eOne Makes Equity Investment in Canvas Media Studios
Entertainment One (eOne) announced Thursday that it has made an equity investment in Canvas Media Studios, the digital-first media company founded by Emmy-Award winning creator Bernie Su and media executive David Tochterman.
Through this investment, Canvas will expand its distribution, production and financing of scripted content for digital and traditional media, as well as emerging VOD and OTT platforms.
Canvas Media Studios will work closely with eOne Television on a first-look basis for production and distribution to bring its content to worldwide audiences across all media. eOne joins Allen DeBevoise’s Third Wave Digital and MNM Creative as investors in Canvas Media.
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“I’m delighted to announce our partnership with Bernie, David and the Canvas Media Studios team,” said John Morayniss, CEO of eOne Television. “As we think about the future of storytelling, we are pleased to be in business with innovators that bring new models to the table and complement our business. Together, we are well-positioned to find opportunities in rapidly developing media and platforms.”
As a follow-up to its Emmy nominated Stylehaul series “Vanity,” Canvas Media Studios is currently developing “Socio,” its first television series, for MTV; a new comedy project under its exclusive development deal with Jennette McCurdy; and a slate based on New Leaf Literary’s young adult novels. An experimental 360-degree scripted comedy series “The Mobile Oval,” which CMS produced with The Young Turks, marked the launch of its Canvas Labs incubator.
“In addition to providing resources to fulfill our vision for developing and producing multi-platform premium scripted content, eOne’s strategic investment in Canvas Media Studios will enable us to pursue a range of distribution and co-financing opportunities, including identifying third party content,” Tochterman said.
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Before co-founding Canvas Media Studios, Tochterman was a digital strategy consultant for PBS, ABC and Starz and prior to that he launched the digital media division of Innovative Artists, led the TV division of Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment and was a senior vice president at the Carsey-Werner Co.
Su added, “eOne is a progressive global company that continuously identifies and produces great stories. We’re incredibly honored that a company with this track record is putting such faith into Canvas Media Studios. I’m excited to see what we’ll be able to do together.”
Su, who also co-founded Pemberley Digital, is a two-time Primetime Emmy Award winner and four-time Streamy Award winner. His projects include “Frankenstein MD” for PBS and digital series “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” and “Emma Approved.”
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