ArgosyMTM Group

ArgosyMTM Group (formerly known as Argosy Communications from 2006-2011) is an American production company conglomerate. It was formed in 2006 when Corus Entertainment sold off its US assets. It is majority owned by the Peck family, with the Blake, Lopez, and Shires families holding minority stakes.

It is based in Seattle, WA, with satellite offices in Redmond, WA; Portland, OR; and Vancouver, BC. The company is said to be proud of its Pacific Northwest heritage.

History
Argosy has its origins as a magazine in 1882. It was known as a “pulp fiction” magazine, and had classic stories about Tarzan and Martians.

In 1943, Association of Film Makers (AoFM), a film production company founded in 1937, was acquired by the magazine's publisher, Frank A. Munsey Company.

In 1953, the magazine’s publisher, Popular Publications, opened a TV production unit, known as Argosy Media, after the magazine. At the same time, Michael Shires, former Disney storyboard artist, and his inexperienced son, Michael Shires Jr., were hired to head an animation division of Argosy Media, recognizing the potential of television animation.

In 1973, after a corporate reorganization, AoFM was renamed to its current name, Argosy Pictures.

Later in 1973, Popular Publications spun off Argosy Media and Argosy Pictures into a new company, Argosy Media Affiliates. The company continued to make popular films and TV series, but in 1974, Michael Shires Sr. left to become a production assistant for a Jim Henson project that eventually became the Muppets, leaving Shires Jr. on his own.

Argosy Media Affiliates went bankrupt in 1982 due to a series of poor business decisions, such as firing Michael Shires Jr. and downsizing the animation division. It was quickly acquired by rival producer MTM Enterprises, which moved into the Argosy studios in Seattle, and reorganized its company as Argosy Entertainment.

In 1983, Argosy hired two then-obscure local cartoonists, mainly known in the Seattle area at the time: indie zine and comic book artist Ellen Peck and fired political cartoonist Paul Lopez: to form a television animation unit, as MTM wanted to start making Saturday morning cartoons. Ellen Peck sketched a new logo for MTM, a simplification of the orange cat emblem the company had used since 1969, but accidentally sent it to the Argosy unit, which coloured it grey and gave it the name “Aaron”, after then-CEO Aaron Marshall. The original Aaron logo only lasted until 1988 on screen, but was used as the corporate logo of Argosy Media until 1993, when the company returned to its previous “stylized A” logo, coloured in red.

In 1988, Argosy Entertainment, including Argosy Media and MTM, was acquired by ITV franchise Television South (TVS), which reorganized itself as TVS Entertainment. In 1990, however, TVS lost the franchise round to Meridian, and had to cease broadcasting in 1993. TVS sold its assets to televangelist Pat Robertson’s International Family Entertainment (IFE) shortly after ceasing broadcasting.

In late 1992, Paul Lopez died in a car crash caused by his own drunk driving. He was replaced with Nathan Blake, Ellen Peck’s trainee and apprentice, who was only 21 at the time.

IFE was acquired by Canadian cable company Shaw Communications in 1996. In 1998, Shaw sold the failing Family Channel unit to Fox, to concentrate on its Canadian cable networks (including YTV), but retained ownership of Argosy, MTM, the TVS and Southern libraries, and the pre-1998 Family Channel library. In 1999, Shaw spun off its media assets, including Argosy and MTM, as Corus Entertainment.

In 2003, Argosy Media formed a joint venture with Nintendo, known as Toadette Animation, after the expiry of Nintendo’s deal with DiC. Singaporean-Canadian animator Tiger Lee Clarke, then working at Nelvana, was hired to lead this division, and moved to Seattle permanently.

In 2006, Corus sold off its holdings outside of Canada; consisting of Argosy Media, MTM Enterprises, and the Southern, TVS, and Family Channel libraries; to a new company, forming Argosy Communications.

In 2011, Argosy Communications reorganized itself as the modern ArgosyMTM Group.

Film divisions

 * Argosy Pictures
 * MTM Films
 * Seven Arts
 * Gramercy Pictures
 * RKO Pictures (acquired in 2020)

TV divisions

 * Argosy Media
 * MTM Enterprises