michael Brooke. The Uranus Experiment Review www.thedigitalfix.com, February 27, 1999, retrieved 2022-05-25^
- Zero gravity Невесомость : a cultural user's guide Arts Catalyst, 2005^
- AVN Awards Past Winners AVN, retrieved 13 March 2009^
- THE 2009 AVN AWARDS WINNERS AVN, retrieved 7 March 2009^
- Best International Label at Venus Awards 2017 HD Videos & Porn Photos - Private Porn Sex Videos www.private.com, retrieved 2019-04-25^