DiC Entertainment

DiC Entertainment is an international film and television production company as well as a distributor, that are mostly associated as an Animation studio. As of 2021, it's owned by LandonToei division Pony Canyon. DiC is also a licensor like it's parent company, licensing shows like Sailor Moon & Saint Seiya.

Categories:Companies Categories:LandonToei Workshop Co. Categories:Distributors Categories:Animation studios

History: DiC Enterprises
Diffusion, Information Communications (DiC) was formed in France in 1971 by Jean Chalopin as the production division of Radio Television Luxembourg, a long existing media company. In 1981, DIC established a partnership with the Japanese animation studio TMS, as one of the overseas animation subcontractors, where they would help animate many of their programs, starting with Ulysses 31, they would also produce the unaired pilot; Lupin VIII, this partnership would last until 1985.

DiC's American arm was founded in April 1982 in Burbank, California by Andy Heyward, a former story writer at Hanna-Barbera, to translate DiC productions into English. The company produced television animation for both network broadcast and syndication, outsourced its non-creative work overseas, enforced anti-union policies and hired staff on a per-program basis to cut costs. For some in the industry, DiC stood for "Do It Cheap". With directors Bruno Bianchi and Bernard Deyriès, Chalopin and Heyward were able to make DiC an effective but restrained animation company.

Soon after joining DiC, Heyward developed Inspector Gadget, which became a successful production out of the American office. DiC partnered with toy makers and greeting card companies for character based product lines that could be made into animated series. Thus DiC productions came with built in advertisers and some time financiers.[5] Between Inspector Gadget and The Littles (the latter produced for ABC), the company became profitable.

As the only non-union animation firm, in 1984 DiC faced a unionization effort which failed. In 1985, DiC opened its own Japan-based animation facility for animation production on their shows in order to bypass overseas animation subcontractors, thus ending their relationship with TMS.Template:Citation needed In April 1986, DiC launched a syndicated block called Kideo TV with LBS Communications and Mattel.

From late 1986 to 1987, Heyward, along with investors Bear Stearns & Co. and Prudential Insurance Co, bought Chalopin and Radio Television Luxembourg's 52% stake in DiC in a $70 million leveraged buyout and made the US headquarters the company's main base of operations. After the buyout, Chalopin, Bianchi, Deyriès and producer Tetsuo Katayama left the company to be replaced by Robby London and Michael Maliani as key employees. After selling his shares in DiC, Chalopin retained DIC's original offices in France and formed the company C&D (Creativity & Development) in 1987 to continue producing animated shows.

After the buyout, DiC was heavily in debt and the foreign rights to the DiC library were sold in 1987 to Saban Productions, who then sold the rights to Chalopin's C&D. At the time, Heyward considered Chalopin an enemy because of the purchase and the situation permanently poisoned DiC and Saban's relationship. DIC sued Saban for damages; in 1991, both companies reached a settlement.

By 1987, DiC Enterprises' parent company was known as DiC Animation City, Inc. DiC also entered the toy industry with the development of the Old MacDonald talking toyline. In December, DiC arranged a deal to merge with Computer Memories Inc., a former computer component manufacturer and then public shell company. A dissident Computer Memories shareholder scuttled the deal in February 1988.

With the buyout debt still a burden, the animation market beginning to soften with the rise of video tape viewing and a glut of new shows & new kids cable channels, Japanese contract animation companies rates increased 40% from 1986 to 1988 due to the yen exchange rate. In 1987, DiC moved production of Dennis the Menace to a Canadian animation firm for grants and tax breaks from the Canadian government. The company started moving some work to Korea and Taiwan. By the 1987–1988 season, DiC had shows on all three major networks Saturday mornings: six half-hours of shows and 50 half-hours per week in syndication.

Prudential Insurance Co. purchased additional equity of DiC Animation City in August 1989 while increasing DiC's debt capacity. For the 1989–1990 season, DiC provided 30% of the networks' Saturday morning schedule with a total 60 hours per week on networks, local stations and cable channels. Four new programs debuted that season on cable and syndication.

On September 11, 1989, DiC launched the 26-hours-a-week Funtown programming block on CBN Family Channel. DIC was also to produce four specials, with the first launching on Funtown with the others, mostly holiday specials, for the fourth quarter of 1989. A special based on The New Archies was slated for the first quarter of 1990.

