Boat Rocker Media Inc. is a Canadian multinational entertainment company headquartered in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Founded in 2013 by the executives of

Temple Street Productions Temple Street Productions was a Toronto-based Canadian television & digital media production studio. Formed in 1996 by Patrick Whitley and Sheila Hockin, it was sold to Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier—who had led the studio's drama unit since ...

, it holds interests in media production, distribution,

brand licensing Brand licensing means renting or leasing of an intangible asset. It is a process of creating and managing contracts between the owner of a brand and a company or individual who wants to use the brand in association with a product, for an agreed ...

, and venture capital. Boat Rocker is led by co-executive chairs David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg and CEO John Young.

History

Boat Rocker Studios was first established by

in June 2013 as its digital studio. In February 2016, after

Fairfax Financial Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is a Canadian financial holding company based in Toronto, Ontario, engaged in property, casualty, insurance and reinsurance, investment management, and insurance claims management. The company operates primari ...

made a majority investment in Temple Street, the company announced a restructuring that would establish a new publicly-traded parent company known as Boat Rocker Media. Temple Street's co-presidents David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg would serve as co-CEOs of the company, which would consist of five main divisions: Boat Rocker Studios, Boat Rocker Rights (distribution; which was a rebranding of Temple Street Distribution), Boat Rocker Animation, Boat Rocker Brands (

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

), and Boat Rocker Ventures. Fortier explained that the restructuring would allow the company to pursue new investments and multi-platform ventures, while Fortier and Scheeberg stated that they aimed to "build a platform for the creation and distribution of world-class content of all kinds, with the same core business and creative philosophies we've had from the start but on a much greater scale." Boat Rocker Rights' first outside distribution deal was with the acquisition of international rights to

Steve Rotfeld Productions Steve Rotfeld Productions (SRP) is an America television production, stock footage, and broadcast syndication company based in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. The company was founded in 1985 by president Steve Rotfeld. SRP cur ...

' Xploration Station programs in late-February 2016. In March 2016, Boat Rocker Media announced its acquisition of Toronto-based studio

Radical Sheep Productions Radical Sheep Productions was a Canadian television production company known for producing series including '' The Next Step'', '' Stella and Sam'', and '' The Big Comfy Couch'', the latter a Gemini Award-winning series for preschoolers which pro ...

, producer of series such as ''

The Big Comfy Couch ''The Big Comfy Couch'' (), is a Canadian children's prop comedy television series which is about a clown named Loonette and her doll Molly who solve everyday problems on their eponymous couch. It was produced by Cheryl Wagner and Robert Mills, ...

'' and '' The Next Step''. Then in June 2016, the unit acquired the Mountain Road Productions library, and reached a

first-look deal A first-look deal is any contract containing a clause granting, usually for a fee or other consideration that covers a specified period of time, a pre-emption right, right of first refusal, or right of first offer (also called a right of first neg ...

with the company. In August 2016, Boat Rocker Media acquired the Ottawa-based animation studio

Jam Filled Entertainment Jam Filled Entertainment is a Canadian animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario (with additional facilities in Toronto and Halifax), and a subsidiary of Boat Rocker Media. The company is known for animating several Nicktoons series such as ''T ...

; the company would operate as a subsidiary studio under Boat Rocker's children's and family unit, with its existing management (including president Kyle Mac Dougall, and creative directors Jamie Leclaire and Phil Lafrance) reporting to CEO John Young. Later that month, Boat Rocker acquired the library and distribution arm of unscripted producer Peace Point Entertainment Group, while Jam Filled acquired the assets of Toronto-based 3D animation studio Arc Productions (which had entered receivership the previous month). In April 2017, Boat Rocker Ventures made a US$8.5 million

Series A A series A is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. It can be followed by the word round, investment or financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exchan ...

investment in New York-based edutainment software company MarcoPolo Learning. The investment also included a strategic partnership with Boat Rocker Studios to co-develop television and digital content based on MarcoPolo's characters. In May 2017, Boat Rocker Studios announced that it would merge its factual and unscripted operations into a new unit known as Crooked Horse Productions; the Temple Street Productions label would focus solely on scripted productions from then on. In September 2017, Boat Rocker Media acquired the Toronto-based unscripted production studio Proper Television—producer of series such as '' Canada's Worst Driver'', ''

MasterChef Canada ''MasterChef Canada'' is a Canadian competitive cooking reality show, part of the ''MasterChef'' franchise, open to amateur home cooks across Canada. It premiered on CTV on January 20, 2014, and has since aired its seventh season. The show stars ...

'', and '' Vegas Rat Rods'' among others following the death of the latter's founder and president Guy O'Sullivan. The acquisition included Proper Television's distribution division Proper Rights which had been merged into Boat Rocker's distirbution division Boat Rocker Rights. In January 2018, Boat Rocker acquired the Kids & Family Entertainment division of British global production & distribution output

FremantleMedia Fremantle Limited (), formerly FremantleMedia, is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. The company was founded as Pearson Television in 1993 when publishing and education company Pearson ...

; the company divested the library to focus more on its other core entertainment divisions with the library of Fremantle's Kids & Family Entertainment division including

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

's children's catalluge being interrogated into Boat Rocker's division Boat Rocker Rights. In May 2018, Boat Rocker acquired a 70% majority stake in Toronto-based

Insight Productions Insight Productions is a Canadian television production company based in Toronto, Ontario. It was established in 1970. Insight is led by CEO John Brunton. History Insight Productions was established in 1970 by Penray "Pen" Densham and John ...

; the company would continue to operate independently. In November 2018, Boat Rocker acquired the New York and Los Angeles-based unscripted studio Matador Content, marking its first foray into the American market. It also made an investment in the

Toronto Arrows Toronto Arrows R.F.C. was a rugby union club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that played in Major League Rugby. The Arrows team was an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and was funded by a group of private invest ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR) is a professional rugby union competition in the United States. The league comprises 11 teams. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned ...

. The following month, Boat Rocker's distribution and brands units were brought under the Studios unit led by Jon Rutherford. In March 2019, Boat Rocker invested in the talent management and production company Untitled Entertainment. In September 2019, Boat Rocker acquired Platform One Media, a Los Angeles-based studio founded by ''

Orphan Black ''Orphan Black'' is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identica ...

'' executive producer Katie O’Connell. In October 2019, the company signed a

with

Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. Her accolades include an Independent Spirit Award and a nomination for a British Academy Film Award. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, Johnson made her ...

's TeaTime Pictures. In November 2020, Platform One Media signed a first-look deal with

Lena Headey Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is an English actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO fantasy drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she received ...

's Peephole Productions. On December 8, 2020, Platform One Media was renamed Boat Rocker Studios, Scripted, with Katie O’Connell Marsh being promoted to vice-chairwoman of Boat Rocker Studios. In addition, Matador Content co-founder Jay Peterson was promoted to head of Boat Rocker Studios, Unscripted, with his partner Todd Lubin succeeding him as head of Matador Content. Shortly afterward on December 18, Temple Street Productions was closed and folded into Boat Rocker Studios, Scripted. In March 2021, Boat Rocker announced a new unscripted studio known as Maven with former ITV Studios America executive Jessica Sebastian-Dayeh, focusing on "female-led narratives and emerging voices". On December 20, 2021, Boat Rocker acquired a minority stake in TeaTime Pictures, with Dakota Johnson transitioning to an

overall deal A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video. These groups ...

. In March 2022, as part of a reorganization, Boat Rocker merged its unscripted division into the Los Angeles-based scripted division. Steve Lescroart and Jay Peterson would remain head of scripted and unscripted respectively, with Lescroart additionally named

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

of the unit. In August 2023, Peterson stepped down as president of unscripted in favour of Todd Lubin. In August 2024, Boat Rocker acquired the remaining 30% share of Insight Productions that it did not already own. On March 24, 2025,

Blue Ant Media Blue Ant Media Inc. is a Canadian broadcasting and media company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company was founded by Michael MacMillan and formed in 2011 following the acquisition of Glassbox Television. Its name was chosen in reference ...

(which shares Fairfax as an investor) announced its intent to acquire portions of Boat Rocker Media as part of a

reverse takeover A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compa ...

; Blue Ant will acquire Insight Productions, Jam Filled Entertainment, Proper Television, and the current Boat Rocker corporate entity, which will be renamed Blue Ant Media Corporation and have 26.5% of its stock held by Boat Rocker's shareholders. The remainder of Boat Rocker (including Boat Rocker Studios and its brand licensing divisions) will be sold in a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...

to a new entity known as IDJCo for $18 million, which will be led by Boat Rocker's lead executive team; following the completion of the transactions, IDJCo will trade as Boat Rocker Media.

Units

* Boat Rocker Brands * Boat Rocker Rights * Boat Rocker Ventures * Boat Rocker Studios ** Matador Content ** Maven **

** Proper Television * Boat Rocker Studios, Kids and Family ** Industrial Brothers (minority stake) **

Filmography

Animation

Live-action

Upcoming

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
2003 establishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 2003 Companies based in Toronto Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Holding companies established in 2003 Holding companies of Canada Mass media companies established in 2003 Television production companies of Canada 2021 initial public offerings