DC Entertainment

Not to be confused with DIC Entertainment.

DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and was based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery^[1][2] that manages its DC Comics units and characters in other units, as they work with other Warner Bros. units. It also delves into those units within their flagship the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).

DC Entertainment

Trade name	DC
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Entertainment
Genre	Superhero fiction
Founded	September 9, 2009; 13 years ago (2009-09-09)
Headquarters	Burbank, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Anne Leung DePies (Senior VP & GM) Jim Lee (CCO)
Products	Books Comics Podcasts Video games Webcasts
Services	Licensing
Parent	Warner Bros. Discovery
Divisions	DC Comics MAD Wonder Comics
Subsidiaries	DC Universe Infinite WildStorm
Website	www.dc.com

In April 2022, following the merger of parent company WarnerMedia with Discovery Inc., DC Entertainment was reported to be reorganized into its own vertical unit rather than being handled by other Warner Bros. subsidiaries on its behalf.^[3]

History

Formation

In September 9, 2009,^[4][5] Warner Bros. announced that DC Comics would become a subsidiary of DC Entertainment, Inc., with Diane Nelson, President of Warner Premiere, becoming president of the newly formed holding company and DC Comics President and Publisher Paul Levitz moving to the position of Contributing Editor and Overall Consultant there.^[6] Warner Bros. and DC Comics have been owned by the same company since.

On February 18, 2010, DC Entertainment named Jim Lee and Dan DiDio as Co-Publishers of DC Comics, Geoff Johns as Chief Creative Officer, John Rood as EVP (Executive Vice President) of Sales, Marketing and Business Development, and Patrick Caldon as EVP of Finance and Administration.^[7]

Property Expansion

In October 2013, DC Entertainment announced that the DC Comics offices were going to move in 2015 from New York City to the headquarters of Warner Bros. in Burbank, California. The other units, animation, film, television and portfolio planning, had preceded DC Comics by moving there in 2010.^[8]

DC Entertainment announced its first franchise, the DC Super Hero Girls universe, in April 2015 with multi-platform content, toys and apparel to start appearing in 2016.^[9]

Warner Bros. Pictures reorganized in May 2016 to have genre-responsible film executives, thus DC Entertainment franchise films under Warner Bros. were placed under a newly created division, DC Films, created under Warner Bros. executive vice president Jon Berg and DC chief content officer Geoff Johns. This was done in the same vein as Marvel Studios in unifying DC-related filmmaking under a single vision and clarifying the greenlighting process. Johns also kept his existing role at DC Comics.^[10] Johns was promoted to DC president and CCO with the addition of his DC Films while still reporting to DCE President Nelson.^[11] In August 2016, Amit Desai was promoted from senior vice president, marketing & global franchise management to exec vice president, business and marketing strategy, direct-to-consumer and global franchise management.^[12]

Digital distribution

DC Comics are available in digital form through several sources. Free services: In 2015, Hoopla Digital became the first library-based digital system to distribute DC Comics.^[13]

In April 2017,^[14] DC announced an upcoming streaming service with Warner Bros. Digital Networks, which was to feature original live-action and animated series based on DC characters and franchises, such as Titans and Young Justice: Outsiders.^[15][16] The service, later announced as DC Universe, would launch in September 2018, and also feature access to classic DC television series and digital comics.^[17][18]

With frustration over DC Films not matching Marvel Studios' results and Berg wanting to step back to being a producer in January 2018, it was announced that Warner Bros. executive Walter Hamada was appointed president of DC film production.^[19] After a leave of absence starting in March 2018, Diane Nelson resigned as president of DC Entertainment. The company's executive management were to report to WB Chief Digital Officer Thomas Gewecke until a new president was selected.^[20]

DC Entertainment, LLC

In June 2018, Johns was also moved out of his position as chief creative officer and DC Entertainment president for a writing and producing deal with the DC and WB companies. Jim Lee added DC Entertainment chief creative officer title to his DC co-publisher post.^[21] In September 2018, DC became part of the newly-founded Warner Bros. Global Brands and Franchises division overseen by President Pam Lifford.^[22][23] Paid services were Google Play and ComiXology.^[24] In January 2019 it was reported that 7 of the DC's 240 person workforce were laid off, including several vice presidents.^[25]

In August 2020, DC publisher Jim Lee announced that all video content from DC Universe would migrate to HBO Max,^[26] with the majority of the staff of DC Universe having been laid off.^[27] In September 2020, it was announced that DC Universe's original programming and future productions would be folded into WarnerMedia's new streaming service HBO Max.

In January 2021, the remainder of the service would become a comics-centric service known as DC Universe Infinite. The service would feature DC titles six months after their retail release date (comparable to Marvel Unlimited), early access to DC Comics' digital-first titles, exclusive comics created for the service, and access to 24,000 titles in DC's back catalog.^[28][29]

Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiary

On April 14, 2022, after the merger of parent company WarnerMedia with Discovery Inc., it was reported that the company was exploring a restructuring of DC Entertainment into a "solidified content vertical" more akin to Marvel, with its film, television, and video game development brought directly under DC with a central leader, rather than being handled by other Warner Bros. subsidiaries on its behalf.^[30]

As part of the reconstruction, the DC Comics website was relaunched under the "DC.com" URL (note: no longer "DC COMICS"). The update featured more digital experiences, such as weekly video content, allowing fans access to DC Universe Infinite through the same user profile.^[31][32]

Units

Active

• MAD
• DC Comics
  • DC Black Label
  • DC's Young Animal
  • WildStorm
  • Sandman Universe
  • Hill House Comics
  • Wonder Comics
  • DC Graphic Novels for Kids
  • DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults
  • DC Universe Infinite

