Genius Brands International (GBI) is an entertainment company headed by

Andy Heyward Andrew B. Heyward (born February 19, 1949) is the former Chairman and CEO of DIC Entertainment, an animation production company. He is currently CEO of Genius Brands, Genius Brands International. Early life Heyward was born in New York City, ...

. The company was formed from the merger of Genius Brands International and A Squared Entertainment.

History

2014–2015

Genius Brands International (GBI) was formed in November 2013 from the merger between A² Entertainment and pre-merger Genius Brands (former Pacific Entertainment), with the Heywards of A2 taking over as top executives. Pre-merged Genius Brands CEO Klaus Moeller moved to vice president of special markets at GBI. GBI's board of directors included former California governor Gray Davis and American Greetings Corp. president-COO Jeff Weiss. The ''Baby Genius

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

subscription service launched in April 2014. GBI launched a VOD channel of children's entertainment called ''Kid Genius'' in October 2015, through Comcast's Xfinity On Demand. In June 2014, Genius Brands agreed to license ''Baby Genius'', ''Secret Millionaires Club'' and ''Thomas Edison's Secret Lab'' to

LeapFrog Enterprises LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. (commonly known as LeapFrog) is an educational entertainment and electronics company based in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog designs, develops, and markets technology-based learning products and related content for ...

for kids' learning tablets. The first few Leap Frog tablet apps from the deal were released in December 2014, with two for both ''Baby Genius'' and ''Secret Millionaires Club''. GBI issued and sold 4.3 million shares of stock and warrants in November 2014 to investors and management at par $1. The raised working capital would be used for brand marketing, new property acquisition and development and the ''Kid Genius'' channel.

2016–2019

Penguin Young Readers Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initially ...

and author/illustrator

Anna Dewdney Anna Elizabeth Dewdney (née Luhrmann; December 25, 1965 – September 3, 2016) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. The first book she wrote and illustrated, ''Llama Llama Red Pajama'', received critical acclaim in 2005. ...

signed an agreement with Genius to develop animated content and manage licensing for the ''

Llama Llama The Llama llama, also spelled Llamallama or Lama lama, was probably a dance with the characteristics of a farce or a disguise game with acrobatic elements. It is believed that the name of the dance came from the Aymara language, which was the nam ...

'' franchise in February 2016. The products, from apparel to toys, are slated to arrive in 2016. In February 2016, Genius Brands and

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

announced a multi-year marketing and distribution agreement for four existing properties plus three under development. Existing properties under the deal are ''SpacePop,'' a new original ''Baby Genius'' series, ''Secret Millionaires Club'' and ''Stan Lee’s Mighty 7''. The new ''Baby Genius'' series would be relaunched on Amazon.com in September. The company paired for another Sony agreement in April 2016. This agreement was with

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...

for the Genius Brands Music label. The label would have two age-focused imprints, for toddlers, Baby Genius, and children-to-tweens, Kid Genius. In September 2016, GBI had teamed up with

Rob Minkoff Robert Ralph Minkoff (born August 11, 1962) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for co-directing ''The Lion King'' (along with Roger Allers), and live-action films including ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Stuart Little 2'' (2002), ''The Haun ...

and

Shane Morris Shane Ryan Morris (born August 4, 1994) is a former American football quarterback. He was a highly touted five-star prospect from De La Salle Collegiate High School in Warren, Michigan, until he endured mononucleosis midway through his senior se ...

on a preschool animated series. The series is

Rainbow Rangers ''Rainbow Rangers'' is a computer-animated television series co-produced by Genius Brands and Telegael Teoranta which premiered on Nick Jr. on November 5, 2018. The series follows seven nine-year-old girls who reside in the kingdom of Kaleidoscop ...

, featuring others of the rainbow magical girls, who protect the earth. Main designed were by

Brittany Myers Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of ...

and

Ruben Aquino Ruben Aquino (born December 18, 1953) is a Japanese-born Filipino-American animator. A character animator and a supervising animator who has formerly worked on many films at Walt Disney Animation Studios, his work has included the several Disney c ...

. At the time, the company expect to have the concept debut as a third quarter 2017 special and a full series start in second quarter 2018. Kid Genius channel expanded to a small network of on demand channels with its offerings first on Comcast on Demand with a Baby Genius TV channel. The company launched Kid Genius Cartoons Plus! on Amazon Channels starting on September 28, 2017. Plus included all GBI programming plus other acquired programming. Genius Brands Network in July 2019 added content from kids gaming company Tankee to its channels. In January 2017,

expanded its distribution deal to all properties and took an equity stake in Genius Brands. In November 2017, the company filed with the SEC to resell 1.65 million shares of stock. Genius issued a convertible debt round bringing in $4.5 million in August 2018 which was led by financier Robert Wolf of 32 Ventures and was oversubscribed bringing in both existing and new investors. In September 2018,

Bank Lemi A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

extended a $6 million bank facility allowing Genius to produced a second season of Llama Llama.

