Genius Manufacturers Worldwide, Inc. introduced a reputation change to Kartoon Studios and plans to switch its itemizing from the Nasdaq Capital Market (Nasdaq) to the NYSE American trade (NYSE American). Below its new identify, the corporate expects to start out buying and selling on the NYSE American trade when markets open on Monday, June 26, 2023. That day the corporate’s widespread inventory will start buying and selling below a brand new buying and selling image, “TOON,” and a brand new CUSIP quantity, 37229T 509. It would proceed to commerce on Nasdaq below its present buying and selling image, “GNUS” till the shut of market on Friday, June 23, 2023.
An animated Stan Lee will ring the opening bell of the NYSE on June 26, a sign of the corporate’s plans to broaden on its Stan Lee IP below its new moniker. The occasion will stream reside on Kartoon Channel!
The corporate controls the post-Marvel IP of Stan Lee, which was initially dropped at market with a 20-year license to Marvel and the Walt Disney Firm, and model initiative commemorating Stan’s one centesimal anniversary at San Diego Comedian-Con in July 2023.
“The identify change from Genius Manufacturers to Kartoon Studios was conceived to mirror the core DNA of the corporate, making top quality and socially accountable animated cartoons for youngsters, distributing them worldwide, and licensing shopper merchandise based mostly on the character pictures,” commented Genius Manufacturers Chairman & CEO Andy Heyward. “Along with the renaming of the corporate, we’re transitioning our inventory itemizing to the NYSE American trade, which we consider is extra aligned with our technique to change into a number one supplier of kids’s leisure. NYSE is residence to main multimedia powerhouses like Disney, SONY, Roblox, AMC, and others. We’re heading into our subsequent section of development, so the timing is good for us as an organization and our shareholders to make the transfer. I encourage buyers to hitch ‘Stan Lee,’ together with administration and the board, as he rings the NYSE opening bell on June 26, 2023, to have fun this momentous event.”
Heyward defined that the “defining focus of our new ‘Kartoon’ and animation rebranding displays the current vertical integration of the enterprise following a number of acquisitions over the previous yr, together with WOW! Limitless Media in Canada and its subsidiaries Frederator Studios, Frederator Community and Mainframe Leisure; Ameba TV; Beacon Media; in addition to taking a significant stake in Germany’s Your Household Leisure, the biggest kids’s animation catalog in Europe.”
“We now have capabilities to do the whole lot in-house, from content material creation to manufacturing, distribution, and world merchandising,” he added. “Together with its identify modifications, the corporate can also be increasing its content material throughout wider demographics, starting from toddlers to younger adults, together with its lately launched sequence, Shaq’s Storage, which premiered on Pluto TV. It stars and is co-produced by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.”
By way of the corporate’s Frederator Studios subsidiary, it goals to develop content material for a broader viewers. Heyward famous, “We now have an unique cope with BuzzFeed Animation Lab to develop choose properties into full sequence based mostly on hit YouTube shorts, together with Chikn’ Nuggit. Frederator additionally signed a cope with Jimmy Kimmel’s Wheelhouse DNA and YouTuber Adam Waheed ‘Adam W’ for an animated sequence. Concurrently, the corporate’s sequence, Bee and PuppyCat, co-produced with TOHO of Japan, has been a breakout hit that led to a Netflix sequence and merchandise program with Sizzling Subject.”
“Whereas different firms within the leisure trade are struggling and declining within the present financial market and trade challenges, Kartoon Studios continues to quickly develop, finest illustrated by an almost eight-fold enhance in income for 2022,” famous Heyward. “A number of new productions are in numerous phases of improvement,” mentioned Heyward. “The corporate is in improvement on Blue Origin Area Rangers, in partnership with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Michael Strahan’s SMAC productions. And eventually, we’re in improvement on Wolfgang Puck’s Chef Academy, in collaboration with the world’s pioneering celeb chef, Wolfgang Puck.”
“The Kartoon Channel! distribution platform, below the management of Walt Disney veterans Todd Steinman domestically and Paul Robinson internationally, continues to develop worldwide,” he continued. “Within the U.S., the platform has 100% tv family market penetration throughout a broad vary of distribution platforms, together with Comcast, Cox, DISH, Sling TV, Amazon Prime, Amazon Hearth, Apple TV, Apple iOS, Android TV, Android Mobil, Google Play, Xumo, Roku, Tubi, YouTube, KartoonChannel.com, Samsung Sensible TVs and LG TVs, in addition to on a number of airline leisure programs.”
Heyward concluded, “Internationally, Kartoon Channel! is at the moment out there in key territories all over the world, together with the lately introduced Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa (StarTimes), Australia and New Zealand (Samsung TV Plus), Germany (Waipu), Philippines (Tapp Digital). Kartoon Channel! branded blocks are additionally at the moment out there day by day in 69 nations throughout the Center East, Africa, and Latin America, and Europe.”
Supply: Genius Manufacturers
Debbie Diamond Sarto is information editor at Animation World Community.
