The Entertainment One logo symbolizes creativity, style, and uniqueness. It embodies the brand’s identity in the entertainment industry, reflecting its commitment to producing high-quality content. The design draws attention through its originality.
Entertainment One: Brand overview
Entertainment One, founded in 1970, was a music distribution company called Records on Wheels Limited. A large Canadian holding now owns divisions to acquire and produce films, television programs, and animated series. After buying the Secret Location studio in 2014, he began creating content using augmented and virtual reality technologies.
Entertainment One (eOne) began in 1970 when the Canadian music recording firm Records on Wheels Limited was established. It was a modest start for what would become one of the largest independent creators and distributors of entertainment content worldwide.
As part of its expansion efforts, the company established ROW Entertainment Inc. in 1991 to handle the wholesale CD and video distribution. This move laid the foundation for future growth and was a significant step in diversifying the company’s operations.
The year 2003 marked a pivotal moment in the company’s history. ROW Entertainment acquired Koch Entertainment, a major independent music and video distributor in North America. This acquisition enhanced the company’s market position and significantly broadened its activities.
In 2005, the company rebranded itself as Entertainment One Income Fund to reflect its growing role in the entertainment industry. That same year, the company went public by listing its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
In 2007, the firm aggressively entered the film distribution and production business. It acquired the UK-based film and TV distributor Contender Entertainment Group to tap into the European market.
Another strategic move came in 2008 when the business acquired Barna-Alper Productions, a Canadian television content creation firm. This acquisition strengthened the company’s position in the television production industry.
The year 2009 saw even more growth. The company expanded its market presence in the UK and Australia by acquiring Hopscotch Films, a UK-based film distribution company. That year’s significant achievement for the business was securing the Canadian distribution rights for DreamWorks films.
2011, the firm purchased Australian distributor Shock Entertainment as part of its expansion strategy. This acquisition bolstered the company’s position in the Australian market and extended its global reach. 2012 was notable for the acquisition of Alliance Films, a major Canadian film distributor. The deal, valued at approximately C$225 million, greatly enhanced the company’s presence in North American and European film distribution.
In 2013, the firm acquired a 51% stake in The Mark Gordon Company, the production company behind hit shows like Criminal Minds and Grey’s Anatomy. This alliance further solidified the company’s standing in the television production industry.
The company made additional acquisitions in 2015, including a 70% stake in Astley Baker Davies, the creators of the popular children’s animated series Peppa Pig. This acquisition was a crucial step in expanding the company’s portfolio of children’s content.
In 2016, the business rejected a buyout offer from ITV plc, deeming it too low. This decision demonstrated confidence in its independent growth strategy. 2018, the company acquired 49% of The Mark Gordon Company, gaining full ownership of this successful production firm.
A significant event in the company’s history occurred in 2019 when the renowned toy company Hasbro announced its plan to acquire the entertainment firm for $4 billion. The deal was completed in December 2019, marking a new company history chapter.
Even after being acquired by Hasbro, the business continued to operate as a standalone entity, focusing on its core competency of creating and distributing entertainment content. The company began working on projects related to Hasbro’s brands, such as Transformers and My Little Pony.
In 2023, Hasbro announced that it would sell a significant portion of eOne’s film and television business to Lionsgate for $500 million. This sale was part of Hasbro’s efforts to focus on its core brands and streamline its entertainment operations. On June 7, 2024, Playback magazine reported that eOne was renamed Lionsgate Canada.
Throughout its history, the company has grown from a small record-selling business to a major force in the entertainment sector. Its continuous expansion and acquisitions strategy has made the firm one of the world’s leading independent producers and distributors of entertainment content.
Meaning and History
Entertainment One had two major predecessors: CD Plus and Records on Wheels. After their merger, ROW Entertainment was born. It received its current name in 2010; before that, it was known as E1 Entertainment. Naturally, the frequent renaming was accompanied by a complete change in visual identity, which included creating logos that matched the new branding.
What is Entertainment One?
