Hasbro taps TV vet for new programming unit
By Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 8/3/2009 11:43:00 AM
PAWTUCKET, R.I.—Hasbro has tapped international television production and distribution executive Stephen J. Davis to head the company’s newly formed Hasbro Studios division.
The “virtual” studio, based in Los Angeles, will produce shows based on Hasbro’s brands, deliver new branded content and produce programs from third party content creators. Many of the shows will run on Hasbro’s joint venture TV network with Discovery Communications, planned to debut in fall 2010.
Davis will join the unit in September as president. He most recently served as CEO of Family Entertainment Group. Other credits include stints at Granada America and The Griffin Group, plus two terms as co-chairman of TV programming association NATPE.
“We are very pleased that Steve Davis has come on board to head up Hasbro Studios,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s president and CEO. “Steve has an excellent track record in all facets critical to the long-term success of this venture. He has a strong creative background while also bringing us the full-range of skills necessary to run a studio. He is absolutely the right person to begin leveraging Hasbro’s brands to their fullest potential as we look to create immersive entertainment experiences globally.”
Hasbro’s plans for its TV effort call for content in a wide range of genres, including animated, live-action and game show programming, as well as content designed for digital and mobile extensions. Among the Hasbro properties to get the TV treatment will include Romper Room, a revamp of the long-running preschool children’s show that ran from the 1950s through the early '90s; as well as toy and game brands like Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Cranium, My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, Game of Life, Tonka and Transformers.
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