Founded in 1979 as Robert Halmi Incorporated, Sonar Entertainment is an American production company that has a primary focus on made for television movies and television mini series. The were founded by the father son team of Robert Halmi Jr. and Robert Halmi Sr. and operated under the name RHI Entertainment. In 1988 they merged with the Hal Roach Studios and took the name Qintex Entertainment from a third Australian partner company.
This merger soon failed and they returned to the RHI name. They were renamed Hallmark Entertainment in 1994 after being acquired by Hallmark Cards. They functioned under that name until 2006 when the Halmis and Kelso & Company repurchased the business and returned it to RHI once again. Throughout the mergers and buy outs the company retained control of its library of films and added to it from their various partners. In 2007 they began offering their new films to cable providers for the on demand service now being provided.
That same year they began licensing some of the new films and much of their large catalog to Apple iTunes. This catalog contains most of the Hal Roach titles, pre MGM Our Gang/Little Rascals shorts and the films from the Lonesome Dove franchise. By 2010 the company had developed financial problems and was forced to file for bankruptcy. The following year Robert Halmi Jr. left, with Robert Halmi Sr. doing the same in 2012. That same year the new management renamed the company once again to its current incarnation as Sonar Entertainment.