9 Story Animation Studio (formerly known as 9 Story International) is a Canadian

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

production, animation studio, and distribution company founded in September 1996 by Vince Commisso and Steven Jarosz.

History

As 9 Story Entertainment

The company was founded in September 1996 as 9 Story International by Vince Commisso and Steven Jarosz so Vince could work on '' Blue’s Clues''. On September 21, 2006, 9 Story launched an international distribution division headed by former

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

executive, Natalie Osborne, known as 9 Story Enterprises. 9 Story produced its first live-action series, ''

Survive This ''Survive This'' is a Canadian reality television show in which eight teenagers with limited survival skills training are taken into a forest and confronted with a number of survival challenges to test their skills and perseverance. The series ...

'', from 2008 to 2010. On September 20, 2011, 9 Story Entertainment became the co-producer and distributor of the animated series ''

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

''. 9 Story would produce the series from seasons 16 to 19. On April 8, 2013, 9 Story announced that it would acquire the children's and family distribution library of

CCI Entertainment CCI Entertainment Ltd. (Cambium Catalyst International) was a Canadian television production company that focuses on the production of television shows and feature-length movies. The company was formed in February 2002 as a merger between Cambium ...

; the acquisition was completed on July 24. 9 Story Media Group 2014

As 9 Story Media Group

On October 10, 2014, 9 Story Entertainment changed its name to 9 Story Media Group to follow Neil Court and

Zelnick Media Capital Harry Strauss Zelnick (born June 26, 1957) is an American businessman and lawyer. He is the founder, CEO, and managing partner of private equity firm ZMC, the chairman and CEO of video game company Take-Two Interactive, and the former chairman ...

becoming majority owners a few months prior. On August 18, 2015, 9 Story Media Group acquired the

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

-based animation studio

Brown Bag Films Brown Bag Films UC. (BBF) is an Irish television and computer-animation studio owned by Canadian production studio 9 Story Media Group and based in Dublin with 2D and 3D animation facilities in Bali, Los Angeles, Toronto and formerly Manches ...

. On October 6, 2015, 9 Story announced an agreement with American toy manufacturer

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

to relaunch/reboot ''

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series created by Sheryl Leach targeted at children ages two to five. The flagship production of the ''Barney'' franchise, it originally aired on PBS under the PBS Kids brand from Ap ...

'' and ''

Angelina Ballerina ''Angelina Ballerina'' is a children's book series by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig about a fictional mouse named Angelina Jeanette Mouseling who is training to become a ballerina. History The first book in the serie ...

'' under license from

HIT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (stylised as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turn ...

for planned releases in 2017, but nothing was heard from them in terms of either production or release since then. On May 25, 2016, 9 Story acquired the global distribution rights to ''

Garfield and Friends ''Garfield and Friends'' is an American animated television series based on the comic strip '' Garfield'' by Jim Davis. The show aired on CBS as part of its Saturday morning children's lineup from September 17, 1988, to December 10, 1994. Th ...

''. On October 21, 2016, 9 Story's distribution arm, 9 Story Enterprises, was rebranded as 9 Story Distribution International and relocated operations from

Toronto 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 ...

to Dublin. On October 15, 2017, 9 Story rebranded its Toronto

2D animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century, until there was a shif ...

studio after Brown Bag Films, with the Irish studio becoming 9 Story's production arm for both 2D and 3D animation across Dublin,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and Toronto. At the same time, Brown Bag Films became one of 9 Story's main divisions, alongside 9 Story Distribution International. On January 12, 2018, 9 Story announced that they had acquired production company,

Out of the Blue Enterprises 9 Story USA (formerly Out of the Blue Enterprises), is an American children's television production company based in New York City, founded by the co-creator of the Nickelodeon preschool live action/animated series ''Blue's Clues'' (hence the c ...

, for an undisclosed amount and rebranded them to 9 Story USA. 9 Story would also acquire the rights to the

Colorforms Colorforms is a creative toy named for the simple shapes and forms cut from colored vinyl sheeting that cling to a smooth backing surface without adhesives. These pieces are used to create picture graphics and designs, which can then be changed c ...

brand. On May 13, 2018, 9 Story unveiled an updated logo and announced the launch of 9 Story Brands, a consumer products division. On July 10, 2018, 9 Story acquired the children's and family distribution catalog and development slate of

Breakthrough Entertainment Breakthrough Entertainment (formerly Breakthrough Films & Television) was a Canadian production company founded in 1986 by Peter Williamson and Ira Levy. It produces popular Canadian TV shows such as ''Jimmy Two-Shoes'' and '' Atomic Betty''. O ...

. On February 4, 2019, 9 Story announced that they had acquired

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

-based animation studio BASE for an undisclosed amount, and rebranded it after Brown Bag Films. On April 1, 2019, 9 Story signed a deal with

Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

to distribute 230 half hours of programming, which would bring 9 Story's overall content library at the time to 4,000 half hours of programming. In 2022, Vince Commisso was named alongside John Galway as a winner of the

Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

's Board of Directors Tribute Award at the

10th Canadian Screen Awards The 10th Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 4–10 April 2022 to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2021. The presentations were held as a ...

. On February 5, 2024, 9 Story acquired fellow Canadian company Portfolio Entertainment, including its distribution catalogue, development slates, and production. Portfolio CEO Lisa Olfman became an executive producer at 9 Story, where she will report to Commisso. On March 12, 2024, Scholastic announced that they would acquire complete economic interest and minority voting rights in 9 Story for $186 million; the transaction closed on June 21 of that year.

Original productions

References

External links

* {{Authority control Canadian animation studios Companies based in Toronto Mass media companies established in 2002 Television production companies of Canada 2002 establishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 2002 2024 mergers and acquisitions Scholastic Corporation Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies