On the heels of the recent announcement of the partnership between CBS and DIC Ent. to launch CBSs Secret Saturday Morning Slumber Party, DIC has appointed Kaaren Lee Brown svp of creative affairs. Brown will oversee all aspects of programming for the new branded Saturday morning kids programming block.
CBSs Secret Saturday Morning Slumber Party, scheduled to launch in fall 2006, will feature three hours of FCC-compliant childrens programming. It will serve as a platform to introduce new kids programs created by DIC and feature series from DICs extensive library of animated product, such as the two Emmy Award-winning series, MADELINE and WHERE ON EARTH IS CARMEN SANDIEGO; as well as SABRINA: THE ANIMATED SERIES, LIBERTYS KIDS, SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE 22ND CENTURY and THE LITTLES.
Kaaren has extensive experience in the childrens media industry with a multi-disciplinary background, and we are thrilled to have her onboard to helm our new kids programming venture, said Andy Heyward, DIC chairman/ceo. Her programming skills combined with her keen creative and production capabilities make her the ideal executive to implement our vision for CBSs Secret Saturday Morning Slumber Party'.
She will work closely with the DIC Educational Advisory Board a group comprised of leading media experts, educators and pediatricians created to provide information, guidance, advice and general expertise to DIC in the development of multimedia programs and projects for children.
Brown has worked for more than 15 years in childrens entertainment in creative, marketing, development, production and consumer products. For the past five years, she has served as a consultant for developing creative content and marketing strategies, creating sales materials, managing customer relations and negotiating contracts for clients, including DIC, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Classic Media, American Greetings, THQ and Platinum Studios.
Brown has produced numerous animated television series, including LIBERTYS KIDS, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE, MARY-KATE AND ASHLEY IN ACTION! and SUPER DUPER SUMOS. She has also served as a writer for MARY-KATE AND ASHLEY IN ACTION!, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE and ACTION MAN. Brown co-created the animated series ROSWELL CONSPIRACIES: MONSTERS, MYTHS AND LEGENDS and co-developed STARGATE INFINITY.
Previously, she was vp of licensing for Tyco Industries, where she structured key deal points and successfully negotiated worldwide master toy rights to entertainment properties, including Looney Toons, Casper and Battletech.
Brown also served for a time at Hanna-Barbera as the primary acquisitions exec responsible for identifying and evaluating the creative and financial aspects of properties.
She began her career at Mattel Toys as director of entertainment & licensing and was responsible for spearheading entertainment licensing acquisitions efforts, establishing studio relationships and identifying and negotiating merchandising rights to properties, including THE SIMPSONS.
DIC Ent. (www.dicentertainment.com), a leading children's entertainment company, is a full-service studio dedicated to creating, developing, producing, distributing, marketing and merchandising family-based intellectual properties. DIC has built one of the largest libraries of western-style animation with more than 2,800 half-hours of programming. As a pre-eminent supplier of kid's programming worldwide, DIC has developed strategic partnerships with key domestic and international broadcast partners throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Australia. DIC is headquartered in Burbank, California, with international offices in Paris, London and Cologne.
CBS Television is comprised of the CBS Television Network with more than 200 owned and affiliated stations reaching virtually every television home in the U.S.; the network's programming arms CBS Ent., CBS News and CBS Sports. CBS also manages UPN, which broadcasts primetime programming on five nights with an average of 90% total coverage throughout the country.
