DreamWorks Animation Talks About Their Plans To Launch Their Own Children's Television Channel With Fox

From C21Media:

DreamWorks talks up TV channel

US studio DreamWorks Animation is getting closer to launching its own kids’ television channel with Fox, the Kung Fu Panda producer’s CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg has said.

Katzenberg told analysts that DreamWorks has had “good momentum” in its conversations regarding a branded channel launch via Fox and that it is “a dream that is being realised, slowly but surely and methodically.”

DreamWorks made a deal with Fox in August that tasked the latter with distributing and marketing all of DreamWorks’ films from 2013 until 2018, following the expiration of a deal with Paramount.

Katzenberg first publicly revealed the plans for a DreamWorks TV channel three months ago.

This came after the firm in July paid US$155m for Classic Media, a deal that gave it ownership of brands such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Lassie and Noddy.

It remains to be seen whether the channel will be for pay-TV or web-connected TV, or available as a domestic or international network. Katzenberg said that there were “different barriers” to setting up a channel in the domestic and the international market.

TV shows currently being produced by DreamWorks include Dragons: Riders of Berk for Cartoon Network and Penguins of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness and Monsters vs. Aliens for Nickelodeon.

It also has a TV spin-off of the upcoming movie Turbo in the works for an unnamed broadcaster, while Katzenberg also said he hoped to add a primetime animation for Fox to the slate.

DreamWorks’ future acquisitions were also discussed in the conference call with investors hosted by market analyst Seeking Alpha. Katzenberg said the company would continue to look for “opportunities” but declined to give specifics other than saying that Hit Entertainment – bought bought out earlier this year by Mattel – was not on its hit list.

Nico Franks
02-11-2012
©C21Media

TAGS: Channel
GENRES: Animation, Children's
SHOWS: Dragons: Riders of Berk, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Monsters Vs Aliens, Penguins of Madagascar
PEOPLE: Jeffrey Katzenberg
COMPANIES: DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks Classics, Fox
SECTIONS: C21Kids
COUNTRIES: US