Classic Media, LLC,

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

and a division of

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media in 2000 by

Eric Ellenbogen Eric Ellenbogen is an American entertainment executive known for co-founding DreamWorks Classics, Classic Media and serving as CEO of Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Enterprises from 1998 to 1999. He is the chief executive officer and vice chairman ...

and John Engelman. The studio's library consists of acquired

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

catalogs and character brands, as well as the licensing rights for various third-party properties. In 2012, Boomerang Media sold Classic Media to DreamWorks Animation, who rebranded the company as DreamWorks Classics. DreamWorks Animation became a subsidiary of NBCUniversal in 2016.

History

Classic Media (2000–2012)

Classic Media was founded by Eric Ellenbogen and John Engelman in May 2000 and acquired the UPA catalog from Henry Saperstein's estate. Frank Biondi, the former head of Universal Studios, and movie producer Steve Tisch invested in the company. Classic Media then bought the Harvey Entertainment catalog on March 11, 2001. On August 16, 2001, Classic Media and

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Ger ...

won a joint bid for the assets of Golden Books, with Random House, and Classic Media acquiring Golden Books' entertainment division (including the Dell Comics and Gold Key Comics libraries) and Random House acquiring Golden Books' book publishing properties. On October 31, 2003, Classic Media purchased the assets of the bankrupt Big Idea Entertainment. By 2007, Classic had formed Bullwinkle Studios, a joint venture with Jay Ward Productions, to manage the Jay Ward characters. On April 7, 2005, the company was recapitalized by a group of investors consisting of

Spectrum Equity Investors Spectrum Equity is an American growth equity firm that invests in businesses related to the information economy. The company operates out of offices in Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA. The company was an early investor in Ancestry.com and Gr ...

plus existing investors led by Pegasus Capital Advisors. A $100 million senior debt facility was also arranged from JP Morgan Chase Bank-led bank group. With the deal, Spectrum became a majority owner over the existing investors, with a representative on the company board of directors. In August 2006, Classic Media announced a joint venture with ION Media Networks, NBCUniversal, Corus Entertainment and book publisher

Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

to launch

Qubo Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital ...

, a kids' entertainment network. On December 14, 2006, it was announced that Classic Media would be acquired by UK-based rival Entertainment Rights for $210.0 million. Before the acquisition was completed, both companies announced distribution and production agreements with Genius Products, LLC, replacing the Sony Wonder deal. Entertainment Rights fell in to administration on April 1, 2009. On the same day, Boomerang Media LLC, formed by Ellenbogen and Engelman in 2008 with equity funding from GTCR, announced that it would acquire Entertainment Rights' principal UK and American subsidiaries, including Classic Media, Inc. and Big Idea Entertainment, from its administrators. On May 11, 2009, Boomerang Media announced that the former UK and American subsidiaries of Entertainment Rights would operate as a unified business under the name Classic Media, while Big Idea would operate under its own name. On March 7, 2012, Classic Media brought the '' Noddy'' brand from Chorion and later brought the '' Olivia'' brand from them on March 19.

DreamWorks Classics (2012–present)

On July 23, 2012, DreamWorks Animation acquired Classic Media from Boomerang Media for $155 million; the company became a unit of DreamWorks Animation and was renamed DreamWorks Classics. On June 18, 2014, DreamWorks Animation bought the '' Felix the Cat'' brand and added it to the DreamWorks Classics portfolio. On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal, a part of the

group, announced a $3.8 billion deal to buy DreamWorks Animation. The acquisition was completed on August 22. Three series, '' Lassie'', ''George of the Jungle'' and ''Mr. Magoo'', were picked up from DreamWorks Classics' library by CBS All Access (

Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, doing business as Paramount) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquar ...

's streaming service, now known as

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Med ...

) in January 2020.

Libraries

Catalogs

* The UPA catalog (''

Mr. Magoo Mr. Magoo (known by his full name: J. Quincy Magoo) is a fictional cartoon character created at the UPA animation studio in 1949. Voiced by Jim Backus, Mr. Magoo is an elderly, wealthy, short-statured retiree who gets into a series of comical ...

'' and '' Gerald McBoing-Boing'') including several '' Godzilla'' films under license from

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produc ...

