Hasta La Motion!

DHX Media reported its fourth quarter (Q4 2019) and year-end results (Fiscal 2019) for the period ended 30 June, 2019. The company also announced that it will change its name to WildBrain and has begun rolling out a new corporate brand identity. Additionally, the company commenced a management and business re-organisation to advance its strategic priorities, and has appointed Eric Ellenbogen as the new chief financial officer.

Ellenbogen said, “In Fiscal 2019, we advanced our priorities of creating premium content, growing our AVOD business, improving our cash flow and strengthening our balance sheet. In Q4 2019, revenue rose 12 per cent to $108.8 million and adjusted EBITDA was up 26 per cent to $20.2 million.

“Rebranding as WildBrain embraces our commitment to creativity, imagination and innovation, and our 360 degree approach to brand management. For many years, our WildBrain group has been at the leading edge of the digital media business. As that landscape continues to rapidly evolve, now is time to unify all the parts of our company under both the name and entrepreneurial culture that WildBrain represents.”

Financial highlights for Q4 and Fiscal 2019 (all currency figures are CAD)

• Q4 2019 revenue rose 12 per cent to $108.8 million vs $97.4 million in Q4 2018; full year revenue grew to $439.8 million vs $434.4 million in Fiscal 2018.
• WildBrain revenue rose 25 per cent to $17.9 million vs Q4 2018 and was up 20 per cent year-over-year to $69.0 million.
• Distribution revenue (excluding WildBrain) grew 46 per cent to $16.6 million vs Q4 2018 and was down 10 per cent year-over-year to $59.8 million.
• Consumer products-owned revenue grew 22 per cent to $38.6 million vs Q4 2018, and rose 11 per cent year-over-year to $160.3 million, driven by Peanuts.
• Adjusted EBITDA grew to $20.2 million in Q4 2019 vs $16.0 million in Q4 2018; adjusted EBITDA for Fiscal 2019 was $79.6 million vs $97.5 million in the prior year. Fiscal 2019 adjusted EBITDA was reduced by $17.5 million due to the sale of a minority stake in Peanuts to Sony1.
• Cash flow from operations increased to $44.5 million for Fiscal 2019 vs $13.4 million in Fiscal 2018.
• Net loss for Q4 2019 was $62.8 million, or ($0.47) per share, vs a net loss of $21.6 million, or ($0.16) per share in Q4 2018. Net loss for Fiscal 2019 was $101.5 million, or ($0.75) vs a net loss of $14.1 million, or ($0.10) per share, a year ago. Net loss for the full year was mainly impacted by a $104.9 million write-down in 2H 2019 and a higher portion of net income to non-controlling interests of $23.3 million.
• $223.8 million was paid down on the term loan and $16.4 million on the revolving credit facility during Fiscal 2019.

Company-wide re-branding as WildBrain

• The company’s comprehensive rebrand to WildBrain includes a new logo and website. A new tagline for the company – ‘Imagination runs wild’ – speaks to becoming the best home for talent and a place where creativity comes first. The YouTube business, formerly known as WildBrain, has been renamed WildBrain Spark.
• The company will be exhibiting at the upcoming major trade conferences, Brand Licensing Europe and MIPCOM, under the new Company brand WildBrain.
• Shareholders of the company will be asked to approve a special resolution to change the corporate name to WildBrain at the upcoming 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which is expected to be scheduled for December 2019. Following approval, the Company also expects to change its ticker on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and NASDAQ to WILD. Until that time, the company will continue to report under the DHX Media name and to trade on both stock exchanges under its present symbols, DHX on the TSX and DHXM on the NASDAQ.

As part of its strategic re-positioning, subsequent to year-end the company’s new CEO initiated a reorganisation of its management team to simplify the organisational structure and reduce costs. These initiatives began in Q1 2020 and are expected to be completed by the end of Fiscal 2020. As a result, the Company expects to incur one-time cash reorganization charges in the range of $10.0 – $12.0 million that are expected to generate annual savings of approximately $10.0 million. A portion of these savings will be redeployed to invest in growth areas of the business including our AVOD business and brands.

Ellenbogen continued, “Aaron has a lengthy history with the company and has made significant contributions as COO. I’m confident that with his deep knowledge of our operations and a background in business improvement, integration and synergies, Aaron will be a strong leader of our finance function. We thank Doug for his considerable contributions to the company.”

As part of this reorganization, COO Aaron Ames, has been appointed CFO effective immediately, succeeding Doug Lamb, who has decided to step down. To ensure a smooth transition, Lamb will remain with the company in an advisory role until 31 October, 2019. The COO position will not be replaced.

