WildBrain facts for kids
Logo used since 2019
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Formerly
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DHX Media Ltd. (2006–2019) |
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| Public | |
| Traded as | TSX: WILD |
| Industry | Television production Broadcasting |
| Predecessors | Wildbrain Entertainment Decode Entertainment Halifax Film Company Cookie Jar Group Ragdoll Worldwide |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founders | Michael Donovan Steven DeNure |
| Headquarters |
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Canada
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Number of locations
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10 |
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Key people
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Josh Scherba (president and CEO) |
| Revenue |  CA$439.8 million (FY 2019) |
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Number of employees
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est. 1000 (2015) |
| Divisions |
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| Subsidiaries |
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| 1968 | FilmFair is founded |
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| 1971 | DIC Audiovisuel is founded |
| 1974 | CPLG is founded |
| 1976 | CINAR and Colossal Pictures are founded |
| 1978 | Iconix Brand Group is founded. |
| 1982 | DIC Enterprises is founded |
| 1984 | Ragdoll Productions is founded |
| 1987 | DIC Audiovisuel closes |
| 1988 | Studio B Productions is founded |
| 1992 | Epitome Pictures is founded |
| 1993 | DIC Enterprises becomes DIC Entertainment |
| 1994 | Wild Brain is founded |
| 1995 | Platinum Disc Corporation is founded |
| 1996 | CINAR buys FilmFair's library |
| 1997 | Decode Entertainment is founded |
| 1999 | Wild Brain absorbs Colossal Pictures' employees |
| 2002 | Nerd Corps Entertainment is founded |
| 2004 | Halifax Film Company is founded and CINAR rebrands as Cookie Jar Group, and the House of Cool are founded |
| 2005 | Platinum Disc Corporation becomes Echo Bridge Home Entertainment |
| 2006 | Decode and Halifax Film merge as DHX Media, DIC acquires CPLG, and Ragdoll Worldwide is formed with BBC Worldwide |
| 2007 | DHX Media buys Studio B Productions and Wild Brain becomes Wildbrain Entertainment |
| 2008 | DIC Entertainment is acquired and absorbed into Cookie Jar Group |
| 2010 | DHX Media buys Wildbrain Entertainment |
| 2011 | Decode Entertainment closes |
| 2012 | DHX Media buys Cookie Jar Group |
| 2013 | DHX Media buys Ragdoll Worldwide |
| 2014 | DHX Media buys Epitome Pictures, Nerd Corps, and Echo Bridge Home Entertainment and Cookie Jar is absorbed |
| 2016 | The WildBrain multi-channel network launches and Studio B and Nerd Corps merge as DHX Studios |
| 2017 | Wildbrain Entertainment closes and DHX Media buys Iconix Brands Entertainment |
| 2018 | Halifax Film becomes spins off as Island of Misfits |
| 2019 | DHX Media rebrands as WildBrain, Epitome Pictures closes, and the WildBrain MCN becomes WildBrain Spark |
| 2020 | CPLG becomes WildBrain CPLG |
| 2023 | WildBrain acquires House of Cool |
WildBrain Ltd. is a Canadian company that creates, produces, and distributes animated and live-action shows for kids. It's also a big name in brand licensing, which means they help sell toys and other products based on popular characters. WildBrain owns one of the largest collections of children's TV shows in the world.
This collection includes shows from companies they bought, like Cookie Jar Group, Epitome Pictures, and Wildbrain Entertainment. They also have the rights to distribute shows from Jay Ward Productions and Ragdoll Productions. Plus, they own a big part of the famous Peanuts franchise, which features characters like Charlie Brown and Snoopy.
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 its business. In 2014, they started broadcasting TV channels by acquiring Family Channel in Canada. In 2016, they launched a YouTube network called WildBrain. Because this YouTube network became so successful, the entire company changed its name to WildBrain in 2019.
Contents
How WildBrain Grew
Starting as DHX Media
In May 2006, two Canadian companies, Decode Entertainment from Toronto and the Halifax Film Company from Halifax, merged to form DHX Media. The new company became public, meaning its shares could be bought and sold on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This allowed them to raise money for new projects.
