1971–1982: DIC Audiovisuel Diffusion Information Commercial (DIC) was founded in France in 1971 by
Jean Chalopin as part of the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (now
RTL Group), a well-established media company as the successor of OGAP (Office de Gestion et d'Action Publicitaire) in 1968 by Chalopin. Initially, DIC focused on producing commercials for television. Chalopin decided to shift his company into the production studio to focused on making animated series. In 1981, DIC formed a partnership with
Tokyo Movie Shinsha, a Japanese animation studio. As part of this collaboration, DIC assisted in animating several TMS programs, including the popular series
Ulysses 31. Additionally, DIC created an unaired pilot called
Lupin VIII during this period. This partnership between DIC and TMS continued until 1996, contributing to the production of numerous animated television shows and pilots.
1982–1986: DIC Enterprises DIC Audiovisuel's U.S. division, DIC Enterprises, was established in April 1982 in
Burbank, California, by
Andy Heyward, a former writer at
Hanna-Barbera. In 1983, DIC established its own animation facility in Japan, known as K.K. DIC Asia, to handle animation production for its shows independently. Despite facing a unionization effort in 1984, DIC remained the only non-union animation firm. Over time, DIC expanded its operations through syndication deals with companies like
LBS Communications,
Columbia Pictures Television, and Access Syndication. Additionally, DIC secured home video rights for its shows through agreements with
Karl-Lorimar Home Video,
CBS/Fox Video in the US,
The Video Collection in Great Britain and Access Syndication.
1987–1993: Move to North America Between late 1986 and 1987, Heyward, in collaboration with investors
Bear Stearns & Co. and
Prudential Insurance Co., acquired Chalopin and the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion's 52% stake in DIC, resulting in the transformation of DIC into DIC Animation City, Inc. This acquisition, amounting to $70 million in a leveraged buyout, relocated the company's headquarters to the United States. Subsequent to the buyout, DIC encountered significant financial indebtedness, partly stemming from their competitive strategy of underbidding on projects to outmaneuver rival animation firms, coupled with an overestimation of the market demand for children's television shows. Consequently, DIC's debt escalated, prompting the sale of foreign rights to their library to
Saban Productions in 1987, which were later transferred to Chalopin's C&D. This transaction strained the relationship between DIC and Saban, leading to legal disputes culminating in a settlement in 1991. Despite these challenges, DIC expanded its collaborations, partnering with
NBC and
Coca-Cola Telecommunications to produce and distribute television programs. DIC also ventured into toy manufacturing with the introduction of the Old MacDonald talking toyline. Amidst legal battles and strategic maneuvers, DIC continued to navigate the evolving landscape of the animation industry. Legal disputes with
Family Home Entertainment and LBS/Lorimar Home Video were resolved, paving the way for DIC to forge partnerships with Golden Book Video and pursue distribution agreements with Bohbot Communications. Furthermore, DIC diversified its international collaborations, teaming up with
Reteitalia, S.p.A. and
Telecinco, among others, to co-produce animated content. By the early 1990s, DIC expanded its operations to include subsidiaries such as Rainforest Entertainment and embarked on educational initiatives. DIC's growth trajectory was marked by a landmark licensing agreement with
Buena Vista Home Video in 1993, facilitating the distribution of over 1,000 half-hours of animated content and the establishment of a dedicated home video label. This deal bolstered DIC's presence in the home entertainment market, heralding a new phase of expansion and consolidation within the animation industry. DIC subsequently signed a deal with
Golden Book Video to market titles under the DIC Video brand.
1993–2000: Limited partnerships During the early 1990s, DIC attracted attention within the industry. The company engaged in discussions regarding a potential merger and buyout with
PolyGram and
Capital Cities/ABC, but no agreements materialized with either entity. In July 1993, DIC Animation City began the establishment of a limited partnership with Capital Cities/ABC Video Enterprises, Inc., forming a joint venture named DIC Entertainment, L.P. This venture aimed to oversee DIC's production library and supply content for international distribution through CAVE. DIC Animation City held 95% of the shares, while CAVE held the remaining 5%. At the end of the year, the two companies formed another Delaware limited partnership called DIC Productions, L.P., with Capital Cities/ABC holding a 95% majority stake and Heyward retaining the remaining 5%. Both limited partnerships became the successor to the former parent company DIC Animation City, coinciding with the relocation of DIC's headquarters to a larger facility in Burbank, California. DIC continued its expansion and diversification efforts throughout the early 1990s. In November 1993, it established DIC Interactive, a multimedia unit. Subsequently, the company ventured into live-action television production in 1994. In response to the success of Saban's
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, DIC collaborated with
Tsuburaya Productions to adapt the Japanese series
Gridman the Hyper Agent into
Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad. DIC also initiated partnerships in China and engaged in syndication agreements with SeaGull Entertainment. In 1995, DIC also produced an English dub of the Japanese anime
Sailor Moon. In July 1995,
The Walt Disney Company intended to buy Capital Cities/ABC and all of its assets, including DIC. That October, DIC began planning to establish an animation studio in France in partnership with Hamster Productions. Following the completion of the merger between Capital Cities/ABC and Disney in January 1996, DIC became a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Subsequently, DIC collaborated closely with Disney, launching DIC Films and signing a first-look deal with
Walt Disney Pictures in 1996. In March 1997, DIC's French animation studio commenced operations as Les Studios Tex S.A.R.L. DIC continued its expansion into various markets and mediums, extending its first-look deal with Walt Disney Pictures in March 1998 and commencing the launch of its direct-to-video division the following month. Additionally, DIC secured a programming agreement with
Pax TV during this period.
