Wow Unlimited Media

Last updated
Wow Unlimited Media Inc.
Company type Subsidiary
TSXV: WOW
Industry Animation
Media
FoundedOctober 26, 2016;8 years ago (2016-10-26)
Headquarters
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people
 Michael Hirsh (CEO and chairman)
Neil Chakravarti (COO and president)
John Vandervelde (CFO)
Michael Hefferon (president, Mainframe Studios)
Parent Kartoon Studios (2022–present)
Subsidiaries Mainframe Studios
Frederator Networks
Ezrin Hirsh Entertainment
Website www.wowunlimited.co

Wow Unlimited Media Inc. (stylized as WOW! Unlimited Media) is a Canadian animation and media holding company. It was formed as a result of a merger between Rainmaker Entertainment, Frederator Networks and Ezrin Hirsh Entertainment (EHE). The company is currently a subsidiary of US-based Kartoon Studios.

Contents

History

On October 26, 2016, a three-way merger was announced between Rainmaker and Frederator, with the addition of EHE. [1] On December 16 of that year, the merger was completed.

On June 7, 2017, the company announced its intent to acquire an unspecified category B specialty television service from Bell Media, later revealed by company president Randy Lennox to be Comedy Gold, [2] to form a television channel that will carry programs targeting children and young adults. The company also entered into agreements to provide content for Bell Media's over-the-top content services (including CraveTV). In exchange for the channel, Bell Canada will acquire 3.4 million common voting shares in the company. [3] Bell confirmed the deal in September 2017, further stating that it had agreed to provide operational services for the channel, and co-develop content. [4]

The sale of Comedy Gold to Wow Unlimited Media was approved on July 9, 2018, [5] and CraveTV launched "Wow! Preschool Playdate" and "Wow! World Kids" collections in September. [6] However, on March 12, 2019, Wow issued a press release announcing an extension to the transfer of the channel's license "to pursue sponsorships and partnerships". [7]

On July 24, 2019, a representative of Bell Support revealed that Comedy Gold would be shutting down anywhere between August 30 and September 1; [8] Comedy Gold was ultimately shuttered on September 1, 2019. Wow would reveal in their Q2 financial report that they would have completed their acquisition of Comedy Gold's broadcast license on August 30, 2019. [9] However, the license was revoked on February 5, 2021 before it could ever be launched. [10]

On October 27, 2021, Genius Brands (now Kartoon Studios) announced that it had agreed to acquire Wow Unlimited Media for C$66 million (US$53 million), with the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. [11] The acquisition was completed on April 7, 2022. [12]

Assets

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell Media</span> Canadian media company

Bell Media Inc. is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc.. Its operations include national television broadcasting and production, radio broadcasting, digital media and Internet properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CTV Comedy Channel</span> Canadian comedy TV channel

CTV Comedy Channel is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming and operates two time-shifted feeds, running on Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules.

Mainframe Studios is a Canadian animation studio owned by Wow Unlimited Media and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1993 as Mainframe Entertainment Inc. by Christopher Brough, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell, Gavin Blair and John Grace, the company established itself as a leading contributor to the introduction of computer-generated imagery (CGI) live action in animation, film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comedy Gold (TV channel)</span> Canadian specialty television channel

Comedy Gold, formerly known as TV Land Canada was a Canadian English language specialty channel that was owned by Bell Media focused on sitcoms and sketch comedy programs from the 1970s to 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Pictures</span> American television and film studio

Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment through multiple platforms. Through an intermediate holding company called Sony Film Holding Inc., it is operated as a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., which is itself a subsidiary of the Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony Group Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family Channel (Canadian TV channel)</span> Canadian cable channel

Family Channel is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by WildBrain Television Inc., a subsidiary of WildBrain. The network primarily airs children's television series, teen dramas, as well as other programming targeting a family audience. Despite having its own headquarters in the Brookfield Place office in Financial District, the channel is transmitted from Corus Quay.

Crave is a Canadian premium television network and streaming service owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederator Studios</span> American animation television production studio

Frederator Studios is an American animation television production studio founded by Fred Seibert in January 1997. It is a division of Frederator Networks, Inc., itself apart of Kartoon Studios' Canadian holding company Wow Unlimited Media. The studio's slogan is "Original Cartoons since 1998."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Seibert</span> American television producer and media proprietor

Frederick G. Seibert is an American television producer and media proprietor.

