Magnavox

Magnavox
Type	Brand of Curtis International
Founded	1911 (Commercial Wireless and Development) 1913 (Sonora Phonograph Distribution) July 1917 (Magnavox)
Headquarters	Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Key people	Edwin Pridham, founder Peter L. Jensen, founder
Industry	Electronics
Products	Electronics
Number of people	61,800
Website	https://www.magnavox.com/

Magnavox is an electronics brand owned by Curtis International.

Commercial Wireless and Development Company

Commercial Wireless and Development Company was founded in Napa, California in 1911 by Edwin Pridham and Peter L. Jensen.

The company moved first to San Francisco and then to Oakland in 1916.

Sonora Phonograph Distribution Company

Sonora Phonograph Distribution Company was founded around 1913.

Magnavox

The Commercial Wireless and Development Company and the Sonora Phonograph Distribution Company merged in July 1917, creating Magnavox.

Acquisition by North American Philips

Magnavox was acquired by North American Philips in 1971.

Magnavox is absorbed into Philips

Magnavox was absorbed into the main dutch branch of Philips in 1987.

Sale to Funai and breach of contract

On January 29, 2013, Philips agreed to sell its audio and video divisions to Funai Electric for $202.32 million USD.

As part of the contract, Funai Electric was required to pay a regular licensing fee to Philips for the use of the Philips brand.

Philips terminated the sale and sued Funai Electric for breach of contract on November 2, 2013.

On April 26, 2016, the International Court of Justice ruled in favor of Philips, awarding a compensation of $152.54 million USD.

Acquisition by Curtis International

On January 30, 2025, Curtis International acquired all global rights to the Magnavox brand.

Computers and video game consoles by Magnavox

Title	Release	Notes
Magnavox Odyssey	1972	Eleven game cards were available as well as one that was cancelled and reproduced for the aftermarket. The cards did not contain integrated circuitry or read-only memory. They acted as jumpers to connect to internal components of the console. Unlike later consoles, it was constructed using discrete components like transistors, resistors, and capacitors.
Magnavox Odyssey 100	1975	Created after Philips purchased Magnavox in 1974. It was a simplified version of the original Odyssey with built-in controls that contained only tennis and hockey with no onscreen scoring.
Magnavox Odyssey 200	1975	Used two additional Texas Instruments integrated circuits in addition to the four in the Odyssey 100. It contained hockey, squash, and tennis. It was one of the first console to have support for up to four players. Had a non-numerical system of scoring that had a white rectangle move one space to the right each time a player scored a point. Released under the Philips brand in Europe.
Magnavox Odyssey 300	1976	Contained hockey, squash, and tennis. However, due to the use of the General Instruments AY-3-8500, the gameplay was closer to Atari Pong. It had two built in controllers.
Magnavox Odyssey 400	1976	It contained hockey, squash, and tennis. It had support for up to four players. Had an additional TI integrated circuit for on-screen scoring compared to the Odyssey 200.
Magnavox Odyssey 500	1976	It contained hockey, soccer, squash, and tennis. It had support for up to four players. Had an TI integrated circuits for color, scoring, and sprites in place of the paddles.
Magnavox Odyssey 4305	1977	Contained a Magnavox 300 with hockey, squash, and tennis inside of a 19-inch T991 television chassis. It had two wired game controllers which each contained a button and a paddle.
Magnavox Odyssey 2000	1977	It contained hockey, squash, and tennis. It also had a one-player practice mode for squash.
Magnavox Odyssey 3000	1977	It contained hockey, squash, and tennis. It also had a one-player practice mode for squash. The case has been redesigned to more closely match the industry standard.
Magnavox Odyssey 4000	1977	It contained basketball, gridball, hockey, soccer, squash, and tennis. It also had a one-player practice mode for basketball and squash. It had two controllers that could be connected to the unit.