In a surprise move but not necessarily unexpected, Halifax-based company formerly called DHX Media Ltd. announced on Thursday that company founder and former CEO Michael Donovan has resigned from the company's board of directors.
That means that Donovan will no longer be involved in the management or governance of WildBrain (the name of the new corporate brand), which he founded in 2006.
In a news release, board chair Don Wright said: "I would like to thank Michael for his many years of leadership and vision as a founder, director and officer of the company. We wish Michael well with his future endeavors."
DHX has been going through a major transition recently, including naming a new CEO and announcing a plan to rename the company after its successful online streaming business WildBrain, now called WildBrain Spark.
The company was saddled with a great deal of debt after it acquired controlling interest in the popular Peanuts animation business. It had tried unsuccessfully to sell itself and that led management to a change plans, which meant finding another way to greater profitability.
It sold a portion of its Peanuts holding to Sony and then went on a major cost-cutting spree, which included selling of its Halifax-based animation studio in November 2018 -- it consolidated animation in its much larger Vancouver studio. It increased production of premium content for streaming services and produced two seasons of Holly Hobbie for U.S. streaming service Hulu. It also has an exclusive deal to produce Peanuts series and specials for Apple TV+.
A significant sign of things to come happened at the end of August when DHX named Eric Ellenbogen, a former president and chief executive of Marvel Enterprises, as Donovan's replacement as CEO.
Ellenbogen was also named vice-chair of the board and at that time it was revealed that Donovan had also stepped down as executive chair of the company.
It is now unclear whether the company will continue to be headquartered in Donovan's hometown Halifax, especially considering so much of its operations are located elsewhere.
The company, which is primarily focused on creating family oriented entertainment, stated that it has a library of more than 13,000 half-hours of filmed entertainment, including such brands as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Caillou, Inspector Gadget and Degrassi.
WildBrain's shows are seen in more than 150 countries, on 500 telecasters and streaming platforms. Its advertisement-based video on demand business, WildBrain Spark, offers one of the largest networks of kids' channels on YouTube, with more than 109 million subscribers.
The company also licenses consumer products and location-based entertainment in every major territory for our own properties as well for clients and content partners. And its television group owns and operates four family entertainment channels that are among the most-viewed in Canada.
