Silvergate Media Limited, trading as Sony Pictures Television – Kids, is a television production and brand licensing company based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

founded in 2011 by Waheed Alli and William Astor. It is a division of

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

History

Silvergate Media was created in 2011 as part of 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 ...

, when Alli purchased the rights to '' Octonauts'' and ''The World of Beatrix Potter'' from

Chorion The chorion is the outermost fetal membrane around the embryo in mammals, birds and reptiles (amniotes). It is also present around the embryo of other animals, like insects and molluscs. Structure In humans and other therian mammals, the cho ...

, a company he was previously chair of. In 2013, Silvergate launched its television distribution arm. In 2016,

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

and Silvergate agreed to a three-year multi-territory deal for ''Octonauts'', Silvergate's series about underwater explorers. The company signed a deal with Netflix, in collaboration with Mercury Filmworks to produce '' Hilda'', an animated television adaptation of comic '' Hilda'' by Luke Pearson. Season 1 was released on September 21, 2018. Season 2 was released on December 14, 2020. The series is available in 130 countries. Silvergate also produced '' Sunny Day'' for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

, which started airing on August 21, 2017. In 2016, the investment fund Shamrock Capital Advisors acquired a 51% equity of the company, with the valuation reported to be "between £70 and £80 million". On December 10, 2019,

announced that it would acquire Silvergate Media for US$195 million. The deal marks SPT's first in-house studio devoted primarily to children's animation since

Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. (also referred to as Sony Animation Studios and abbreviated to SPA) is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and found ...

's diversification into television. In February 2022, former

Disney Junior Disney Jr. (formerly Disney Junior) is an American pay television network owned by the Disney Branded Television sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly at children two to seven year ...

Senior Vice President of original programming and Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group executive Joe D'Ambrosia was named Executive Vice President and General Manager of Silvergate Media, succeeding co-founder Waheed Alli, who stepped down as CEO the following summer. In November 2022, Silvergate Media's trading name was changed to Sony Pictures Television – Kids, although the company name was not changed. In December 2023, the company's valuation was reduced to US$50 million in impairment charges. In addition, co-founder William Astor stepped down as chairman at the end of the month. On September 19, 2024, the studio relaunched their "Octonauts & Friends" content hub channel as Kidzuko, which offers content from other Sony-owned properties in addition to properties already held by SPTK.

Filmography

Television series

Specials

Feature film

References

External links

*Active official websites: ** ** * {{Adelaide Productions Television production companies of the United Kingdom Television production companies of the United States Irish animation studios British companies established in 2011 American companies established in 2011 Mass media companies established in 2011 Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television production companies 2016 mergers and acquisitions 2019 mergers and acquisitions British subsidiaries of foreign companies Mass media companies based in London 2011 establishments in England 2011 establishments in the United States Mass media companies based in New York City 2011 establishments in New York City American animation studios British animation studios