DIC Entertainment has acquired the worldwide television distribution, merchandising and licensing rights for the Japanese animated classic SPEED RACER. DIC acquired the license from Speed Racer Enterprises and Tetsunoko. John Rocknowski and his son, Jim, are the proprietors of Speed Racer Enterprises, who acquired worldwide rights to the property in 1991. The package consists of the original 52 half-hour episodes and 34 new episodes, none of which have been shown in the U.S. with English dubbing until now. DIC has licensed 13 of the new episodes to air during Nickelodeon's Sunday afternoon "Slam" block, which premiered August 25, 2002. Beginning in October 2002, Sunday afternoons on Nick will also feature original feature-length animated movies from DIC's extensive library of properties, which include INSPECTOR GADGET, SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH, MADELINE and DENNIS THE MENACE.