Throughout the Early 1990s, DIC entered into partnerships with the Italian studio Reteitalia, S.p.A. and the Spanish network Telecinco, both owned by the Fininvest group, and co-produced shows with them both.

In 1993, DIC started up an educational unit as well as a multimedia/game unit called DIC Interactive (Brought back as a in-name-brand of SegaCom), with this, the company moved their headquarters to a larger building in the Burbank area.

ABC/Disney subsidiary
In 1993, DiC Animation City and Capital Cities/ABC formed a joint venture called DiC Entertainment L.P. with Heyward retaining a small ownership stake. DIC Animation City was supposed to remain independent, but was folded into the Limited Partnership a year later.

In 1994, DiC launched a live-action television unit. In the same year, DIC and Capital Cities/ABC launched two children's blocks, Dragon Club and Panda Club, in China.

In October 1995, DiC Productions L.P. announced they would be opening an animation office in France in partnership with Hampster Productions (which at the time, was 33% minority owned by DIC's majority owner Capital Cities/ABC). In March 1997, the studio was opened up and was named Les Studios Tex, which DIC was a shareholder in.

In January 1996, DiC became part of The Walt Disney Company conglomerate following Disney's acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC. In the same year, the company launched a feature-film unit and signed a first-look deal with Walt Disney Pictures, which was later extended in 1998.

Independence
In 2000, with an investment by Bain Capital and Chase Capital Partners, Heyward purchased back Disney's majority stake in DiC Entertainment L.P.

In February 2001, DiC announced their return to the home video market, forming a new division titled DiC Home Entertainment and begin releasing products starting in May 2001. However, this was delayed due to DiC's problems in finding a distributor partner which would happen in July 2001, when DiC signed a deal with Lions Gate Home Entertainment for North American distribution of DiC Home Entertainment products. In June 2001, DIC announced they would purchase Golden Books Family Entertainment for $170 Million. However, DiC eventually backed up of the deal due to the high costs of the purchase and the company was instead co-purchased by Random House for the book rights and Classic Media for the entertainment rights. (LandonToei would buy DiC from WildBrain to buy the remaining shows DiC produced)

In July 2002, DiC purchased the Mommy & Me pre-school label.

In January 2003, DiC announced three syndicated children's programming E/I blocks called DIC Kids Network. In April, DIC sued Speed Racer Enterprises, alleging that SRE had sub-licensed the worldwide exploitation rights for Speed Racer to DIC the previous year and then end the agreement without DIC knowing. Later in July, DiC Entertainment signed a television production deal with POW! Entertainment for Stan Lee's Secret Super Six, a series about teens with alien superpowers who are taught about humanity by Lee.

In 2004, Heyward purchased Bain Capital's interest in DiC and took DiC public the following year under the United Kingdom Alternative Investment Market under the symbol DEKEq.L.

In 2005, Mexico City-based Ánima Estudios considered forming a partnership with DiC, but decided against in order to focus on its own projects.

In March 2006, DiC re-acquired the international rights to 20 of their shows from The Walt Disney Company and Jetix Europe, who had owned them since Disney bought the previous owners Saban Entertainment in 2001. In June 2006, the company acquired the Copyright Promotions Licensing Group (which is now owned by Wildbrain)

In June 2006, Jeffrey Edell joined DiC as President and COO.

In April 2007, DiC Entertainment, Nelvana and NBC Universal Global Networks announced plans to launch KidsCo, a new international children's entertainment network.

Cookie Jar Group/DHX Media
On June 20, 2008, DiC Entertainment and Cookie Jar Group announced an agreement to merge. President Jeffrey Edell was instrumental in closing the deal and led the merger with Cookie Jar. The merger was completed on July 23, 2008 and the company became a subsidiary of Cookie Jar Entertainment. Shortly after the purchase, Cookie Jar would fold DIC into their own operations. Cookie Jar was in turn acquired by DHX Media on October 22, 2012.

LandonToei Workshop
LandonToei Workshop had great interest in buying DiC from WildBrain after the mishandling of DiC's properties from Wildbrain, In 2018, Sherman bought DiC from Wildbrain for CA$876 million dollars.