| Boat Rocker Media Inc. | |
| Type: | Public company |
| Industry: | Media entertainment |
| Founded: | (Brand only) (Trading company) |
| Hq Location: | 310 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 1K6 |
| Hq Location Country: | Canada |
| Owner: | Fairfax Financial (51%) |
| Key People: | John Young (CEO) |
Boat Rocker Media Inc. is a Canadian entertainment company based in Toronto, Ontario. The company owns Boat Rocker Studios, which incorporates Temple Street Productions. Its majority shareholder is Fairfax Financial. Boat Rocker is led by co-executive chairs David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg and CEO John Young.[1]
Boat Rocker produces and distributes a wide range of scripted and unscripted television shows, animation and family content, such as Invasion,[2] [3] American Rust, ,[4] Orphan Black, and Dino Ranch.
Boat Rocker owns other entertainment properties, including Jam Filled Entertainment, Insight Productions, Matador Content,[5] and Platform One Media,[6] and does talent management[7] and venture investing.[8]
Boat Rocker Media had their beginnings in June 2013 when Temple Street Productions announced that they had launched digital studio Boat Rocker Studios as a digital division of Temple Street Media Ventures to focus on original digital content.
Four years later in February 2016, following Fairfax Financial acquisition of a majority stake in film and television production company Temple Street Productions along with their Boat Rocker Studios brand Temple Street Productions and their owners Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier announced that they're expanding their operations and their restructured business were being consolidated and reorganized under their company Temple Street Productions along with their new rights, ventures, animation and brand businesses under one group which was rebranded as Boat Rocker Media with Scheeberg and Fortier becoming CEO of the new group. Their production company Temple Street Productions which they acquired ten years ago were now being operated alongside Boat Rocker Digital under Boat Rocker Media's new largest division named Boat Rocker Studios along with Boat Rocker Digital. Temple Street's distribution arm Temple Street Distribution was rebranded and renamed as Boat Rocker Rights along with launching an in-house animation studio named Boat Rocker Animation.[9] [10] [11]
Boat Rocker Rights' first outside distribution deal was with the pick-up of international rights to Steve Rotfeld Productions' Xploration Station block's programs in late February 2016.[12] Then in June 2016, the unit acquired Mountain Road Productions library distribution rights plus a first look deal with the company.[13]
In March 2016, Boat Rocker Media announced that they bought Canuck-based television production company and animation outfit Radical Sheep Productions to expand their kids and family operations with Radical Sheep becoming Boat Rocker Media's original kids and family media content arm with Temple Street's kids productions such as The Next Step being moved to their acquired company while Radical Sheep continued operating as Boat Rocker's family and children's media unit.[14] [15]
In early August 2016, Boat Rocker Media announced that they added another animation studio by purchasing Ottawa-based animation studio Jam Filled Entertainment, which was to continue operating with current management and name alongside their founders with Boat Rocker Media expanding further their kids and family operations and their acquired company Jam Filled Entertainment joining Boat Rocker's acquired company Radical Sheep and their in-house animation studio Boat Rocker Animation.[16] [17] One week later in that same month, Boat Rocker Media announced that their distribution division Boat Rocker Rights had acquired Peace Point Entertainment Group's distribution sales arm Peace Point Rights along with their factual and lifestyle programming catalog.[18] [19] [20]
Boat Rocker through Jam Filled purchased Arc Productions' main assets on August 22, 2016, and reopened Arc's Toronto office.[21]
In April 2017, Boat Rocker Media announced that they teamed up with New York-based American mobile-centric kids media company MarcoPolo Learning to form a global partnership and announced original animated television and digital series with Boat Rocker's division Boat Rocker Ventures leading the partnership.[22]
In May 2017, Boat Rocker Media announced that they restructured their unscripted assets and unveiled that they're bringing them together as a new factual division dedicated to the company's factual and unscripted projects named Crooked Horse Productions and will sit within the Boat Rocker Studios division.[23]
In September 2017, Boat Rocker Media announced that they had brought Toronto-based television production and distribution company Proper Television along with their distribution division Proper Rights five months after the passing of the founder and president of Proper Television Guy O'Sullivan back in April of that same year, thus extending Boat Rocker Media's unscripted operations and their production and distribution business with Proper Television continuing to operate as an independent unscripted production label under Boat Rocker's division Boat Rocker Studios with Proper Television's Lesia Capone and Cathie James becoming co-presidents of the acquired company. Proper's international distribution arm Proper Rights was being consolidated and folded into Boat Rocker's existing global distribution division Boat Rocker Rights marking the expansion of Boat Rocker's distribution library.[24] [25] [26]
In January 2018, to expand Boat Rocker Media's premium kids and family entertainment catalogue, Boat Rocker Media announced that they've acquired British-based global production company FremantleMedia's Kids & Family Entertainment division which includes the children's programming library of Thames Television and had it interrogated into Boat Rocker Media's global distribution division Boat Rocker Rights in order for FremantleMedia to focus on their scripted and unscripted operations. The acquisition also marked the first time Boat Rocker had entered the international market.[27] [28] [29]