It is a Canadian company better known as eOne. It produces its films and series and buys other people’s TV content to distribute it abroad. Since 2019, it has been owned by the multinational conglomerate Hasbro, Inc.
1970 – 1980
1970 Records on Wheels appeared, which gave rise to Entertainment One in the future. The designers played on its name in the logo, depicting two black wheels in wide rings and a frame connecting them. This design simultaneously resembled both a skateboard and the underside of a car. Above it was the word “RECORDS,” curved like a rainbow. His letters were of wide lines and painted in black on top and white on the bottom.
The rest of the brand name was placed under the arch. The designers made it completely black and divided it into two lines. Notably, the space inside the “O” in “ON” was stylized as a five-pointed star.
1980 – 2005
After Records on Wheels merged with CD Plus, the company became ROW Entertainment. Its name served as the basis for the logo, in which the word “ROW” was written in large red letters with a three-dimensional effect. The designers didn’t make only the “O” voluminous – instead, they depicted it as a shiny CD. At the bottom was the phrase “MUSIC AND VIDEO,” consisting of capital glyphs in white.
2005 – 2009
In 2005, ROW Entertainment made a major acquisition by purchasing the record label Koch Entertainment. After that, it was reorganized and became the Entertainment One Income Fund. Her new logo contained a monogram of the letter “e” and the number 1. In the center was a red unit formed from two rectangles. A gray line was drawn perpendicular to its vertical part, which served as the beginning of an open ring of the same color.
This part of the logo was significantly larger than the “Entertainment One” lettering. The wordmark was located to the emblem’s right and divided into two lines with left alignment. The designers made both words black and used the same sans-serif font.
2009 – 2010
Over the past two years, some series and films have featured the logo with the text “E1 Entertainment.” Above was the first half of the inscription. The designers depicted it as the letter “E” with the number 1 slightly turned to the right side. The word “ENTERTAINMENT,” consisting entirely of capital glyphs, was at the bottom.
The basis for the inscription was the top of a certain sphere, which denoted the planet. It was painted in gradient blue. In the background, you can see the same blue rays of different shades. All this was placed in a square.
2010 – 2015
In 2010, the company began using a logo that could be roughly divided into two parts. The first fragment is a light blue square with rounded corners on the top right and bottom left. Inside it was the letter “e” and the word “one” in white, aligned on the right side.
The second part was a blue inscription, “entertainment one,” consisting of lowercase characters. Due to the lack of space, the two words were only separated by typography: the last three letters were bolder than all the previous ones.
2015 – 2024
The “Entertainment One” logo was updated in 2015 as part of efforts to modernize and strengthen the brand’s visual identity. A team of designers led the project under the direction of Steven Preisman. Their task was to create a modern and easily recognizable visual mark that would reflect the essence of the company and its position in the entertainment industry.
The main element of the emblem is the “entertainment One” text, rendered in a simple and modern font. The logo is light blue, symbolizing trust, stability, and professionalism. The sans-serif font was chosen to give the emblem a contemporary and clean look.
The word “One” is distinctively highlighted and styled differently from the rest of the emblem. The letter “O” in “One” is the only uppercase letter in the logo, emphasizing its importance and uniqueness. The word is placed inside a blue rectangle with rounded corners, adding a sense of completeness to the visual mark. This rectangle symbolizes a screen—a central element in the entertainment world, whether film, television, or digital content.
The logo’s balance and memorable design combine text and graphic symbols. The company is portrayed as bringing together different types of content and formats under a single platform. The visual identity reflects the brand’s ambitions and readiness to remain relevant in the ever-changing entertainment world.
Font and Colors
The main distinguishing mark of the Canadian company is its name. The designers tried to make its graphical representation simple and memorable, using negative space: the word “One” is formed by empty spaces inside a blue geometric shape.
The font chosen by the logo’s creators shares similarities with Circe Bold by ParaType and Averta Standard Bold by Kostas Bartsokas. It is a bold grotesque with rounded glyphs of an unusual shape. There are only two colors: white and light blue (shade # 009CDB).