2020–present

In May 2020, the company's stock value jump 2000% with four announced stock sales that month, after being put on notice by NASDAQ for low share value which might trigger de listing. Reason for the jump was the company announced its Kartoon Channel launch date and Mattel's Rainbow Rangers toys have gain shelf space at Wal-Mart in the summer 2020. With an announcement of registering a stockholder stock sale on June 4, the stock broke its run up with a 13% drop. Kartoon Channel, which is the merger of its existing channels, launched on June 15, 2020, on four more platforms. On July 6, 2020, Genius Brands acquired exclusive worldwide rights to use

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

's name, physical likeness and signature from

POW! Entertainment POW! Entertainment Inc. is an American media production company formed in 2001 by Gill Champion, Arthur Lieberman and former Marvel Comics editor and publisher Stan Lee. POW! is made up of two companies: POW! Entertainment, Inc. (POW! Inc.), a ...

as well as licensing rights to his name and over 100 of POW's original IPs. The assets will be placed under a new joint-venture with POW!, called Stan Lee Universe, managed by Genius.

Michael E. Uslan Michael E. Uslan (; born June 2, 1951) is an American lawyer and film producer. Uslan has also dabbled in writing and teaching, he is known for being the first instructor to teach an accredited course on comic book folklore at any university. E ...

was hired to advise Genius on Lee Universe film and TV projects. Genius then arranged a publishing deal with

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York. On October 27, 2021, Genius announced they would acquire the Canadian-based

Wow Unlimited Media Wow Unlimited Media (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). History On O ...

for $53 Million, allowing Genius to expand to the country. The transaction will be completed in Q1 2022, pending regulatory approval. The acquisition was completed on April 7 of that year. On January 4, 2023, Genius Brands announced that they would sell a 50% stake in the

Frederator Frederator Studios is an American animation television production studio which is a division of Frederator Networks, Inc. It was founded by Fred Seibert in 1997 with its first series launching in 1998. (Seibert resigned from Frederator in Augus ...

shows ''

Bravest Warriors ''Bravest Warriors'' is an American-Canadian animated series. Set onwards from the year 3085, it follows four teenage heroes-for-hire as they warp through the universe to save adorable aliens and their worlds using the power of their emotions. It ...

'', ''

Bee and PuppyCat ''Bee and PuppyCat'' is an American adult animated streaming television series created and written by Natasha Allegri. The series revolves around Bee (voiced by Allyn Rachel), an unemployed woman in her early twenties, who encounters a mysterio ...

'' and then-upcoming series ''Catbug'' to Japanese company Toho International. The deal would allow the two companies to provide framework, to co-produce new content based on the properties and develop consumer product campaigns. Toho would also gain Asian distribution rights to the properties.

Background

A2 Squared Background

Some of future A Squared Entertainment properties originated at

's previous company,

DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...

. DIC signed a TV series production deal in July 2003 with

for ''Stan Lee's Secret Super Six''. In 2006, DIC was in development on ''Secret Millionaires Club'' with

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...

chairman

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...

A Squared Entertainment

A Squared Entertainment (A², A Squared) was formed by Heyward and his wife, Amy Moynihan Heyward, in 2009 as an animation company. The company had an initial four-show celebrity-inspired cartoon slate to be seen on AOL starting in Q4 2009 with the last starting in 2010. The four shows would then switch from a webisode format of 26 episodes of three-to-five-minute to TV with 13 22-minute shows. The slate then consisted of ''Secret Millionaires Club'', ''GiGi and The Green Team'' (working title), ''Little Martha'' (working title) and ''Kosmos''. ''Kosmos'' was a series to be based on Carl Sagan's life as a famous astronomer. A²'s first animated program was ''Secret Millionaires Club'', which features an animated Buffett as a secret mentor to a group of enterprising children. Also, ''Martha & Friends'' with

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pub ...

and ''Gisele & the Green Team'' with

Gisele Bundchen Gisele or Gisèle may refer to: Persons * Gisele (given name) * Gisele, mononym of Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen See also * Giselle (disambiguation) '' Giselle'' is a ballet. Giselle may also refer to: * ''Giselle'' (film), a film based on th ...

were created and launched by A Square. In February 2010, A² partnered with POW! Entertainment and

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Stan Lee Comics Stan Lee's Mighty 7 (SLAM 7) is a media franchise of a fictional superhero team originally published as a Stan Lee Comics line comic book title. History ''Stan Lee's Secret Super Six'' property of Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment was signed with And ...

joint venture for the Stan Lee's Super Seven franchise. On December 7, 2010, A Squared launched ''Gisele & The Green Team'' webseries in conjunction with AOLkids.com and

Gisele Bündchen Gisele Caroline Bündchen (, , born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned th ...

. In April 2012, ''Stan Lee's Mighty 7'' was slated to be developed for other media formats via A Squared Elxsi Entertainment LLC (A2E2). A²E2 was a joint-venture between A Squared Entertainment (A²) and

Tata Elxsi The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...

formed in January 2011 which Elxsi ends in October 2012. Also in 2012, A² took over Archies' ownership stake in Stan Lee Comics. By November 2013, A² had ''Thomas Edison's Secret Lab'' in development.

