High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal City Studios or Universal for short), a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the six major American movie studios. Its main motion picture production/distribution arm is called Universal Pictures. Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, It is one of the oldest American Movie studios still in continuous production. In 2004, the controlling stake in the company was sold by its owners at the time Vivendi Universal to General Electric, parent of NBC. The resulting media super-conglomerate was renamed NBC Universal, while Universal Studios Inc. remained the name of the production subsidiary.