Michael Hirsh (born April 7, 1948) is a Belgian-born Canadian producer, TV executive, entrepreneur, and author. He has been attributed to building from the ground up the Canadian animation industry and, more specifically, award-winning children's programming since the 1980s.  He co-founded Nelvana, a Canadian based animation and entertainment studio in 1971 with partners Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith producing numerous cartoons that established Nelvana as a leader in the industry including Little Bear, Franklin, Babar, Max & Ruby, The Magic School Bus, Care Bears, The Adventures of Tintin, Inspector Gadget, Droids and Ewoks, among many, many others. After Corus Entertainment's acquisition of Nelvana, Hirsh became the CEO of Cookie Jar Entertainment, which created numerous highly popular children's shows, among them Arthur, Johnny Test, and Strawberry Shortcake. When Cookie Jar was acquired by DHX Media Hirsh became the Executive Chairman of the company, the largest supplier of kids programming to online streaming services as well as a leader in production and licensing and merchandising for children. Three years after the acquisition by DHX Media, Hirsh left the company to serve as CEO and chairman of WOW! Unlimited Media from 2015 to December 2023.

Sony Entertainment, Inc. is the umbrella entertainment division of Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation and managed by its American subsidiary, established in 2012 to oversee the corporation's ventures in film, television and music.

Starz is a Canadian English language premium television network owned by Bell Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HBO (Canadian TV channel)</span> Canadian premium TV network

HBO is a Canadian premium television network from Crave, which is owned by Bell Media under license from Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel is primarily devoted to original programming and special events sourced from the HBO and Cinemax subscription services in the U.S., as well as domestic motion pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel Frederator Network</span> Frederator Studios Network

The Channel Frederator Network is an American animation, video game and pop culture Multi-Channel Network (MCN) founded by cartoon producer and serial media entrepreneur Fred Seibert and managed by Frederator Networks.

Crave is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily against American-based services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederator Networks</span>

Frederator Networks, Inc. is a media company founded by Fred Seibert. It makes and distributes cartoons, often on Channel Frederator, and through its in-house animation studio Frederator Studios. It is the largest distributor of independent animation online.

Kartoon Studios, Inc., formerly known as Genius Brands International (GBI), is an entertainment company headed by Andy Heyward. The company was formed from the merger of Genius Brands International and A Squared Entertainment.

<i>Chikn Nuggit</i> American animated web series

Chikn Nuggit is an American animated web series on TikTok, X, Instagram and later YouTube created by Kyra Kupetsky. The series follows Chikn Nuggit and his animal friends in their various, mainly comedic, antics. Since its initial release in October 2020, according to Genius Brands, Chikn Nuggit has included over three-hundred 15-20 second long shorts and over eight million followers and a billion views on TikTok, X, YouTube and Instagram, entertaining fans worldwide with its "sweet and surreal adventures", and has even released a merchandise line.

References

  1. ↑ "American, Canadian Animation Digital Studios Merge to Create Wow! Unlimited". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
  2. ↑ "The Cartt.ca Interview: Bell Media president Randy Lennox talks rich uncles, teeter-totters and Ty Cobb". Cartt.ca. Retrieved 2017-10-30.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Reid, Regan (June 8, 2017). "Wow Unlimited to acquire channel from Bell Media". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications . Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Bell confirms Wow channel deal". C21media. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  5. ↑ "Comedy Gold – Acquisition of assets". CRTC. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
  6. ↑ "CraveTV adds two new collections filled with content for kids". MobileSyrup. 2018-09-10. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  7. ↑ "WOW! Announces Extension to Broadcast Licence Transfer From Bell Media". GlobeNewswire News Room. 2019-03-12. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  8. ↑ @Bell_Support (4 August 2019). "@IMissBionix Hi Jonathan, thank you..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ "WOW! Unlimited Media Announces Financial Results for the Second Quarter of 2019". GlobeNewswire News Room. 2019-03-12. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  10. ↑ "Comedy Gold – Revocation of licence". 5 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "Genius Brands International to Acquire WOW! Unlimited Media". October 27, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Genius Brands International, Inc. Completes Acquisition of Wow Unlimited Media Inc". Genius Brands . April 7, 2022.
  13. ↑ Spangler, Todd (18 February 2016). "Frederator, Anima Estudios Launch Spanish-Language YouTube Animation Network (Exclusive)". Variety . Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.