Pacific Entertainment

Pacific Entertainment Corporation was founded by ''Baby Genius'' creators Klaus Moeller and Larry Balaban in 2006. In January 2006, Pacific Entertainment purchased ''Baby Genius'' and other lines from

Genius Products Genius Products (also known as Genius Entertainment) was an entertainment company based in Santa Monica, California, United States. The ''Baby Genius'' line was one of a number of "smart toys" that came out in response to a study book about the ...

, Inc. for $3 million. The other lines were preschool brands such as ''Wee Worship'' and the

Little Tikes Little Tikes is an American manufacturer of children's toys, with headquarters and manufacturing located in Hudson, Ohio. The company also has other manufacturing and distribution facilities in Asia and Europe. Little Tikes' products are mostly l ...

music and DVD series. Genius Products retained exclusive U.S. distribution rights for the lines. GBI licensed Baby Genius in January 2011 to Jakks Pacific's Tollytots division for a musical and early learning toy line. At Toy Fair 2012, Tollytots introduced the line with 20 products. In December 2011, Pacific Entertainment Corporation changed its name to Genius Brands International, Inc. (GBI). Genius Brands digitized its ''Baby Genius'' book line in July 2013 via a deal with Graphicly.

Units

*A Squared Entertainment LLC: is Genius Brand's brand management and licensing subsidiary. *Genius Brands Music, music label with two imprints, Baby Genius, Kid Genius *

Stan Lee Comics Stan Lee's Mighty 7 (SLAM 7) is a media franchise of a fictional superhero team originally published as a Stan Lee Comics line comic book title. History ''Stan Lee's Secret Super Six'' property of Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment was signed with And ...

LLC: a joint venture with

currently only for the ''

Stan Lee's Mighty 7 Stan Lee's Mighty 7 (SLAM 7) is a media franchise of a fictional superhero team originally published as a Stan Lee Comics line comic book title. History ''Stan Lee's Secret Super Six'' property of Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment was signed with Andy ...

'' franchise *Kartoon Channel, formerly Kid Genius Network (-2020) **Kid Genius Cartoon Channel (defunct) **Baby Genius TV (defunct) **Kid Genius Cartoons Plus! (defunct)

Kartoon Channel

Kartoon Channel, formerly Kid Genius Channel, is a video on demand channel owned by Genius Brands. The Kid Genius Channel was launched by GBI with children's entertainment in October 2015, through Comcast's Xfinity On Demand. Debra Pierson was named general manager for the channel in March 2016. In December 2016,

Margaret Loesch Margaret Ann Loesch () is an American television executive and producer. She is the former President and CEO of Discovery Communications and Hasbro Inc's joint venture television network Hub Network. On June 12, 2014, she announced that she would ...

was named Executive Chairman of the Kids Genius Channel with Pierson promoted to channel president. The channel was added to several

over-the-top media services An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributors ...

including Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire, the week of February 2017. Kartoon Channel, which is the merger of its existing channels, was announced to be launched on June 15, 2020, on four more platforms. Loesch would carry over from Kid Genius Network as executive chair, while adding former president of Walt Disney Television production company David Neuman as

chief creative officer A chief creative officer (CCO) is the highest ranking position of the creative team within a company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, and branding associated with ...

of the streaming service.

Programming

;Initial *''

'' (Plus!) *''

Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? ''Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?'' is an American animated television series based on the series of computer games. The show was produced by DIC Productions L.P. and originally aired from 1994 to 1999, on Saturday mornings during FOX's Fox ...

'' *'' Dennis the Menace'' ;Later acquired *''Eddie Is a Yeti'' (Plus!) *''Nancy Drew Codes & Clues'' *''LaGolda'', a

UnitedHealthcare UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. It offers health care products and insurance services. UnitedHealth Group is the world's seventh largest c ...

production of a soccer bilingual animated children's series (Plus!) ;Baby Genius TV *''The Adventures of Paddington Bear'' *''Rainbow Valley Fire Department'' *''Baby Prodigy'' *''Igloo-Gloo'' *''Pirates Adventures in Art'' *''So! Smart'' *''Todd World'' *''Baby Genius Nursery Rhymes'' *''Baby Genius Animals'' ;Plus! *''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series ''Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated s ...

'' *''

Liberty's Kids ''Liberty's Kids'' (stylized on-screen as ''Liberty's Kids: Est. 1776'') is an American animated historical fiction television series produced by DIC Entertainment, and originally aired on PBS Kids from September 2, 2002, to April 4, 2003, with r ...

'' *''

DinoSquad ''DinoSquad'' is an American animated television series that was produced by DIC Entertainment and aired on the KEWLopolis block on CBS from November 3, 2007 – December 6, 2008. The show was about five teenagers, each with the power to turn in ...

'' *''

Carl Squared Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

'' *'' Heads Up'' *''The Day Henry Met'' *''So Smart!'' *''Baby Prodigy'' *''Happy Kids''

Production library

References

External links

* {{Finance links , name = Genius Brands , symbol = GNUS , sec_cik = GNUS , yahoo = GNUS , google = GNUS 2013 establishments in California Companies based in Beverly Hills, California American companies established in 2013 Companies listed on the Nasdaq Entertainment companies established in 2013 Television production companies of the United States