WildBrain facts for kids
WildBrain Ltd. is a Canadian company that creates, produces, and licenses children's entertainment. It's known for having the biggest collection of children's TV shows, including popular series from companies like Cookie Jar Group and Wildbrain Entertainment. WildBrain also owns part of the famous Peanuts franchise, which features characters like Snoopy and Charlie Brown.
The company started in 2006 as DHX Media. It was formed when two companies, Decode Entertainment and the Halifax Film Company, joined together. Over the years, DHX Media bought other studios and expanded into broadcasting by acquiring Canadian TV channels like Family Channel in 2014. In 2016, they launched a YouTube network called WildBrain. Because this network became very successful, the entire company changed its name to WildBrain in 2019.
Contents
WildBrain's Story
Starting as DHX Media
In May 2006, two companies, Decode Entertainment from Toronto and Halifax Film Company from Halifax, merged to form DHX Media. This new company became public, meaning its shares could be bought and sold on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This helped them raise money for new projects.
After the merger, the different parts of the company, like Decode and Halifax Film, kept their own names for a while. But in 2010, DHX Media decided to bring all its parts under the single DHX Media name. Later that year, DHX Media bought an American animation studio called Wildbrain Entertainment.
A big moment for DHX Media happened on August 20, 2012. They announced they would buy Cookie Jar Group for about $111 million Canadian dollars. This deal made DHX Media the world's largest independent owner of children's TV shows. The purchase was completed in October 2012.
In May 2013, DHX started three special channels on YouTube for kids: DHX Junior, DHX Kids, and DHX Retro. This was a way to use their huge library of shows and reach more kids online.
On September 16, 2013, DHX bought Ragdoll Worldwide for $27.7 million US dollars. This company managed and licensed popular shows like Teletubbies and In the Night Garden outside the UK.
Growing into TV Channels and Partnerships
On November 28, 2013, DHX announced it would buy four children's TV channels from another company called Astral Media. These channels included Family Channel, Disney Junior (English), Disney Junior (French), and Disney XD. This was a big step for DHX, as it was their first time owning TV channels. The deal was approved and finalized in 2014. These channels became part of a new group called DHX Television.
In early 2014, DHX Media also bought Epitome Pictures, the company that made the Degrassi TV series. Later that year, DHX bought 117 children's and family shows from a US distributor. This included the international rights to Degrassi and other shows like Lunar Jim and Beast Wars: Transformers. DHX Media also acquired Nerd Corps Entertainment, an animation studio known for Slugterra, on December 24.
In April 2015, another company, Corus Entertainment, got the rights to Disney Channel shows in Canada. This meant DHX's deal with Disney ended in January 2016. So, DHX's Disney-branded channels were renamed Family Jr. and Télémagino in September 2015.
DHX also made deals with other companies. In August 2015, they partnered with AwesomenessTV to get their shows for Family Channel and create new content together. In December 2015, they made a deal with DreamWorks Animation for their animated TV series. They also started working with Mattel to create content for Little People, Polly Pocket, Bob the Builder, and Fireman Sam.
In April 2016, DHX Media announced a new multi-channel network in London called WildBrain. This network would show digital children's content. In September 2016, DHX made a deal with Air Bud Entertainment to distribute 15 of their films.
Buying Peanuts and Company Changes
On May 10, 2017, DHX announced a big purchase: they acquired the entertainment part of Iconix Brand Group for $345 million US dollars. This gave DHX full ownership of the Strawberry Shortcake franchise and a large 80% share in Peanuts Worldwide.
After this big purchase, DHX's debt increased. So, on October 2, 2017, the company started looking at different ways to improve its finances, including possibly selling the company.
To help with the debt, DHX announced on May 14, 2018, that it would sell about half of its share in Peanuts Worldwide to Sony Music Entertainment Japan for $185 million US dollars.
On September 24, 2018, DHX decided not to sell the entire company. Instead, they chose to focus on digital content, like short videos for WildBrain and longer shows for streaming services like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. This was to adapt to how people watch shows today. In November 2018, DHX sold its animation studio in Halifax to a new company.
In February 2019, the company planned to organize its operations into two main groups: one for studios and TV networks, and another for digital content. This was to help them focus better.
Becoming WildBrain
In August 2019, Eric Ellenbogen, who used to be the CEO of Marvel Entertainment, became the new CEO of DHX Media. On September 23, 2019, the company announced it had officially changed its name to WildBrain. This new name was chosen because it represents "creativity, imagination, and innovation" and shows how the company wants its different parts to work together more closely. The original WildBrain network was then renamed "WildBrain Spark."
On February 3, 2022, WildBrain acquired the rights to the Jay Ward Productions shows, which include characters like Rocky and Bullwinkle. Both companies plan to create new content based on these characters. In November, WildBrain also made a deal with producer Bonnie Arnold (known for How to Train Your Dragon) to create TV and film content.
Josh Scherba became the president and CEO of WildBrain in 2023. WildBrain also announced its plan to buy the animation studio House of Cool for $18.3 million Canadian dollars in March 2023. This purchase was completed in July 2023.
What WildBrain Does
- WildBrain CPLG: This part of WildBrain helps license characters and brands for toys, clothes, and other products. It has offices around the world.
- WildBrain Distribution: WildBrain shares its huge library of TV shows and specials with different platforms and countries. They have offices in many cities like Toronto, London, and Paris.
- WildBrain Television: WildBrain runs four TV channels in Canada. Three are in English (Family Channel, Family Jr., and WildBrainTV) and one is in French (Télémagino). They bought these channels in 2013.
- WildBrain Studios: WildBrain has a production studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, where they create animated shows.
- WildBrain Spark: This is a multi-channel network based in London, England. It creates and shows digital children's content on services like YouTube. This includes shows from WildBrain's own library, as well as educational content and toy-related videos. WildBrain Spark is one of the biggest children's channels on YouTube.
- House of Cool: This studio specializes in the early stages of animation production, like designing characters and creating storyboards for shows, movies, and commercials.
See also
In Spanish: WildBrain para niños
- List of WildBrain programs
- List of libraries owned by WildBrain
