Predecessor Cinar Headquarters Toronto, Canada Acquisition date October 22, 2012 | Successor DHX Media Founded 1976 Type of business In-Name Unit of DHX Media | |
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Industry Television
Animation
Puppetry Key people Co-founder & CEO:
Michael Hirsh
Co-founder & President:
Lesley Taylor Products Cookie Jar TV
Cookie Jar Toons
Cookie Jar Kids Network
KidsCo Divisions Cookie Jar Entertainment
Cookie Jar Education
Cookie Jar Consumer Products
Horn Rims Productions Founders Micheline Charest, Michael Hirsh | ||
DHX Cookie Jar Inc. (doing business as Cookie Jar, and formerly known as Cinar) is a Canadian producer of children’s entertainment, consumer products and educational materials. Cookie Jar Group is one of the world’s largest independent children’s entertainment, consumer products and education companies with ownership and licensing rights to some of the most recognizable character brands. It is headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Burbank, California, Paris, London, and Tokyo among other places. In 2012, it merged with DHX Media and became DHX Cookie Jar Inc.
Contents
- Cinar
- Scandal
- Aftermath
- Cookie Jar
- As Cookie Jar Group
- Acquisition by DHX Media
- Television
- Cookie Jar TV
- Cookie Jar Toons
- Cookie Jar Kids Network
- Television programs
- References
In its previous incarnation as Cinar (pronounced Sen R and stylized as CiNAR), the company enjoyed an illustrious existence that ultimately ended in a scandal which, over a decade later, would result in criminal charges, convictions, and fines for co-founder Ronald Weinberg, and three other suspects. Cinar was an integrated entertainment and education company involved in the development, production, post-production and worldwide distribution of family entertainment programming and educational products.
Cinar
After their 1976 meeting in New Orleans, future spouses Micheline Charest and Ronald A. Weinberg organized an event for a women's film festival, and worked at distributing foreign films to US theatres. The couple moved to New York City and formed Cinar, a film and television distribution company.
In 1984, Cinar changed their focus from media distribution to production and moved operations to Montreal, where they concentrated on children's television programming (including Animal Crackers, Emily of New Moon, Mona the Vampire, and The Wombles), as well as the English and French dubs of the anime series Adventures of the Little Koala and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the Spain-originating TV series The World of David the Gnome, and the English dub of Ultra Seven. As a production company, Cinar was also involved in the work of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, Madeline, The Real Story of Happy Birthday to You, The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Space Cases, The Shoe People and its most famous work, Arthur, Zoboomafoo, Caillou and Plumo. The firm became a public company in September 1993. By 1999, Cinar boasted annual revenues of $150 million (CAD) and owned about $1.5 billion (CAD) of the children's television market. In 1993, Cinar bought the rights to all the shows owned and made by British animation company FilmFair, which was formerly Central TV's animation division since 1987, and closed it in 1998. In February 1999, Cinar acquired the film library of Leucadia Film Corporation.
Scandal
The success of Charest, Weinberg, and Cinar ended in March 2000, when an internal audit revealed that about $122 million (US) was invested into Bahamian bank accounts without the board members' approval. Cinar had also paid American screenwriters for work while continuing to accept Canadian federal grants for content. The names of Canadian citizens (generally non-writers connected to Cinar, including Charest's sister Helene) were credited for the work, allowing Cinar to benefit from Canadian tax credits. While the province of Quebec did not file criminal charges, Cinar denied any wrongdoing, choosing instead to pay a settlement to Canadian and Quebec tax authorities of $17.8 million (CAD) and another $2.6 million (CAD) to Telefilm Canada, a Canadian federal funding agency. The value of Cinar's stock plummeted, and the company was soon delisted.
There was some speculation that Hasanain Panju, CFO was the mastermind behind the investment scheme along with John Xanthoudakis of Norshield Investment Group and Lino Matteo of Mount Real Corporation. It was alleged that Charest and Weinberg (and later Panju) used Cinar as a 'piggy bank' and schemed to transfer funds out from the company through a series of complicated transactions to their own offshore holding companies.