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Nike’s “Dream Crazy” commercial, first aired in 2018, has won the 2019 Emmy for Outstanding Commercial. The Nike Dream Crazy commercial, featuring the voice of controversial NFL player Colin Kaepernick, was launched in September 2018, soon after the outdoor and online campaign featuring the same athlete. Kaepernick had been experiencing harsh criticism for his decision to kneel during the playing of the US national anthem, a protest against police brutality. Nike produced a Twitter post with Kaepernick’s face and the words, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything”. The response from the US public was divided, winning and losing support for the brand. Nike’s statement, in each element of the Dream Crazy campaign, put those words into action, reinforcing the 30-year-old mantra, “Just Do It”.

The Nike Dream Crazy commercial features professional sport stars LeBron James, Serena Williams, football wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (OBJ), and Kenyan long distance runner Eliud Kipchoge. 29-year-old basketball phenom and wheelchair athlete Megan Blunk took gold in Rio in 2016. Isaiah Bird, who was born without legs, at 10 years old has become the one to beat on his wrestling team. Charlie Jabaley, an Ironman who made over his life by dropping 120 pounds and going vegan, in the process reversed the growth of a life-long brain tumor. Michigander Alicia Woollcott, simultaneously played linebacker and was named homecoming queen during her high school senior season. American football linebacker Shaquem Griffin who plays without a left hand. Additional appearances are made by Canadian soccer star Alphonso Davies, Hawaiian big wave surfer Kai Lenny, American skateboarders Lacey Baker and Nyjah Huston, German champion boxer Zeina Nassar, and the U.S. Soccer’s Women’s National Team.

Nike Dream Crazy Transcript

If people say your dreams are crazy
If they laugh at what you think you can do
Good
Stay that way
Because what non-believers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult
It’s a compliment
Don’t try to be the fastest runner in your school
Or the fastest in the world
Be the fastest ever
Don’t picture yourself wearing OBJ’s jersey
Picture OBJ wearing yours
Don’t settle for homecoming queen or linebacker
Do both
Lose 120 pounds and become an Ironman after beating a brain tumor
Don’t believe you have to be like anybody to be somebody
If you’re born a refugee, don’t let that stop you from playing soccer
For the national team
At age 16
Don’t become the best basketball player on the planet
Be bigger than basketball
Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything
When they talk about the greatest team in the history of the sport, make sure it’s your team
If you have only one hand, don’t just watch football
Play it
At the highest level
And if you’re a girl from Compton, don’t just become a tennis player
Become the greatest athlete ever
Yeah, that’s more like it
So don’t ask if your dreams are crazy
Ask if they’re crazy enough.

Awards

The campaign won the inaugural Entertainment Grand Prix for Sport at Cannes in June 2019, along with the Outdoor Grand Prix, and went on at the One Show 2019 to win Best Of Show, Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix, Integrated Grand Prix, Print & Outdoor Grand Prix, Social Media Grand Prix. The campaign one a Black Pencil at D&AD 2019.

Nike Dream Crazy Credits

The Dream Crazy campaign was developed at Wieden+Kennedy Portland by creative directors Ryan O’Rourke, Alberto Ponte, Chris Groom, Antony Goldstein, copywriters Dylan Lee, Alex Romans, Kevin Steele, Adam Tetreault, Caio Mattoso, Sheena Bradley, Myles Brown, art directors Sara Phillips, Aramis Isreal, James Moslander, Lee Jennings, Brandon Mugar, director of production Matt Hunnicutt, executive agency producers Jake Grand and Krystle Mortimore, producers Katie McCain and Shelley Eisner, associate producers Kacey Klonsky, Emily Knight and Candice Harbour, strategy director Andy Lindblade, strategists Nathan Goldberg and Andy Lindblade, global account director Andre Gustavo, account director Luiza Prata Carvalho, account executives Mike Waywell and William Frazier, business affairs manager Alicia Willett, creative manager Zilla Peoples, design manager Alicia Kuna, design lead Joan Comellas, broadcast traffic manager Tim Bell, business affairs manager Maureen Doyle, illustrator/designer Liliya Dru, design director Frazer Goodbody, print producers Denise Hanggi and María Hernández, print and fabrication producer Kristin Holder, studio production designer Rob Mumford, graphic designer Cathy Ormerod, senior studio specialist Beth Schuenemann, associate producer Shani Storey, retoucher Saskia Thomson, designer Brian Troyer, art buyer Tedi Tsuruda, business affairs manager Alicia Willett, designer Mitch Wilson, UI designer Trevor Schulte, video editor Dylan Sylwester, design lead Joan Comellas, design operations lead Alicia Kuna, associate directors digital and media strategy Ryan Craven and Geoff Scoones, NA media director Reme DeBisschop, global communications planning director Daniel Sheniak, comms planning team Graham Wallace and Vivian Zhang.

Filming was shot by directors Lance Acord, Emmanuel Lubezki, and Christian Weber, via Park Pictures, with producer Anne Bobroff, executive producers Caroline Kousidonis, Jackie Kelman Bisbee and Scott Howard.

Editors were Peter Wiedensmith (W+K) and Lauren Dellara at Rock Paper Scissors, with lead assistant editor Kristy Faris at Joint Editorial.

