{{Short description|German classical music producer}} '''Unitel GmbH & Co. KG''' is a leading production company and distributor of filmed classical music performances, based in Oberhaching (Upper Bavaria), Germany.
Unitel stems from '''Cosmotel''', a company established by Leo Kirch and Herbert von Karajan in 1964. Cosmotel broke up over the issue of artistic control, and Kirch created a new company named Unitel in 1966.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lao |language=lo}}</ref> As of 2003, Unitel is a part of Jan Mojto's businesses. Its catalogue is regarded as one of the most important catalogues of classical music, with more than 2,500 productions. Unitel is the exclusive production company for the Salzburg Festival and other arts institutions and of artist such as Christian Thielemann and Daniel Barenboim.
Unitel previously owned Classica, a speciality television channel showcasing classical music performances, also based in Germany. At one point,{{When|date=April 2018}} both the company and Classica were renamed '''Unitel Classica''', but the two entities reverted to their previous individual brand in 2014. In January 2017, Stingray Group in Canada acquired Classica from Unitel<!--for a reported amount of $15 million; access to Unitel library for $7 million, the channel for $8 million: U.S. Dollar or Canadian Dollar?-->: In the deal, Stingray would also be able to utilise Unitel's library of about 1,500 titles and 2,000 hours of filmed content for 11 years, however this deal has been terminated and therefore Classica does not feature any titles from Unitel.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stingray Digital to add Classica library of opera, ballet and classical music|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/stingray-digital-to-add-classica-library-of-opera-ballet-and-classical-music/article33473083/|accessdate=18 April 2018|agency=The Canadian Press|date=January 3, 2017|via=''The Globe and Mail''}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Stingray et UNITEL concluent une entente de 15 millions $|trans-title=Stingray and Unitel conclude a $15 million agreement|url=http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/01/03/stingray-et-unitel-concluent-une-entente-de-15-millions-1|accessdate=18 April 2018|agency=Agence QMI|date=3 January 2017|language=French|via=''Le Journal de Montréal''}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Whittock|first1=Jesse|title=Stingray buys music channel from Mojto firm|url=https://tbivision.com/2017/01/04/stingray-buys-music-channel-mojto-firm/|website=TBI Vision|publisher=KNect365 TMT, an Informa business|accessdate=18 April 2018|date=4 January 2017}}</ref>
Since 2016 Unitel operates together with the ORF Unitel [http://www.Myfidelio.at myfidelio.at], an SVOD OTT service dedicated to classical music.
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{Official website|http://www.unitel.de}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unitel GmbH and Co.KG}} Category:Film production companies of Germany Category:Companies based in Oberhaching
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