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9 Story Media Group
Vince Commisso's 9 Story Media Group integrates animation production, a 5,000-hour distribution catalog, and consumer products licensing from Toronto.
9 Story Media Group
Vince Commisso launched what became 9 Story Media Group in 2002 after a decade at Nelvana. The firm now runs a vertically stacked model spanning production, distribution, and consumer products, all aimed at children's animated and live-action content. Over 500 creative and corporate staff work from Toronto, Dublin, New York, and Bali. The strategy wraps three units around proprietary IP. Brown Bag Films, the Dublin-founded animation studio, produces high-volume, cross-platform animation; it holds two Oscar nominations and has won eighteen Emmys. 9 Story Distribution International warehouses more than 5,000 half-hours of programming, selling to broadcasters and streaming platforms worldwide. The consumer products division, 9 Story Brands, handles licensing and brand management. Confirmed portfolio titles include Daniel Tiger's Neighbourhood, Doc McStuffins, and the Netflix Original special Angela's Christmas. No public AUM figure exists, and the capital base is undisclosed. The group runs five offices and reports employing over 500 people. In 2015, Commisso won the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award for entertainment and media in Ontario. Family-office allocators rarely see a media operating company that internalizes the entire chain from creative development to licensing royalties. 9 Story's architecture replaces the typical patch of production partners, sales agents, and licensing brokers with wholly owned divisions, concentrating margin and creative control inside a single entity.
General information
Firm type
Single Family Office
Year founded
2002
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
Canada
City
Toronto
Corporate office
23 Fraser Ave, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6K 1Y7
Additional offices
Dublin, Ireland · New York, United States · Bali, Indonesia
Principals
Vince Commisso
President & CEO
Cathal Gaffney
Chief Operating Officer
Natalie Osborne
Chief Strategy Officer
Blake Tohana
Chief Financial Officer
Farrell Hall
Chief Inclusion and People Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at 9 Story Media Group?
Investment decisions are embedded in the operating leadership. President and CEO Vince Commisso, who co-founded the firm in 2002, drives the overall corporate strategy and capital allocation. CFO Blake Tohana manages financial planning, corporate development, and risk operations, making the executive team the functional equivalent of an investment committee for an entity that reinvests into its own production and distribution pipeline.
How is 9 Story Media Group structured across its production and licensing arms?
The group runs three main divisions under one corporate parent. Brown Bag Films is the Emmy- and Oscar-nominated animation studio. 9 Story Distribution International holds and monetizes a library exceeding 5,000 half-hours of content. 9 Story Brands handles licensing, brand marketing, and consumer products, making the firm a vertically integrated operator from development through to retail royalties.
Does 9 Story Media Group operate as a single family office or a traditional media company?
The capital and ownership structure is not publicly disclosed, so classifying it as a formal single family office is not possible from available sources. It operates internally as an independent, privately held media group. Allocators who encounter it within family-office contexts typically find it in deal-by-deal co-production or media-rights financings rather than as a pooled fund.
What is the significance of the 5,000 half-hour distribution library?
The library figure, which the firm reports on its website, indicates a deep back catalog that generates recurring licensing revenue from international broadcasters and digital platforms. For an independent group, a library of that size provides cash-flow stability and creates a moat: it takes competitors a decade or more to accumulate a comparable slate of owned IP.
Which territories does 9 Story Media Group actively cover?
The firm operates physical studios and offices in Toronto, Dublin, New York, and Bali, and its distribution arm sells to major international broadcasters and streaming platforms globally. Natalie Osborne, Chief Strategy Officer, built the worldwide sales division, indicating coverage spanning North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific markets.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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