Colorist was Sofie Borup at Company 3 with producers James Graves, Alexandra Lubrano and Ashley McKim.

Visual effects were produced at A52 by Joe Chiechi, Kim Christensen, Mike Bettinardi, Joseph Brattesani, James Buongiorno, Michael Cardenas, Bryan Cox, Brendan Crockett, Enid Dalkoff, Stefan Gaillot, Shahana Khan, Jesse Monsour, Patrick Murphy, Patrick Nugent, Joe Paniagua, Michael Plescia, Andrew Rosenberger, Gabe Sanchez, Brad Scott, Kirk Shintani, Michael Steinmann, Kevin Stokes, Mike Vaglienty, and producer Gabrielle Yuro.

Sound was designed by Noah Woodburn, Natalie Huizenga and Rohan Young at Joint Editorial, with post producer Kathleen Russell, executive post producer Leslie Carthy. Sound was mixed at Lime Studios by Ben Tomastik with producer Susie Boyajan.

Music is “We Move Lightly” by composer Dustin O’Halloran, via Walker Music, with music supervisors Stephanie Pigott and Danielle Soury, and executive producer Sara Matarazzo.

Samir Jain

Comics have been one of the paramount sources of entertainment and it’s universally one of the best mediums of entertainment.

When Green Gold Animation started the merchandising of Chhota Bheem, comics were a prominent category. Chhota Bheem and Mighty Raju comics are a reflection of the animated series. “We have used the same background images along with the scripts. Readers can enjoy the comics the same way they enjoy the animated series,” said Green Gold Animation COO and executive director Samir Jain.

The comics are available across all leading book stores, retail and e-commerce platforms. Apart from comic books, the company has also introduced various edutainment and activity books based on their characters which the kids can read and learn from. A digital editions of the comics is also available online.

The company plans to target the right age group of kids to read the comics and love them, “but we would love the idea of an entire family reading and enjoying the comics,” Jain added.

With the growing technology and easy access to the internet, kids have been moving to explore the digital space more these days. “There has been a dip in the comic sales with the rise in digitisation, yet as far as popularity is concerned,  I believe all the Chhota Bheem and Mighty Raju fans would still love to get entertained with comics,” mentioned Jain.

By far the comics have got a very satisfying response with parents encouraging their kids to explore the world of comics and inculcate in them the habit of reading. The team at Green Gold is exploring avenues, ideas and means to present all Chhota Bheem characters in comics, both print and digital!

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The inaugural Free Fire Streamer Showdown took place in Thailand on Saturday, featuring the world’s first Free Fire Clash Squad mode international championship. Over a million viewers from India caught the championship, which was live-streamed on Free Fire India’s YouTube channel. Players from Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam were selected based on voting conducted on Garena’s social media platforms.

With eight teams of representatives from six countries coming together for the exciting competition, the championship brought passionate players all over the globe to a single location, extending the Free Fire gaming community beyond local and regional groups, to global culture.

India was represented by the team Bengal Tiger, comprising 5 players – Ritik Jain (Two Side Gamers), Amit Sharma (Desi Gamers), Promit Banerjee (Free Fire Gamers Zone), Deepak Vetriselvan (Tamil Gamers Brotherhood), and Sunita Thapa (Sooneeta).

Ritik Jain from Two Side Gamers said, “This journey was not about winning for us. The opportunity to travel overseas and meet fellow streamers from other countries was exhilarating. Not only did we get to bond with our peers, we were also able to improve our gameplay from their experiences. We thank Garena for giving us this platform and experience which has been a great learning for us.”

Clash Squad mode, which was featured in this championship, was a 4×4 match where two teams play against each other for 1 minute 30 seconds in a best of seven matches. Players had an option to choose weapons before the game began and distribute them among team members. The championship crown was taken by Saffron Finch, the team from Brazil.

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Disney has announced to start pre-orders for the much awaited Disney+ at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards. The House of Mouse has also launched an ad for the streaming service.

Consumers in the U.S. can start signing up now, nearly two months before the official launch of the streaming service. Pricing for the pre-orders is the same as the rate when it is officially on the market: $7 a month or $70 a year, with a seven-day free trial starting from 12 November.

Disney also released a new one-minute trailer for Disney+. In its press release announcing the pre-orders, Disney also mentioned to be releasing more than 25 original series, 10 original films and documentaries. 

Among them, two titles are debuting on 12 November – Star Wars-derived show The Mandalorian, from executive producer and writer Jon Favreau, and Lady and the Tramp, a new spin on the 1955 animated classic. Apart from these, the platform will include a wide range of library titles, from Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Disney vault. Disney Plus will also host Disney Channel shows and movies, all episodes of The Simpsons and is reported to include old Marvel animated television shows.

Disney+ will arrive in the marketplace during an unparalleled attention being devoted to streaming. Apple, WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal are joining Disney in mounting major streaming efforts designed to offer viewers an alternative to Netflix.

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