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Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years. The company produced and distributed programming under their operated syndicated block – ''Amazin' Adventures'', later renamed to ''
Bohbot Kids Network Bohbot Kids Network (more commonly referred to and on-screen as BKN, originally known as Amazin' Adventures until 1997) was a children's programming block operated by Bohbot Entertainment (later BKN, Inc.) that aired on syndicated television sta ...
'' (BKN).


History

Bohbot Communications Inc. was founded on November 19, 1985, as a media planning and buying service. BC added additional services over the following 10 years: animated children’s programming syndicator, program syndication sales distribution, licensing and merchandising. After previous attempts at local promotions and request from promotional agencies at 1995 NATPE, Bohbot entered the national promotions field in 1996. By 1989 Bohbot Entertainment is starting to enter into the syndication marketplace with the launch of the live-action talk show ''Girl Talk'', which is hosted by Soleil Moon Frye. The company also obtained the rights to distribute the animated cartoon ''
Ring Raiders ''Ring Raiders'' is a 1989 animated television series based on a 1980s toy line made by Matchbox. The series began with a two-hour special by DIC Enterprises, followed by one week of five half-hour episodes syndicated by Bohbot Communications. ...
'', produced by
DIC Enterprises DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions, sometimes stylized as DİC) was a French American film and television production company that ...
for syndication. In 1990, Bohbot partnered with producers
Saban Entertainment BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it ...
and video game publisher
Acclaim Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally founded by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes, and Jim Scoroposki from a storefront in Oyster Bay in 1987, the company built a global develop ...
to launch '' Video Power'' in syndication. In 1991, Bohbot entered its fray by signing up as distributor of
Saban Entertainment BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it ...
's program '' Adventures of the Little Mermaid'' for syndication. By 1992, Bohbot had picked up distribution agreements with two leading children's producers
Saban Entertainment BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it ...
and
DiC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions, sometimes stylized as DİC) was a French American film and television production company that ...
. BE obtained Saban's '' Around the World in 80 Dreams'', which was distributed to syndication starting in 1993. Bohbot Entertainment also distributed 65 episodes of DiC's ''
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog ''Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog'' is an American animated television series. It is based on the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series, produced by Sega of America, DIC Animation City, Bohbot Entertainment and the Italian studio Reteital ...
'' in syndication starting in 1993. BE picked up DiC's ''
Double Dragon is a beat 'em up video game series originally developed and published by Technōs Japan. It began with the release of the arcade game '' Double Dragon'' in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight again ...
'' for syndication in 1993. Bohbot Communications Inc. in January 1994 split its operations into two units, Bohbot Media Worldwide (BM) and Bohbot Entertainment Worldwide (BE). Bohbot Media would take over BC's media planning and buying services, while Bohbot Entertainment took over BC's TV distribution, licensing and merchandising, promotions and public relations operations. In 1994, Bohbot Media agreed to distribute '' A.J.'s Time Travelers'' for Time Travelers, Inc. to Fox Children's Network for which the various Bohbot entities were sued in 1995 along with the producers. In March 1997, BE and
DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions, sometimes stylized as DİC) was a French American film and television production company that ...
agreed to a three-year output deal for Bohbot Kids Network consisting of five series. In September, the company renamed their "Amazin' Adventures" block as the Bohbot Kids Network, more commonly referred to by its initials: BKN. By October, Bohbot Enterprises Worldwide, Inc., Bohbot Entertainment, Bohbot Media and the International Division were renamed BKN, Inc. (BKN), Bohbot Entertainment & Media Inc. (BEM), Quantum Media International, Inc. (QMI) and BKN International respectively. Quantum was later renamed as BKN Media and closed in October 2000. In April 1998,
United Television BHC Communications, Inc. was the holding company for the broadcast property of Chris-Craft Industries. BHC stands for "broadcasting holding company". History The firm was originally incorporated in 1977 as BHC, Incorporated by Chris-Craft Indus ...
and
Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company, which was active from 1994 until its reincorporation as Sony Pictures Television in 2002. It was the third iteration of what ...
took a minority stake in BEM. In 1998, BKN purchased Epoch Ink Animation which was renamed to BKN Studios.
BKN International BKN International AG (BKNI) was a German kids TV production and distribution company that formerly operated as the international division of Bohbot Entertainment, BKN, Inc. History BKN International was originally founded as Bohbot Entertainmen ...
went public and independent of BKN in 1999 on the Frankfurt Neuer Market stock exchange with BKN retaining 34% ownership. In January 2000, Bohbot Entertainment & Media Inc. was sued by
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb o ...
over a supposed failure of Bohbot to purchase enough advertising on the broadcasting group's TV stations as agreed to in their BKN Network carriage agreement. In July, the '' A.J.'s Time Travelers'' case ended in which the various Bohbot entities and Time Travelers entities had to pay damages with BKN paying $10 million, BEM $10 million and QMI, $5 million. By October 20, 2000, the syndicated blocks under the BKN name ceased operations. BKN International in January 2001 acquired BKN, Inc.'s operating assets with BKN, Inc. would continue as a holding company with its BKNI holdings.


Programming library


Syndicated series

* ''Girl Talk'' (1989) * ''
Ring Raiders ''Ring Raiders'' is a 1989 animated television series based on a 1980s toy line made by Matchbox. The series began with a two-hour special by DIC Enterprises, followed by one week of five half-hour episodes syndicated by Bohbot Communications. ...
'' (1989) * '' Video Power'' (1990–1992) * ''
Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...
'' (1992–1994) * ''
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog ''Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog'' is an American animated television series. It is based on the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series, produced by Sega of America, DIC Animation City, Bohbot Entertainment and the Italian studio Reteital ...
'' (1993–1995) * '' Mighty Max'' (1994–1996) * '' Highlander: The Animated Series'' (1995–1996) * ''
Action Man Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "movable fighting man", G.I. Joe. Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of ...
'' (1995–1996)


Amazin' Adventures/BKN Syndicated Shows

*''
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice ''King Arthur and the Knights of Justice'' is an animated series produced by Golden Films, C&D ( Créativité et Développement), and Bohbot Entertainment and created by Diane Eskenazi and Avi Arad, who also served as executive producers. The ...
'' (1992) * '' Mighty Max'' (1993) * ''
Double Dragon is a beat 'em up video game series originally developed and published by Technōs Japan. It began with the release of the arcade game '' Double Dragon'' in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight again ...
'' (1993) * '' Street Sharks'' (1994-1997) * ''
Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders ''Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders'', known outside of North America as ''Starla & the Jewel Riders'' and sometimes spelled as the more traditionally Arthurian "Guinevere", is an American fantasy animated television series aimed at the p ...
'' (1995-1996) * ''
Ultraforce The Ultraforce is a fictional superhero group that appears in American comic books published by Malibu, and later Marvel. The purpose of the group was to protect the public and keep other "Ultras" (superheroes) from becoming unruly. The group co ...
'' (1995) * ''
Skysurfer Strike Force ''Skysurfer Strike Force'' is a science-fiction superhero animated series that was featured on Bohbot Entertainment's Amazin' Adventures cartoon block and was co-produced by Ruby-Spears Productions and Ashi Productions. The show lasted two seas ...
'' (1995-1996) * ''
Extreme Dinosaurs ''Extreme Dinosaurs'' is an American animated series produced by DIC Productions, L.P. and Bohbot Entertainment in 1997 based on a 1996 toy line from Mattel. This show is a spin-off of '' Street Sharks'' (where they first appeared as the ''Din ...
'' (1997) * ''
Pocket Dragon Adventures ''Pocket Dragon Adventures'' (Spanish: ''Pocket Dragons'') is an animated series produced by the Spanish animation studio D'Ocon Films Productions, in co-production with Televisión Española, Bohbot Entertainment, and DIC Productions. The seri ...
'' (1998) * '' Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends'' (1999-2000) * ''
Monster Rancher ''Monster Rancher'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese media franchise and series of life simulation role-playing video games created by Tecmo (now Koei Tecmo). The series consists of fifteen games across numerous different video game platform ...
'' (1999-2001, English dub)


Programming blocks

* '' Amazin' Adventures'' (1992–1997) ** ''Amazin' Adventures II'' (1995–1996) * ''
BKN Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years. The company produced and distributed programming under thei ...
'' (1997–2000) ** ''Bulldog TV'' (1999–2000) ** ''BKN Kids II'' (1999–2000)


Specials

* ''Kids Day Off'' (1992–1994) ** ''Magic Trolls and the Troll Warriors'' (1992; 1994) ** '' P.J. Sparkles'' (1992) ** '' Peppermint Rose'' (1992) ** '' Defenders of Dynatron City'' (1992) ** '' Battletoads'' (1992–1993) ** ''The Magical Super Trolls'' (1992–1993) ** ''Moo Family Holiday Hoe-Down'' (1993–1994) ** ''
Bubsy ''Bubsy'' is a series of platforming video games created by Michael Berlyn and developed and published by Accolade. The games star an anthropomorphic bobcat named Bubsy, a character that takes inspiration from ''Super Mario Bros.'' and ''Son ...
'' (1993) ** ''Moo Family Stall of Fame'' (1993–1994) ** ''So You Want To Be'' (1993) ** ''A Hollywood Hounds Christmas'' (1994) ** ''Legend of the Hawaiian Slammers'' (1994) ** '' Power Team'' (1994) * ''Nick & Noel'' (1993) * ''The Bears Who Saved Christmas'' (1994) * ''Dot and Spot's Magical Christmas Adventure'' (1996)


References

{{Reflist Television syndication distributors Mass media companies established in 1985 Mass media companies disestablished in 2001 Entertainment companies established in 1985 Entertainment companies disestablished in 2001 American companies established in 1985 American companies disestablished in 2001 1998 mergers and acquisitions