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Entertainment Rights

Entertainment Rights
Public
Industry Global media company
Fate Acquired by Boomerang Media
Successor DreamWorks Classics
Founded 1989
Defunct 2009
Headquarters London, England, United Kingdom
Products Children and family television programming
Parent Boomerang Media
DreamWorks Animation
NBCUniversal (Comcast)

Entertainment Rights Plc was a global media company. Its main business was in children's and family television programming. The group was established in 1989 as Sleepy Kids; it was renamed in 1999 to Entertainment Rights and was focused on the creation and exploitation of major children's characters and brands.

On 1 April 2009, after falling into administration, Entertainment Rights was acquired by Boomerang Media, which was formed by the founders of ER subsidiary Classic Media. The company took on the Classic Media brand worldwide following this purchase. Classic Media was, in turn, acquired by DreamWorks Animation in 2012. As of 2016, most of back catalog library of Entertainment Rights are owned by NBCUniversal which bought DWA.

The company began life as Sleepy Kids Plc, also called The Sleepy Kids Co. Ltd., which was founded in 1989 by Martin and Vivien Schrager-Powell to produce Potsworth & Co., a children's animated series the pair created. The company was in partnership with Hanna-Barbera, and within a few months of its inception, it was floated on the stock exchanges. Sleepy Kids later went on to co-produce Dr. Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop and Budgie the Little Helicopter.

Between 1998 and 1999 the company expanded rapidly. It acquired Siriol Productions and merged with The Richard Digance Card Co, Clipper Films Ltd. and Ridgeway Films Ltd. in December 1998. During 1999, Boom Boom Ltd.—the owners of Basil Brush, Carrington Productions International—owner of a library of children's animation films from Ventureworld Films, and Dr. Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop were all bought as part of a long-term plan to build a substantial business owning intellectual property rights.

The company was renamed to SKD Media just after these takeovers. A year later the company was renamed to Entertainment Rights.


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