4Kids Entertainment

"4Kids" redirects here. For the programming block, see 4Kids TV.

4Kids Entertainment, Inc.
FormerlyLeisure Concepts
(1970–1995)
4Kids Entertainment
(1995–2012)
4Licensing Corporation (2012–2017)
Company typePublic
NYSE: KDE
OTCBB: KIDE
OTCQB: FOUR
IndustryLicensing
FoundedApril 28, 1970; 54 years ago (1970-04-28) (as Leisure Concepts, Inc.)
FoundersMike Germakian
Stan Weston
DefunctFebruary 7, 2017; 7 years ago (2017-02-07)
FateBankruptcy and Liquidation
SuccessorKonami Cross Media NY
Headquarters
New York, New York
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsFox Box/4Kids TV
The CW4Kids/Toonzai
Number of employees
16 (2013)
Subsidiaries4Kids Entertainment International Limited
4Kids Entertainment Licensing, Inc.
4Kids Entertainment Home Video, Inc.
4Kids Productions, Inc.
4Kids Ad Sales, Inc.
The Summit Media Group, Inc.
4Kids Technology, Inc.
Websites 4 Kids, Inc.
4Kids Entertainment Music, Inc.
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and later known as 4Licensing Corporation; stylized as 4K!DS ENTERTAINMENT) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English-dubbed Japanese anime through its subsidiary 4Kids Productions between 1992 and 2012; it specialized in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States. The first anime that 4Kids Productions dubbed was the first eight seasons of Pokémon that originally began airing in first run syndication, and then it later moved to exclusively air on Kids' WB! in the United States. The company is most well-known for its range of television licenses, which has included the multibillion-dollar Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Japanese anime franchises. They also ran two program blocks: Toonzai (originally The CW4Kids) on The CW, and 4Kids TV (originally FoxBox) on Fox, both aimed at children.[3] The 4KidsTV block ended on December 27, 2008, while its Toonzai block ended on August 18, 2012, which was replaced by Saban's Vortexx, which in itself was succeeded by the One Magnificent Morning block by Litton Entertainment (now known as Hearst Media Production Group) in 2014.

4Licensing Corporation had its world headquarters on Third Avenue in New York City, its former subsidiary, 4Kids Productions, had its headquarters in a separate building in Manhattan. The New York Stock Exchange delisted 4Kids (NYSE: KDE) on June 1, 2010. On April 6, 2011, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following a lawsuit concerning the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. On December 13, 2012, the company announced that it had emerged from bankruptcy.[4] On September 21, 2016, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection once again and shut down operations one year later.[5] 4Kids' former CEO, Alfred R. Kahn, founded a successor company called Kidtagious Entertainment in 2019.[6]

  1. ^ "4Licensing Corporation Annual Report 2012". SEC. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "FORM 10-K". SEC. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "4Kids! Ad Sales". 4Kids Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 6, 2006. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  4. ^ Uhlman, Lisa (December 13, 2012). "4Kids Plan Confirmed Over License Partner's Objection". Law360. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  5. ^ "4Licensing Corporation Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy". Business Wire. September 22, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  6. ^ Whyte, Alexandra (June 5, 2019). "Al Kahn, Toper Taylor launch kid licensing co". Kidscreen.