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| DIC Entertainment | |
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| Type | Subsidiary |
| Founded | 1971 (Luxembourg) 1982 (United States) |
| Headquarters | Burbank, California, United States |
| Key people | Chairman & CEO: Andy Heyward |
| Industry | Animation, Production |
| Products | Children's animation |
| Parent | Cookie Jar Group |
| Website | dicentertainment.com |
DIC Entertainment (pronounced "deek") is an international film and television production company which was founded in 1971 as DIC Audiovisuel by Jean Chalopin in Luxembourg, as a subsidiary of Radio-Television Luxembourg (RTL). The company's name was originally an acronym for Diffusion, Information et Communication. The company's United States headquarters, established in 1982 and headed by Andy Heyward, Robby London and Michael Maliani, are in Burbank, California.
In 1986, Andy Heyward bought the company, thus making the US headquarters the main base of operations. In 1993 the company was purchased by Capital Cities/ABC and in 1995 became a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. In 2000 with an investment by Bain Capital, Heyward re-purchased DIC Enterprises (as it was then known). He purchased Bain Capital's interest in 2004 and took the company public the following year.
In addition to animated (and occasionally live-action) television shows, DIC produced live-action feature films while under Disney, including 1998's Meet the Deedles and 1999's Inspector Gadget. One current project of DIC's Heyward is an animated series starring billionaire Warren Buffett, The Secret Millionaire's Club.[1]
In early 2006, DIC Entertainment and CBS Corporation signed a multi-year deal to unveil a new 3-hour long programming block for Saturday mornings on CBS. The resulting KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS was launched the following fall. [2] On September 15, 2007, a new programming block: KEWLopolis premiered, a joint venture between DIC, CBS, and American Greetings.
On June 20, 2008, it was announced that DIC would be acquired by Canadian children's company, Cookie Jar Group.[3] The deal was completed on July 23, 2008 and the company now operates as a subsidiary of Cookie Jar Group.
Productions
See List of DIC Entertainment productions
References
- ^ "Warren Buffett Gets Animated," Fox News
- ^ "CBS AND DIC ENTERTAINMENT PARTNER TO LAUNCH BRANDED KIDS PROGRAMMING BLOCK, "CBS'S SECRET SATURDAY MORNING SLUMBER PARTY"," DIC Entertainment
- ^ DIC TO MERGE WITH COOKIE JARDIC Entertainment
