Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years.
The company produced and distributed programming under their operated
syndicated block – ''
Amazin' Adventures
Bohbot Kids Network (more commonly referred to and on-screen as BKN, originally known as Amazin' Adventures until 1997) is a children's programming block operated by Bohbot Entertainment (later BKN, Inc.) that aired in syndicated television statio ...
'', later renamed to ''
Bohbot Kids Network
Bohbot Kids Network (more commonly referred to and on-screen as BKN, originally known as Amazin' Adventures until 1997) is a children's programming block operated by Bohbot Entertainment (later BKN, Inc.) that aired in syndicated television statio ...
'' (BKN).
History
Bohbot Communications Inc. was founded on November 19, 1985, as a media planning and buying service. BC added additional services over the following 10 years: animated children’s programming syndicator, program syndication sales distribution, licensing and merchandising. After previous attempts at local promotions and request from promotional agencies at 1995 NATPE, Bohbot entered the national promotions field in 1996.
By 1989 Bohbot Entertainment is starting to enter into the syndication marketplace with the launch of the live-action talk show ''Girl Talk'', which is hosted by
Soleil Moon Frye
Soleil Moon Frye (; born August 6, 1976) is an American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. She began her career as a child actress at the age of two. When she was seven, Frye won the role of Penelope "Punky" Brewster in the NBC sitco ...
. The company also obtained the rights to distribute the animated cartoon ''
Ring Raiders
''Ring Raiders'' is a 1989 animated television series based on a 1980s toy line made by Matchbox. The series began with a two-hour special by DIC Enterprises, followed by one week of five half-hour episodes syndicated by Bohbot Communications.
...
'', produced by
DIC Enterprises for syndication. In 1990, Bohbot partnered with producers
Saban Entertainment
Saban Entertainment, Inc. (along with Saban International; currently operating under the legal name is BVS Entertainment, Inc.) was a worldwide-served independent American-Israeli television production company formed in 1980 by Haim Saban and S ...
and video game publisher
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide d ...
to launch ''
Video Power
''Video Power'' is an American television series that aired in two different formats from 1990 to 1992 in syndication. Both formats revolved around video games, and actor Stivi Paskoski presided over both series playing video game master Johnny Ar ...
'' in syndication. In 1991, Bohbot entered its fray by signing up as distributor of
Saban Entertainment
Saban Entertainment, Inc. (along with Saban International; currently operating under the legal name is BVS Entertainment, Inc.) was a worldwide-served independent American-Israeli television production company formed in 1980 by Haim Saban and S ...
's program ''
Adventures of the Little Mermaid'' for syndication.
By 1992, Bohbot had picked up distribution agreements with two leading children's producers
Saban Entertainment
Saban Entertainment, Inc. (along with Saban International; currently operating under the legal name is BVS Entertainment, Inc.) was a worldwide-served independent American-Israeli television production company formed in 1980 by Haim Saban and S ...
and
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 ...
. BE obtained Saban's ''
Around the World in 80 Dreams'', which was distributed to syndication starting in 1993. Bohbot Entertainment also distributed 65 episodes of DiC's ''
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
''Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog'' is an animated series that was based on the '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series produced by Sega of America, DIC Animation City, Bohbot Entertainment and the Italian studio Reteitalia S.p.A. in associ ...
'' in syndication starting in 1993.
BE picked up DiC's ''
Double Dragon
is a beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technōs Japan and released as an arcade game in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight against various adversaries and rivals.
The original ...
'' for syndication in 1993.
Bohbot Communications Inc. in January 1994 split its operations into two units, Bohbot Media Worldwide (BM) and Bohbot Entertainment Worldwide (BE). Bohbot Media would take over BC's media planning and buying services, while Bohbot Entertainment took over BC's TV distribution, licensing and merchandising, promotions and public relations operations.
[ In 1994, Bohbot Media agreed to distribute '']A.J.'s Time Travelers
''A.J.'s Time Travelers'' is a 1994 children's fantasy series that aired on the Fox television network. The series follows the adventures of teenager A.J. Malloy as he and his crew travel onboard the time-traveling ship Kyros, seeking knowledge a ...
'' for Time Travelers, Inc. to Fox Children's Network
Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a joi ...
for which the various Bohbot entities were sued in 1995 along with the producers.
In March 1997, BE and 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 ...
agreed to a three-year output deal for Bohbot Kids Network consisting of five series. In September, the company renamed their "Amazin' Adventures" block as the Bohbot Kids Network, more commonly referred to by its initials: BKN. By October, Bohbot Enterprises Worldwide, Inc., Bohbot Entertainment, Bohbot Media and the International Division were renamed BKN, Inc. (BKN), Bohbot Entertainment & Media Inc. (BEM), Quantum Media International, Inc. (QMI) and BKN International respectively.[ Quantum was later renamed as BKN Media and closed in October 2000.
In April 1998, ]United Television
BHC Communications, Inc. was the holding company for the broadcast property of Chris-Craft Industries. BHC stands for "broadcasting holding company".
History
The firm was originally incorporated in 1977 as BHC, Incorporated by Chris-Craft I ...
and Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company that was active from 1994 to 2002. It was operated as the third name of the early television studio Screen Gems and the fourth ...
took a minority stake in BEM.
In 1998, BKN purchased Epoch Ink Animation which was renamed to BKN Studios.
BKN International
BKN International AG (BKNI) was a German kids TV production and distribution company that formerly operated as the international division of BKN, Inc.
History
BKN International was originally founded as Bohbot Entertainment Worldwide in 1994 ...
went public and independent of BKN in 1999 on the Frankfurt Neuer Market stock exchange with BKN retaining 34% ownership.
In January 2000, Bohbot Entertainment & Media Inc. was sued by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
over a supposed failure of Bohbot to purchase enough advertising on the broadcasting group's TV stations as agreed to in their BKN Network carriage agreement. In July, the ''A.J.'s Time Travelers
''A.J.'s Time Travelers'' is a 1994 children's fantasy series that aired on the Fox television network. The series follows the adventures of teenager A.J. Malloy as he and his crew travel onboard the time-traveling ship Kyros, seeking knowledge a ...
'' case ended in which the various Bohbot entities and Time Travelers entities had to pay damages with BKN paying $10 million, BEM $10 million and QMI, $5 million.[ By October 20, 2000, the syndicated blocks under the BKN name ceased operations.]
BKN International in January 2001 acquired BKN, Inc.'s operating assets with BKN, Inc. would continue as a holding company with its BKNI holdings.[
]
Programming library
Original
* ''Girl Talk'' (1989)
* ''Ring Raiders
''Ring Raiders'' is a 1989 animated television series based on a 1980s toy line made by Matchbox. The series began with a two-hour special by DIC Enterprises, followed by one week of five half-hour episodes syndicated by Bohbot Communications.
...
'' (1989)
* ''Video Power
''Video Power'' is an American television series that aired in two different formats from 1990 to 1992 in syndication. Both formats revolved around video games, and actor Stivi Paskoski presided over both series playing video game master Johnny Ar ...
'' (1990-1992)
* ''Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders
''Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders'' also known outside of North America as ''Starla & the Jewel Riders'' (and sometimes spelled as the more traditionally Arthurian "Guinevere") is a 1995–1996 American comic fantasy-themed girl audiences- ...
'' (1995-1996)
* ''Skysurfer Strike Force
''Skysurfer Strike Force'' is a science-fiction superhero animated series that was featured on Bohbot Entertainment's Amazin' Adventures cartoon block and was co-produced by Ruby-Spears Productions and Ashi Productions. The show lasted two seaso ...
'' (1995-1996)
* ''Extreme Dinosaurs
''Extreme Dinosaurs'' is an American animated series produced by DIC Productions, L.P. and Bohbot Entertainment in 1997 based on a 1996 toy line from Mattel. This show is a spin-off of ''Street Sharks'' (where they first appeared as the Dino Ve ...
'' (1997)
* ''Pocket Dragon Adventures
''Pocket Dragon Adventures'' (Spanish: ''Pocket Dragons'') is an animated series produced by the Spanish animation studio D'Ocon Films Productions, in co-production with Televisión Española, Bohbot Entertainment, and DIC Productions. The series ...
'' (1998)
* '' Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends'' (1999-2000)
* ''Monster Rancher
''Monster Rancher'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese media franchise and series of life simulation role-playing video games created by Tecmo (now Koei Tecmo). The series consists of fifteen games across numerous different video game platforms, a ...
'' (1999-2001, English dub)
U.S. distributed shows
*''King Arthur and the Knights of Justice
''King Arthur and the Knights of Justice'' is an animated series produced by Golden Films, C&D (Créativité et Développement) and Bohbot Entertainment. The series was created by Jean Chalopin along with Diane Eskenazi (Golden Films) and Avi Ar ...
'' (1992)
* ''Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
''Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog'' is an animated series that was based on the '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series produced by Sega of America, DIC Animation City, Bohbot Entertainment and the Italian studio Reteitalia S.p.A. in associ ...
'' (1993)
* '' Mighty Max'' (1993)
* ''Double Dragon
is a beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technōs Japan and released as an arcade game in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight against various adversaries and rivals.
The original ...
'' (1993)
* ''Street Sharks
''Street Sharks'' is an American Superhero fiction, superhero animated series about the adventures of crime-fighting half-man/half-sharks. It was produced by DIC Entertainment, DIC Productions, L.P. and Bohbot Entertainment, and aired from 1994 t ...
'' (1994)
* '' Highlander: The Animated Series'' (1994)
* ''Ultraforce
The Ultraforce is a fictional superhero group that appears in American comic books published by Malibu, and later Marvel. The purpose of the group was to protect the public and keep other "Ultras" (superheroes) from becoming unruly. The group con ...
'' (1995)
Acquired/syndicated
* ''The Magical Super Trolls'' (1992)
* ''Battletoads
''Battletoads'' is a video game media franchise by Rare that began with the original beat 'em up game ''Battletoads'' in 1991. Starring three anthropomorphic toads named after skin conditions, Rash, Zitz, and Pimple, the series was created to ...
'' (1992)
* ''Nick & Noel'' (1993)
* ''The Bears Who Saved Christmas'' (1994)
* ''A Hollywood Hounds Christmas'' (1994)
* ''Dot and Spot's Magical Christmas Adventure'' (1996)
References
{{Reflist
Television syndication distributors
Companies established in 1985
Companies disestablished in 2001