* The Harvey Films catalog ('' Casper the Friendly Ghost'', '' Little Audrey'', '' Richie Rich'', and '' Baby Huey'') * The Western Publishing/Golden Books/ Gold Key Comics/ Golden Book Video catalog ('' Pat the Bunny'', '' Magnus, Robot Fighter'', ''

Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom Solar is an American fictional comic book superhero created by writer Paul S. Newman, editor Matt Murphy, and artist Bob Fujitani. The character first appeared in ''Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom'' #1 in 1962 by Gold Key Comics and has since appeare ...

'', '' Turok'', and '' Little Lulu''), including: ** Broadway Video's former family entertainment catalog ('' Lassie'', '' The Lone Ranger'', and ''

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon ''Challenge of the Yukon'' is an American radio adventure series that began on Detroit's WXYZ and is an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on January 3, 1939. The title changed from ''Challenge of the Yukon'' to '' ...

'') including: *** The pre-September 1974 Rankin/Bass Productions catalog (''

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

'', '' The Little Drummer Boy'', '' Frosty the Snowman'', '' Santa Claus Is Coming to Town'', and others) *** The Total Television catalog ('' Underdog'' and '' Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales'') ** Shari Lewis' two PBS series ('' Lamb Chop's Play Along'' and '' Charlie Horse Music Pizza'') * The Big Idea Entertainment catalog ('' VeggieTales'', ''

3-2-1 Penguins! ''3-2-1 Penguins!'' is an American sci-fi computer-animated Christian children's television series, initially launched on November 14, 2000 as a direct-to-video episode by Big Idea Entertainment with videos released between 2000 and 2003. The di ...

'', '' Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures'') * The Entertainment Rights catalog, including: ** The Filmation catalog ('' The Archie Show'', '' Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'', '' He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'', and '' BraveStarr'') ** The Woodland Animations catalog ('' Postman Pat'', ''

Gran Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...

'', '' Bertha'' and '' Charlie Chalk'') ** The Tell-Tale Productions catalog (including '' Boo!'' but excluding the rights to '' Tweenies'') ** The Sleepy Kids catalog ('' Dr. Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop'', '' Budgie the Little Helicopter'' and '' Potsworth & Co.'') * The

Chapman Entertainment Chapman Entertainment was a British television production company founded by Keith Chapman and Greg Lynn and based in London, England. History The 2001-2008 Era The company was founded by Greg Lynn in London in 2001, together with Keith Chapman ...

catalog ('' Fifi and the Flowertots'', ''

Roary the Racing Car ''Roary the Racing Car'' (stylised as ''ROARY: The Racing Car'') is a British-stop-motion children's television series created by David Jenkins and produced by Chapman Entertainment and Cosgrove Hall Films. It follows the adventures of Roar ...

'' and '' Raa Raa the Noisy Lion'')

Character brands

* '' Noddy'' * '' Olivia'' * '' Felix the Cat'' * '' Where's Waldo?'' * '' She-Ra'' (via the Filmation catalog; co-ownership with Mattel) * '' Roger Ramjet''

Joint ventures

* Bullwinkle Studios, a joint venture with Jay Ward Productions to produce and manage the Jay Ward catalog (including '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'', '' Mr. Peabody & Sherman'', and '' George of the Jungle''). DreamWorks' partnership with Bullwinkle Studios ended in February 2022 when the Ward estate partnered with WildBrain. DreamWorks continues to own its co-productions with Bullwinkle Studios.

Other rights

* '' My Life Me'' * '' Voltron'' (under license from World Events Productions) * The Tribune Content Agency catalog (including '' Dick Tracy'', ''

Brenda Starr, Reporter ''Brenda Starr, Reporter'' (often referred to simply as ''Brenda Starr'') is a comic strip about a glamorous, adventurous reporter. It was created in 1940 by Dale Messick for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate. History Although set in Chicago, ''B ...

'', '' Gasoline Alley'', and '' Broom-Hilda'') * '' OOglies'' (worldwide distribution excluding U.K. TV.)

References

External links

* {{NBCUniversal 2000 establishments in New York City 2007 mergers and acquisitions 2009 mergers and acquisitions 2012 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 2000 DreamWorks Animation Entertainment companies based in New York City Mass media companies based in New York City Mass media companies established in 2000