The name "DHX" came from combining parts of "Decode" and "Halifax". In 2010, DHX Media brought all its different parts under the single DHX Media name. Later that year, they bought an American animation studio called Wildbrain Entertainment. This studio made popular shows like Poochini, Higglytown Heroes, and Yo Gabba Gabba!.
In 2012, DHX Media made a big move by buying Cookie Jar Group. This deal cost about CA $111 million and made DHX the largest independent owner of children's TV shows in the world.
In 2013, DHX started offering special channels on YouTube for kids. These channels, like DHX Junior and DHX Kids, used the company's huge library of shows. This showed how important digital platforms were becoming for kids' entertainment. Later in 2013, DHX also bought Ragdoll Worldwide. This company managed popular shows like Teletubbies and In the Night Garden outside the UK.
Expanding into TV Channels
On November 28, 2013, DHX announced it would buy four children's TV channels in Canada for CA $170 million. These channels included Family Channel, Disney Junior (English), Disney Junior (French), and Disney XD. This was DHX's first time owning TV channels. The deal was approved in July 2014, and the channels became part of a new group called DHX Television.
In 2014, DHX Media also acquired Epitome Pictures, the company behind the Degrassi TV series. They also bought distribution rights for many other children's and family shows, including Lunar Jim and Beast Wars: Transformers. In December 2014, DHX Media bought Nerd Corps Entertainment, an animation studio known for Slugterra.
In 2015, DHX's deal with Disney for its Disney-branded channels ended. So, the Disney-branded channels were renamed Family Jr. and Télémagino in September 2015. DHX also made deals with other big companies like DreamWorks Animation and Mattel to create new shows and manage popular toy brands like Little People and Polly Pocket.
By February 2016, DHX brought most of its animation studios together under a new division called DHX Studios. They also opened a large new studio in Vancouver. In April 2016, DHX Media created a new multi-channel network in London called WildBrain.
Peanuts and Company Changes
On May 10, 2017, DHX bought the entertainment part of Iconix Brand Group for US$345 million. This purchase gave DHX full ownership of the Strawberry Shortcake franchise and a large 80% share in Peanuts Worldwide.
In May 2018, DHX sold a part of its share in Peanuts Worldwide to Sony Music Entertainment Japan for US$185 million. This helped DHX manage its finances.
In November 2018, DHX sold its animation studio in Halifax. By February 2019, the company decided to focus its operations into two main parts: studios and networks, and global content assets.
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 officially changed its name to WildBrain. This new name was inspired by their successful multi-channel network of the same name, which was then renamed "WildBrain Spark." The company felt the name "WildBrain" represented creativity and innovation.
On February 3, 2022, WildBrain acquired the rights to shows from Jay Ward Productions. Both companies planned to create new content based on these shows. In November 2022, they made a deal with producer Bonnie Arnold (known for How to Train Your Dragon) to create new TV and film content.
Josh Scherba became the president and CEO of WildBrain in 2023. In March 2023, WildBrain announced it would acquire House of Cool, a studio that specializes in design and storyboards for shows and films. This acquisition was completed in July 2023.
In December 2024, WildBrain announced that it sold a majority stake of its television operations to IoM Media Ventures. This sale was pending approval from the CRTC, a Canadian broadcasting regulator. In March 2025, the CRTC made a ruling about a complaint WildBrain had filed against Bell Canada. In April 2025, WildBrain stated it would be renegotiating parts of the sale due to new developments with Bell.
What WildBrain Does
WildBrain has several important parts that work together:
- WildBrain CPLG is a company based in London, UK, that handles licensing for entertainment, sports, and other brands around the world. They help make sure that characters and brands can be used on toys, clothes, and other products.
- WildBrain Distribution: This part of WildBrain distributes TV shows and specials from their huge library to different platforms and countries. They have offices in cities like Toronto, Beijing, and London.
- WildBrain Television: WildBrain operates four special 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 many of their animated and live-action shows.
- WildBrain London is a multi-channel network based in London, England. They manage digital content for kids on platforms like YouTube. This includes shows from WildBrain's own library, as well as educational content and toy-related videos. The WildBrain Spark channel is one of the biggest children's channels on YouTube.
- House of Cool is a studio that creates designs and storyboards for TV series, movies, and commercials. They help bring ideas for shows to life visually before animation begins.
See also
In Spanish: WildBrain para niños
- List of WildBrain programs
- List of libraries owned by WildBrain