2000–2004: Return to independence In September 2000, Andy Heyward, backed by investment firms
Bain Capital and
Chase Capital Partners, began to purchase DIC from The Walt Disney Company. Disney agreed to sell back the company and the deal was closed on November 25, officially allowing DIC to produce shows alone again without the limitations of Disney, coinciding with the relaunch of DIC's international sales division at
MIPCOM that year. In 2001, DIC planned to return to the home video market, by forming a new division titled DIC Home Entertainment; they intended to begin releasing products starting that May. This was delayed due to DIC's issues in finding a distribution partner, which eventually happened in July when DIC signed a deal with
Lions Gate Home Entertainment for North American distribution of DIC Home Entertainment products. In June, DIC planned a purchase of
Golden Books Family Entertainment for $170 million, but they eventually backed out of the deal due to the high costs of the purchase; the company was instead co-purchased by
Random House for the book rights and
Classic Media for the entertainment rights. In July 2002, DIC purchased the Mommy & Me preschool label. In January 2003, DIC announced three syndicated children's programming E/I blocks called
DIC Kids Network. In April, DIC sued
Speed Racer Enterprises, alleging that SRE had sub-licensed the worldwide exploitation rights for
Speed Racer to DIC the previous year and then ended the agreement without DIC knowing. Later in July, DIC signed a television production deal with
POW! Entertainment for ''Stan Lee's Secret Super Six'', a series about teens with alien superpowers who are taught about humanity by Lee, but this show never made it to air.
2004–2008: Going public and final years In 2004, Heyward acquired Bain Capital's share in DIC Entertainment and subsequently oversaw the company's public offering on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market in 2005, trading under the symbol DEKEq.L. In March 2006, DIC regained international rights to 20 of its shows from The Walt Disney Company and
Jetix Europe, previously owned by Disney since their acquisition of Saban Entertainment in 2001. The same month, DIC acquired the
Copyright Promotions Licensing Group (CPLG) and welcomed Jeffrey Edell as president and COO. DIC,
AOL's KOL, and
CBS Corporation joined forces to introduce a new three-hour programming block for Saturday mornings on CBS called KOL Secret Slumber Party on September 15, 2006. A year later, on the same date, DIC, CBS, and
American Greetings launched another programming block named KEWLopolis. In April 2007, DIC Entertainment,
Nelvana, and
NBC Universal Global Networks announced the establishment of
KidsCo, an international children's entertainment network. That October, DIC filed a lawsuit against the Dam company, alleging fraud and negligent misrepresentation regarding Dam's
troll doll and DIC's
Trollz television series, which was created under a license from Dam. Dam counter-sued DIC, accusing the company of misrepresenting its financial status and harming the troll doll's image and reputation.
2008–2012: Cookie Jar Group merger and DHX Media In June 2008, DIC Entertainment and Canadian media company
Cookie Jar Group announced a merger valued at $87.6 million. President
Jeffrey Edell played a key role in finalizing the deal, which was completed on July 23 of the same year. Following the merger, DIC became a subsidiary of Cookie Jar, and the company was subsequently folded into Cookie Jar's operations. In August 2009, DIC Entertainment Corporation was rebranded as Cookie Jar Entertainment (USA) Inc. In 2012, Cookie Jar was acquired by
DHX Media. The DIC Kids Network was renamed Cookie Jar Kids Network in 2009 and ceased operations in 2011. Cookie Jar also produced the final season of
Sushi Pack, one of DIC's last shows, which aired until 2009.
KEWLopolis on CBS was renamed Cookie Jar TV in 2009 and closed down in 2013, replaced by
CBS Dream Team.
Cookie Jar Toons, a block on
This TV featuring shows from Cookie Jar and DIC, ran from 2008 to 2013. In 2014, Cookie Jar ceased operations. ==Programming blocks==