NCircle Entertainment
Encyclopedia
NCircle Entertainment is an entertainment content distributor that specializes in children's programming.
NCircle Entertainment is a division of Alliance Entertainment Corporation (AEC), which is the largest single source of home entertainment.
AEC and NCircle are owned by a consortium of two Los Angeles based private equity firms, The Gores Group
and Platinum Equity
. They were previously owned by Source Interlink
. Source Interlink Companies (SORC)is a leading marketing, merchandising and fulfillment company of entertainment products including DVDs, music CDs, magazines, books and related items. With an annual run rate revenue in excess of $3 billion, Source Interlink serves about 110,000 retail store locations throughout North America. Supply chain relationships include movie studios, record labels, magazine and newspaper publishers, confectionary companies and manufacturers of general merchandise.
NCircle was founded in 2006. The company is based in Dallas, Texas
, and led by industry veteran Debbie Ries. Ms. Ries was instrumental in the launch and success of Barney the Dinosaur from the 1980s until 2006, and was a senior executive and board member at HIT Entertainment
until 2006. She was also instrumental in the success of many popular children's brands including Barney, The Wiggles, Bob the Builder, Veggie Tales and more.
NCircle Entertainment has acquired content from several studios. Content includes The Wiggles
, a children's group from Sydney
, Australia
, Other notable content includes WordWorld
, a new pre-literacy series for preschoolers which airs daily on the national PBS feed. Horseland
, which airs on CBS Saturday mornings, a new PBS show, Sid the Science Kid
by the Jim Henson Company, Hopla
, a hugely successful show for preschoolers in Europe (studio: Bert Smets Productions), Pocoyo
(Studio: Granada Ventures), Hermie and Friends
(Studio: Tommy Nelson
), DIC Entertainment
catalog titles (Super Mario Bros, Sonic Underground, The Legend of Zelda, and more), Mighty Machines
(Studio: Seville Pictures), Will & Dewitt and Magi-Nation by Cookie Jar Entertainment
, Chloe's Closet
, Dive Olly Dive by Taffy Entertainment and several others.
NCircle Entertainment is a division of Alliance Entertainment Corporation (AEC), which is the largest single source of home entertainment.
AEC and NCircle are owned by a consortium of two Los Angeles based private equity firms, The Gores Group
The Gores Group
The Gores Group, founded by Alec E. Gores, is a private equity firm focused on acquiring controlling interests in mature and growing businesses....
and Platinum Equity
Platinum Equity
Platinum Equity, LLC is a private equity investment firm founded by Tom Gores in 1995. The firm focuses on leveraged buyout investments of established companies in the U.S. and Europe....
. They were previously owned by Source Interlink
Source Interlink
Source Interlink is an American magazine publishing and logistics company. It has a strong position in the automotive magazine sector, owning a variety of magazines including Motor Trend and Automobile.- Current US publications and digital assets :...
. Source Interlink Companies (SORC)is a leading marketing, merchandising and fulfillment company of entertainment products including DVDs, music CDs, magazines, books and related items. With an annual run rate revenue in excess of $3 billion, Source Interlink serves about 110,000 retail store locations throughout North America. Supply chain relationships include movie studios, record labels, magazine and newspaper publishers, confectionary companies and manufacturers of general merchandise.
NCircle was founded in 2006. The company is based in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, and led by industry veteran Debbie Ries. Ms. Ries was instrumental in the launch and success of Barney the Dinosaur from the 1980s until 2006, and was a senior executive and board member at HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment
Hit Entertainment is a British-American entertainment distribution company established in 1989, and originally the international distribution arm of Jim Henson Productions called Henson International Television...
until 2006. She was also instrumental in the success of many popular children's brands including Barney, The Wiggles, Bob the Builder, Veggie Tales and more.
NCircle Entertainment has acquired content from several studios. Content includes The Wiggles
The Wiggles
The Wiggles are a children's group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1991. Their original members were Anthony Field, Phillip Wilcher, Murray Cook, Greg Page, and Jeff Fatt. Wilcher left the group after their first album...
, a children's group from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Other notable content includes WordWorld
WordWorld
WordWorld is a three-time Emmy Award-winning children's television series partially funded by the United States Department of Education as part of the Ready To Learn literacy initiative targeted to 3- to 7-year olds. The show airs in 10 languages and 90 countries, including in the United States....
, a new pre-literacy series for preschoolers which airs daily on the national PBS feed. Horseland
Horseland
Horseland is an online community that simulates the breeding and raising of horses and dogs. Begun in 1994 in the United States, Horseland has now grown to have more than 7 million users who play from all over the world. Most of the players are girls from age 10 to 22, although a number of adults...
, which airs on CBS Saturday mornings, a new PBS show, Sid the Science Kid
Sid the Science Kid
Sid the Science Kid is a half-hour PBS Kids series that debuted on September 1, 2008. The computer generated show is produced by Jim Henson Productions and then-PBS member KCET in Los Angeles, California using the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio...
by the Jim Henson Company, Hopla
Hopla
Hopla is a Flemish 3D animation cartoon for toddlers, created by Bert Smets in 1999, and produced by Bert Smets Productions. The cartoon features the rabbit Hopla and his friends – the pig Onki, the bear Nina, and the kitten Lola....
, a hugely successful show for preschoolers in Europe (studio: Bert Smets Productions), Pocoyo
Pocoyo
Pocoyo is a Spanish pre-school animated television series created by Guillermo García Carsí, Luis Gallego and David Cantolla, and is a co-production between Spanish producer Zinkia Entertainment, Cosgrove-Hall Films and Granada International. Two series have been produced, each consisting of 52...
(Studio: Granada Ventures), Hermie and Friends
Hermie and Friends
Hermie and Friends is a Christian video series for children. The show is 3-D animated and stars two caterpillars named Hermie and Wormie.The show started with a 40-minute Max Lucado video special called "Hermie: A Common Caterpillar" based on his book with the same name. The show was turned into a...
(Studio: Tommy Nelson
Thomas Nelson (publisher)
Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in Scotland in 1798 as the namesake of its founder. Its former US division is currently the sixth largest American trade publisher and the world's largest Christian publisher. It is owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company...
), DIC Entertainment
DiC Entertainment
DIC Entertainment was an international film and television production company. In addition to animated television shows such as Ulysses 31 , Inspector Gadget , The Littles , The Real Ghostbusters , Captain Planet and the Planeteers , and the first two seasons of the English adaptation of...
catalog titles (Super Mario Bros, Sonic Underground, The Legend of Zelda, and more), Mighty Machines
Mighty Machines
Mighty Machines is a Canadian children's television show about machines and how they work. It is currently airing on TVO, Treehouse TV and other channels in Canada, including Access in Alberta, the Saskatchewan Communications Network, and Knowledge in British Columbia. It also aired on Discovery...
(Studio: Seville Pictures), Will & Dewitt and Magi-Nation by Cookie Jar Entertainment
Cookie Jar Entertainment
The Cookie Jar Group is an American and Canadian producer of children’s entertainment, consumer products and educational materials...
, Chloe's Closet
Chloe's Closet
Chloe's Closet is an American animated children's series created by MoonScoop that airs on PBS Kids Sprout since July 12, 2010.-Plot:The adventures of an adorable, lovable, four-year-old girl and her friends and toys go on magical adventures in her closet at her room...
, Dive Olly Dive by Taffy Entertainment and several others.