Defunct

• DC Universe (SVOD) - shut down with catalog absorbed into HBO Max; spun off into DC Universe Infinite

Executives

Presidents

• Diane Nelson (September 9, 2009 – June 6, 2018)^[33]
• Geoff Johns (2016–2018)^[34]
• Anne Leung DePies, Senior Vice President (2022–present)^[35]

Others

• Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer, DC Comics (2010–2018)
• Jim Lee, Chief Creative Officer, DC Comics (June 2018–present)
• Amit Desai, Executive Vice President (2016–2019)

Productions

Main article: List of DC Entertainment productions

See also

•  California portal
•  Los Angeles portal
•  Companies portal
•  Comics portal

• DC Studios
• DC Extended Universe
• Lists of DC Comics characters
• List of current DC Comics publications
• List of unproduced DC Comics projects
• List of video games based on DC Comics

Notes

References

1. "Inside David Zaslav's Overhaul of the Warner Bros. Movie Division | Analysis". 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
2. "DC Entertainment Reportedly Undergoing an Overhaul Under Warner Bros. Discovery". DC. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
3. Donnelly, Brent Lang, Matt; Lang, Brent; Donnelly, Matt (2022-04-14). "Warner Bros. Discovery Exploring Overhaul of DC Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
4. Wyatt, Edward (2009-09-09). "DC Comics Revamped Under a New President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
5. "WARNER BROS. CREATES DC ENTERTAINMENT". DC. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
6. "Warner Bros. Creates DC ENTERTAINMENT To Maximize DC Brands". Newsarama. from the original on September 11, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
7. "DC Names DiDio & Lee Co-Publisher, Johns Chief Creative Officer". Comic Book Resources. February 18, 2010. from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
8. "Warner's DC comic-book unit leaving Gotham". The San Diego Union-Tribune. October 29, 2013. from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
9. Prudom, Laura (April 23, 2015). "DC Launches 'Super Hero Girls' Universe to Appeal to Young Female Comics Fans". Variety. from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
10. "'Batman v. Superman' Fallout: Warner Bros. Shakes Up Executive Roles". The Hollywood Reporter. May 17, 2016. from the original on May 19, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
11. McMillan, Graeme (July 27, 2016). "Geoff Johns Confirmed as DC Entertainment President". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
12. Kit, Borys (August 12, 2016). "DC Entertainment Promotes Amit Desai to Chief of Business and Marketing Strategy". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
13. "Public library app Hoopla adds DC comics to its lineup". Engadget. from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
14. Andreeva, Nellie (April 25, 2017). "DC Digital Service To Launch With Titans Series From Greg Berlanti & Akiva Goldsman And Young Justice: Outsiders". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
15. Andreeva, Nellie (April 25, 2017). "DC Digital Service To Launch With 'Titans' Series From Greg Berlanti & Akiva Goldsman And 'Young Justice: Outsiders'". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
16. Petski, Denise (May 2, 2018). "DC's New Digital Service Gets A Name". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
17. Gebey, James (May 2, 2018). "Titans, Young Justice Will Premiere on New Streaming Site DC Universe". Inverse. from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
18. Liptak, Andrew (August 29, 2018). "DC's streaming video service will launch on September 15th". The Verge. from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
19. Lang, Brent. "Warner Bros. Taps Walter Hamada to Oversee DC Films Production". Variety. from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
20. Lang, Brent (June 6, 2018). "Diane Nelson Out as DC Entertainment President". Variety. from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
21. Lang, Brent (June 11, 2018). "Geoff Johns Exiting DC Entertainment President and Chief Creative Officer". Variety. from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
22. McNary, Dave (September 13, 2018). "Warner Bros. Promotes Pam Lifford to President of New Global Brands and Experiences Division". Variety. from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018. The new position, announced on Thursday by Warner Bros. chairman-CEO Kevin Tsujihara, will have responsibility over Warner Bros. Consumer Products, DC, themed entertainment, and a new global franchise team.
23. "DC Moved to New Warner Bros. Division, With New President in Charge". Newsarama. September 13, 2018. from the original on September 15, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018. The day-to-day operation of DC will continue to be run by Jim Lee, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer, and Dan DiDio, Publisher, who both now report to Lifford.
24. "DC Comics and Vertigo graphic novels arrive on Google Play, Sandman and all". Engadget. from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
25. McMillan, Graeme (January 23, 2019). "DC Publishing Laying Off 3 Percent of Its Workforce". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
26. "DC's Jim Lee on the Company's Future: "We Are Still in the Business of Publishing Comics"". Hollywood Reporter. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
27. "DC Comics, DC Universe Hit By Major Layoffs". Hollywood Reporter. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
28. McMillian, Graeme (September 18, 2020). "DC Universe Rebranding as Comics-Centric Platform". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
29. Mitovich, Matt Webb (September 18, 2020). "DC Universe to Relaunch With New Name, as All Original Shows Migrate to HBO Max — Get Pricing Details". TVLine. from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
30. "Warner Bros Discovery Exploring Overhaul of DC Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
31. "DC Launches New Website, Drops Comics From URL & Social Handles". DC. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
32. "DC Comics Website Rebrands As 'DC'". Cosmic Book News. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
33. Busch, Anita (2018-06-06). "Diane Nelson, President Of DC Entertainment & Warner Bros Consumer Products, Officially Exits Post". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
34. Lang, Brent (June 11, 2018). . Variety. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
35. Dominguez, Noah (2022-01-27). "DC Appoints New Senior Vice President and General Manager". CBR. Retrieved 2022-08-26.

External links

• Official website