Halifax, NS – 4 April 2019 – DHX Media (or the “Company”) (TSX: DHX, NASDAQ: DHXM) has appointed veteran entertainment industry executive Eric Ellenbogen as senior advisor to the Company. Mr. Ellenbogen will advise on key strategic planning and business development across multiple business units, and will also continue to serve on DHX Media’s Board of Directors. The consultancy agreement with Mr. Ellenbogen extends to December 31, 2019.
“Eric agreed to join our Board of Directors last fall. Given his deep experience in the entertainment industry, especially in launching and managing brands, we decided the Company would benefit further from his counsel as an advisor. We are pleased that Eric has agreed to serve in this capacity,” said Michael Donovan, CEO and Executive Chair, DHX Media.
“DHX Media has some of the most enduring brands in kids’ and family entertainment, more than a few of which that I wish I had acquired at my former companies. That makes it all the better to be helping Michael and his executive team to advance not only those brands, but also many other Company initiatives,” added Mr. Ellenbogen.
Eric Ellenbogen, a non-executive director of DHX Media, was the Co-President of Classic Media, a business unit of NBCUniversal Studios. Mr. Ellenbogen has spent more than thirty years running entertainment companies, including senior roles as President of Broadway Video Entertainment (the independent production and distribution company founded by Lorne Michaels); President of Golden Books Family Entertainment; and President and CEO of Marvel Enterprises (subsequently acquired by Disney).
Mr. Ellenbogen co-founded Classic Media in 2000, which through a series of acquisitions and divestitures, ultimately became owned by DreamWorks Animation (DWA). At DWA, Mr. Ellenbogen was appointed to the senior management team as Co-Head of DreamWorks Classics and DreamWorks International Television. During his tenure with DWA, Mr. Ellenbogen was significantly responsible for the company’s entry into the television business. Following DWA’s sale to NBCUniversal, Mr. Ellenbogen was asked to become Co-President of Classic Media, which was re-started as a business unit of NBCUniversal.
Mr. Ellenbogen has served as a director of Golden Books and Marvel, then both public companies, as well as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Public Theater in New York City. He has held adjunct professorships at UCLA, Columbia University Business School and NYU’s Stern School of Business, where he taught courses in entertainment industry studies. He is a graduate of Harvard College and holds an MBA from UCLA.
For more information, please contact:
Media: Shaun Smith – Director, Corporate & Trade Communications, DHX Media Ltd.
shaun.smith@dhxmedia.com
+1 416-977-7230
Investor Relations: Nancy Chan-Palmateer – Director, Investor Relations, DHX Media Ltd.
nancy.chanpalmateer@dhxmedia.com
+1 416-977-7358
About DHX Media
DHX Media Ltd. (TSX: DHX, NASDAQ: DHXM) is a global children’s content and brands company, recognized for such high-profile properties as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Caillou, Inspector Gadget, and the acclaimed Degrassi franchise. One of the world’s foremost producers of children’s shows, DHX Media owns the world’s largest independent library of children’s content, at 13,000 half-hours. It licenses its content to broadcasters and streaming services worldwide and generates royalties through its global consumer products program. Through its subsidiary, WildBrain, DHX Media operates one of the largest networks of children’s channels on YouTube. Headquartered in Canada, DHX Media has offices worldwide. Visit us at www.dhxmedia.com.
Disclaimer
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” under applicable securities laws with respect to DHX Media including, without limitation, statements regarding Mr. Ellenbogen’s appointment as senior advisor and consultant to the Company and expected benefits therefrom, the term of Mr. Ellenbogen’s consultancy agreement and the business strategies and operational activities of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on information currently available to the Company. Actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, among other things, include contract risk and other factors discussed in materials filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time including matters discussed under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent Annual Information Form and annual Management Discussion and Analysis, which also form part of the Company’s annual report on Form 40-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.