In 2001, as part of a settlement agreement with the Commission des Valeurs Mobilières du Québec (Quebec Securities Commission) Charest and Weinberg agreed to pay $1 million each and were banned from serving in the capacity of directors or officers at any publicly traded Canadian company for five years. There was no admission of guilt and none of the allegations has been proven in court. Charest never lived to see a possible outcome, as she died on April 14, 2004.
In September 2008, William A. Urseth published an "insider's" book called Death Spiral. It detailed the CINAR scandal and how it tied into two other companies called Norshield and Mount Real.
Aftermath
After 14 years of legal wrangling, on August 26, 2009, the Superior Court of Quebec ruled that CINAR would have to pay author Claude Robinson $5.2 million in damages for plagiarizing Robinson's work for the Cinar-produced animated series Robinson Sucroe. Robinson had originally presented the work to Cinar in 1986, and the concept was turned down.
On January 17, 2014, former CFO Hasanain Panju pleaded guilty to undisclosed crimes. The judge noted these crimes were 'disgraceful' and placed a publication ban on details surrounding the trial. Panju was sentenced to four years in prison.
On May 12, 2014, co-founder Ronald Weinberg, John Xanthoudakis of Norshield Financial Group and Lino Matteo of Mount Real Corp. were charged with 26 counts of fraud in Montreal Superior Court. They were convicted on most of the counts on June 2, 2016, and in the trial Panju acted as a key Crown witness. On June 22, 2016, Weinberg was sentenced to 8 years and 11 months in prison, and the other two received sentences of 7 years and 11 months each.
The Cinar affair was described thus by The Globe and Mail:
Cookie Jar
In March 2004, Cinar was purchased for more than CA$190 million by a group led by Nelvana founder, Michael Hirsh and former Nelvana President, Toper Taylor.
On June 20, 2008, Cookie Jar Group announced a deal to merge with DIC Entertainment. On July 23, 2008, both studios completed their merger, and DIC was then folded into Cookie Jar's entertainment division. As part of Cookie Jar's merger with DIC, Cookie Jar acquired Copyright Promotions Licensing Group and a one-third interest in international children’s television channel, KidsCo. Cookie Jar now has more than 6,000 half-hours of programming as well as rights to several children's brands.
As Cookie Jar Group
On July 23, 2008, it was announced that Cookie Jar was in negotiation with American Greetings to buy the Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, and Sushi Pack franchises. The deal was not finalized yet in late 2008 and with the current scenario, the transaction did not progress. On March 30, 2009, Cookie Jar made a $76 million counter bid for Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake. Cookie Jar had until April 30, 2009 to complete a deal with American Greetings. In May 2009, American Greetings filed a $100 million lawsuit against Cookie Jar and Cookie Jar filed a $25 million lawsuit against American Greetings over the Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake deal.
On April 29, 2009, it was announced that Cookie Jar will develop prime time television series' and hired Tom Mazza to head its new primetime label, The Jar.
Acquisition by DHX Media
On August 20, 2012, DHX Media announced that they would acquire Cookie Jar Group for $111 million, a deal in which the merged company (DHX Media) would become the world's largest independent owner of children's television programming. The acquisition was completed in October 22, 2012.
Television
All television operations have ceased operation.
Cookie Jar TV
On February 24, 2009, it was announced that CBS renewed its contract with Cookie Jar for another three seasons, through 2012. On September 19, 2009, KEWLopolis was re-branded as Cookie Jar TV.
Cookie Jar Toons
On November 1, 2008, This TV launched airing Cookie Jar's daily children's programming block Cookie Jar Toons which provided children's and E/I-oriented programming.
Cookie Jar Kids Network
Cookie Jar Kids Network (formerly DiC Kids Network) was a children's programming block that aired selected Cookie Jar programs on local FOX, MyNetworkTV, and independent stations to provide them with a source of Educational/Informational (E/I) programming required by American broadcast standards. Syndicated by Ascent Media, it ceased broadcasting on September 17, 2011.