Boat Rocker Buys Jam Filled Entertainment

TORONTO: Boat Rocker Media has acquired Jam Filled Entertainment, a full-service animation company in Canada that was founded in 2008.

Jam Filled is the studio behind the Nickelodeon hit The Loud House as well as The Bagel and Becky Show, a new series produced by Radical Sheep, Boat Rocker’s family-content division. Under the agreement, Jam Filled’s founding partners—Kyle Mac Dougall (president) and Jamie Leclaire and Phil Lafrance (creative directors)—will retain their current titles and remain with the company in key leadership roles. The studio will continue to operate under its current banner, reporting to Boat Rocker CEO John Young.

Boat Rocker will provide capital investment and business support to Jam Filled’s senior leadership to help grow its current 2D animation capacity while also expanding its capabilities into 3D animation.

“Boat Rocker has made strategic investments in the family and animation space and the acquisition of Jam Filled will enable the studio to round out its abilities in 2D and 3D animation to develop even stronger, premium content,” said David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg, Boat Rocker’s co-executive chairmen. “Jam Filled, and its founders Kyle, Jamie and Phil, are renowned in the industry for their high-quality work, attention to detail and integrity, but most of all, their creativity. They mirror Boat Rocker’s ideals and we are thrilled to welcome them aboard.”

“With more than 150 outstanding animators, the acquisition of Jam Filled will not only allow Boat Rocker to expand its animation services capabilities, but will also allow us to add to our original programming strength in the kids and family arena, complementing the teams within Radical Sheep and Industrial Brothers,” noted Young. “With these expanded capabilities, Boat Rocker can offer kids’ and family creators, broadcasters, toy companies and brands one integrated solution, solidifying Boat Rocker’s position as a global leader in the development, creation and production of kids’ and family animation for all platforms.”

Leclaire and Lafrance commented: “After meeting David, Ivan and John, we realized that the synergies were hard to ignore. The choice to work together felt like a natural step for both companies.”

Mac Dougall added: “Joining forces with Boat Rocker Media creates opportunities for Jam Filled to do more of what we love: make great animated content. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished up to this point and with this partnership, we’ll have the resources to expand the Jam Filled brand at an accelerated rate.”