A week after Comcast Corp. announced its acquisition of DreamWorks Animation, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts sat down with the animation studios' employees to allay their fears over the deal.
To put to bed any concerns about the animation studio leaving its California home, Roberts said that DreamWorks "will absolutely continue to make animated films here."
"That's the whole point of what we're doing," added NBCUniversal CEO and Comcast EVP Steve Burke.
Roberts was joined in the meeting, held at DreamWorks' Glendale headquarters, by Burke, NBCU Vice Chairman Ron Meyer and DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Katzenberg also used the meeting as an opportunity to explain to employees why he had decided to sell the animation studio, which he has led for over 20 years.
"What became incredibly clear to me very quickly is, the opportunity for this company for the next five years in their hands ... was just absolutely beyond anything I could achieve leading the company in that same time frame," he said.
Last year, the animation studio had to let go about 20 percent of its workforce after a series of flops in the box office.
DreamWorks generally releases two films a year. Comcast already has an animation unit in Universal Pictures' Illumination Studios and it's looking to combine work from the two to put out four animated films a year. According to Burke, doing so would advance the company's goals of taking advantage of every opportunity in the entertainment business.
However, Comcast is also looking at the acquisition as a chance not only to use DreamWorks' expertise in the animation industry but also to tap into its rich library of characters as well, spinning them into other businesses like theme parks and consumer products.
When the $3.8-billion deal is completed, Katzenberg will become chairman of DreamWorks New Media and a consultant for NBCUniversal. All transactions are expected to be finalized by the end of the year, following antitrust approvals in the country and abroad and the satisfaction of other conditions.
Aside from having 32 films in its porfolio, DreamWorks also owns Classic Media, the home of Lassie, Casper, Where's Waldo, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, among others.
