Category: Business

Film Roman Inc. and The Harvey Entertainment Company announced an agreement whereby The Harvey Entertainment Company will serve as Film Roman's international sales representative. As part of the deal, Harvey will handle sales and distribution of the Film Roman library beginning at MIP and will manage all servicing and collections for Film Roman. Jon Vein, Executive Vice President of Film Roman said, "Our companies both share the belief that independents need to combine their sales and distribution efforts in order to successfully compete internationally.

On Wednesday, March 29, 2000, Disney lobbyists helped deliver Gemstar's FCC complaint against the America On-Line and Time Warner merger to members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Gemstar has agreements with TV stations in every market in the U.S., which allows the company to engrave program information into broadcast signals. VCRs equipped with Gemstar's VCR-Plus technology can then decode the signal, making it easier for users to record TV programming.

With the AOL merger coming near, Warner Bros.' Entertaindom.com employees are threatening walkouts and blackouts of the site. Reuters reported that staffers are angry with parent company Time Warner's lack of interest in Entertaindom as the America On-line deal is coming to a close. Hopes of Internet-made millionaires at the fledgling entertainment site were dashed when Time Warner called off the planned spin-off of Entertaindom as a public stock. In addition, the amount of previously agreed-upon Time Warner stock that Entertaindom employees will receive continues to drop.

On March 21, 2000, Macromedia, Inc. announced the formation of a venture unit to invest in companies that share Macromedia's vision of Web infrastructure and the interactive, multi-device, broadband Internet of the future. The unit's first investments include Spiderdance, Context Media and iHarvest Corporation. Spiderdance, with branches in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Jersey, develops a software system that synchs the Web with TV broadcasts.

After allegations of fraud, misallocated funds, shareholder lawsuits, executive shuffling, plummeting stock prices and subsidy suspension, CINAR Corp. said Monday, March 20, 2000 that it had filed a law suit against several companies believed to be connected with the US$122 million in unauthorized investments.

In a meeting with key advertisers, Cartoon Network executives unveiled their business plan for the 2000-2001 television season, including upcoming original series, program acquisitions, which includes the exclusive Looney Toons rights, and comprehensive on-line initiatives. Cartoon Network will produce four original half-hour animated series through 2001, including SHEEP IN THE BIG CITY. This, their ninth original show, will premiere with 13 half-hour episodes in fall 2000.

3Dlabs, Inc., a professional graphics firm, has expanded its presence in

Europe with a new office near Frankfurt, Germany. 3Dlabs plans to use the

new branch as a base for expanding its market coverage in Central Europe,

one of the largest markets for its workstation graphics products. In turn,

3Dlabs announced the appointment of Frank Losch as country manager. Mr.

Losch brings many years of marketing and sales expertise to the new

position. "The ability to increase market penetration of Oxygen workstation

On Tuesday, February 22, 2000, Disney chairman-CEO Michael Eisner made the

announcement: "With Go.com, I believe we are now the sleeping giant of the

Internet. Once streaming video is commonplace," he added, "Disney is ready

with a vast library and the ability to create new content." Added Go.com

chairman Steve Bornstein: "I see a time, in the next few years, or even

sooner, where nobody will talk about television or the Internet separately.

They will become one synergistic, fused media." In scheduled business,

Electronic Arts, one of the world's largest interactive entertainment

software companies, announced the acquisition of multimedia developer

DreamWorks Interactive, LLC. In terms of the deal, DreamWorks Interactive

will become a complete subsidiary of Electronic Arts. Financial terms were

not disclosed. Formed in March 1995 as a joint venture between Microsoft

and DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks Interactive has produced such PlayStation

titles as LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK and MEDAL OF HONOR. Steven Spielberg,

Jeff Lotman, CEO of Vivid Animation and Virtual Celebrity Productions,

announced that the company has closed operations. "Vivid, which had just

completed its first commercial project, for MasterCard, will no longer

accept commercial projects," said Lotman who has decided to focus all of

his energies and resources on his two-year-old licensing and merchandising

company Global Icons. "Global Icons is growing faster than I had hoped and

the potential is so great that it demands all of my attention at this

Rumored since last fall, Walt Disney Animation Canada Inc. announced

Monday, February 14, 2000 it will close the doors of its animation studios

in Canada by the spring. Opened in 1996, the Toronto and Vancouver branches

of Walt Disney were created to produce primarily direct-to-home video films

in connection with Walt Disney Television Animation. The company slowly

started winding down production last fall and will completely close around

Mondo Media, a leading creator and distributor of serial-based animated

content, announced Monday, February 14, 2000 that it has secured $20

million in its second round of financing. The newest round was led by

Macromedia and Foundation Capital. Additional funding partners in the round

included Sofinnova Ventures, Red Rock Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank and

Phoenix Growth Capital. Mondo Media also added new syndication partners

that include Excite@Home, AltaVista, AtomFilms and washingtonpost.com.