In May 2018, Boat Rocker Media announced that they acquired a majority stake in Toronto-based Canadian unscripted television production company Insight Productions with the company continuing to operate as an independent business unit along with their chairman and CEO John Brunton. [30] Six years later in August 2024, Boat Rocker Media announced that they've taken full ownership of unscripted production company Insight Productions by acquiring the remaining 30% stake that they didn't own.[31]
In November 2018, Boat Rocker Media announced that they acquired New York and LA-based American unscripted production company Matador Content the producer of the Paramount Network series Lip Sync Battle and its spinoff Lip Sync Battle Shorties on sister network Nickelodeon, marking Boat Rocker Media's first American acquisition along with their expansion into the American television market.[32]
In March 2019, Boat Rocker invested in Untitled Entertainment, a talent management and production company. It has also made investments in Realm Media,[33] the Toronto Arrows,[34] CAA Creative Labs,[35]
In September 2019, Boat Rocker acquired Platform One Media, a Los Angeles-based television production and sales company operated by television producer Katie O'Connell Marsh, whose credits include Hannibal and Narcos. Marsh stayed on after the acquisition.[36]
In December 2020, Temple Street was incorporated into Boat Rocker Studios, Scripted.[37]
Boat Rocker signed first-look deals with Lena Headey's Peephole Productions[38] and Dakota Johnson's TeaTime Pictures.[39] In March 2021, it partnered with television executive Jessica Sebastian-Dayeh to create Maven, which focuses on female-led stories.[40] [41]
Most recently, on December 20, 2021, Boat Rocker had bought out a minority stake in the TeaTime Pictures production company.[42]
| Run | Title | Co-production with | Client | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–2019 | Danger Mouse | Boulder Media, CBBC Production, Windmill Lane Studios | CBBC | Production services in 2018 Distribution services from 2018 to 2019 | ||
| 2016–2017 | Fangbone! | Radical Sheep Productions, DHX Media | Family Chrgd | |||
| The Bagel and Becky Show | Radical Sheep Productions, Jam Filled Entertainment | Teletoon+ | ||||
| 2016–2019 | Dot. | Industrial Brothers, The Jim Henson Company | CBC Kids | |||
| 2016–present | The Loud House | Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Jam Filled Entertainment | Nickelodeon | Animation services | ||
| 2017–2019 | Ollie! The Boy Who Became What He Ate | Radical Sheep Productions | CBC Kids | |||
| 2017–2020 | Top Wing | Industrial Brothers, 9 Story Media Group | Treehouse TV | |||
| 2018–2020 | Bitz & Bob | BBC Children's Productions, Boat Rocker Rights | CBeebies | |||
| 2019–2020 | Kingdom Force | Industrial Brothers, Boat Rocker Studios | CBC Kids | |||
| 2020–present | Love Monster | BBC Children's Productions, Boat Rocker Studios | CBeebies | |||
| 2020 | Remy & Boo | Industrial Brothers, Boat Rocker Studios | Universal Kids | |||
| 2021–present | Dino Ranch | Industrial Brothers, Boat Rocker Studios | Disney Junior | [48] | ||
| 2021 | A Tale Dark & Grimm | Netflix Animation, Novo Media Group, Astro-Nomical Entertainment | Netflix | Animation services by Jam Filled Entertainment | [49] | |
| 2022–2023 | Daniel Spellbound | Industrial Brothers, Boat Rocker Studios | Netflix | Merchandise distribution services | [50] |
| Run | Title | Co-production with | Client | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–present | Top Chef Canada | Insight Productions | Food Network Canada | |||
| 2013–present | The Amazing Race Canada | Insight Productions, Bell Media | CTV | |||
| 2013–present | Big Brother Canada | Insight Productions | Global | |||
| 2013–2023 | The Next Step | Family Channel | ||||
| 2014–present | MasterChef Canada | Proper Television | CTV | |||
| 2015–present | Lip Sync Battle | Matador Content, Eight Million Plus, Sunday Night, Four Eyes Entertainment, Casey Patterson Entertainment | Paramount Network | [51] | ||
| 2015–2019 | Killjoys | Temple Street Productions, Mendacity Pictures, Universal Cable Productions | CTV Sci-Fi Channel | |||
| 2017 | Boy Band | Matador Content | ABC | |||
| 2017–present | The Great Canadian Baking Show | Proper Television | CBC | |||
| 2017 | What Would Diplo Do? | Matador Content | Viceland | |||
| 2019 | Cavendish | Temple Street Productions, Holdfast Pictures, Bridge Burner Entertainment, Somebody Stop Productions | CBC | |||
| 2019–2020 | Mary's Kitchen Crush | Proper Television | CTV | |||
| 2020 | The Impossible Row | Matador Content | Discovery Channel | Documentary | ||
| 2020–2023 | Dear... | Matador Content | Apple TV+ | |||
| 2020–present | Junior Chef Showdown | Proper Television | Food Network Canada | [52] | ||
| 2021 | Matador Content | Apple TV+ | ||||
| 2021–2024 | American Rust | Showtime/Amazon Prime Video | [53] [54] | |||
| 2021–present | Go-Big Show | Matador Content | TBS | |||
| 2021–present | Invasion | Kinberg Genre, Apple Studios (season 2) | Apple TV+ | |||
| 2021 | The Kids Tonight Show | Broadway Video, Electric Hot Dog, Matador Content | Peacock | [55] | ||
| 2022 | LOL: Last One Laughing Canada | Insight Productions | Amazon Prime Video | [56] | ||
| 2023 | Beacon 23 | Peephole Productions, Platform One Media, Spectrum Originals, Studio 8 Television | MGM+ | [57] | ||
| 2024 | You Say Potato, AMC Studios | AMC |
| Title | Co-production with | Client | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mating Season | Matador Content | Discovery Channel | [58] | ||
| Who Wants to Be an Astronaut? | Matador Content | Discovery Channel | [59] [60] | ||
| Scary Stories for Young Foxes | Peephole Productions | [61] | |||
| Bad Kitty | [62] |