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DreamWorks Classics (formerly Classic Media) is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation. It was founded as Classic Media in 2000 by Eric Ellenbogen and John Engelman. after acquiring the UPA catalog and assets from Henry Saperstein's estate The studio's library consists of acquired intellectual property catalogs and character brands as well as the licensing rights for various third-party properties. In 2012, DreamWorks Animation acquired Classic Media from its then-owner, Boomerang Media.

History

Classic Media was founded by Eric Ellenbogen and John Engelman in May 2000, after acquiring the UPA catalog and assets 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 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 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 to launch Qubo, 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 February 20, 2010, Classic Media purchased the then-upcoming manga-inspired television series My Life Me from the bankrupt TV-Loonland AG

On 6 April 2010, it was announced that Classic Media had picked up worldwide distribution rights to OOglies And Tracy Beaker Returns, with the exception of UK television rights which were retained by the BBC

On March 7, 2012, Classic Media brought the Noddy brand from Chorion and later brought the Olivia brand from them on March 19

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 In September 2013 DreamWorks announced that it has acquired the TV library of London-based Chapman Entertainment with the programs to distributed through DWA's UK-based TV distribution operation 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 Comcast 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's streaming service, now known as Paramount+) in January 2020

Library

  1. Carrington Productions International
  2. Link Entertainment
  3. Filmation (The Archie Show, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and BraveStarr)
  4. Woodland Animations (Postman Pat, Gran, Bertha and Charlie Chalk)
  5. Tell-Tale Productions (including Boo!, but excluding the rights to Tweenies, owned by BBC Studios)
  6. Sleepy Kids (Dr. Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop, Budgie the Little Helicopter and Potsworth & Co.)
  7. Maddocks Animation (including The Family-Ness, Jimbo and the Jet-Set, Penny Crayon and The Caribou Kitchen)
  8. Other programs formerly under Entertainment Rights that were produced by other production companies, such as The Basil Brush Show.

Character brands

Joint ventures

Others

Upcoming