Канадалық телеөндіруші Майкл Хирштің өмір жолы мен мансабы

Canadian television producer, business executive

Michael Hirsh (born April 7, 1948) is a Belgian born Canadian producer. He has been a significant figure in the Canadian television industry, or more specifically children's programming, since the 1980s, with his most well known role being the co founder of animation studio Nelvana.

Born in Belgium in 1948, Michael's family emigrated to North America when he was a child; he was raised primarily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and New York City. He is Jewish and his parents were Holocaust survivors. After high school, Michael attended York University in Toronto where he would meet his future business partner, Patrick Loubert. Hirsh abandoned his post secondary education after three years to pursue his filmmaking ambitions.

In 2004, Hirsh reestablished himself in the children's television market when he led a consortium which acquired the remains of Cinar after a financial scandal had brought that company to ruin. Since then, the Cookie Jar Group has been expanding in both Canada and the United States. In 2008, Cookie Jar merged with DIC Entertainment in an estimated US$87.6 million buyout, forming one of the world's largest privately held children's entertainment companies. In 2012, Cookie Jar Entertainment was acquired by DHX Media and Hirsh became Executive Chairman of DHX Media. The combined company has a children's library of 8000 episodes and is the largest supplier of kids programming to online streaming services, as well as a leader in production and licensing and merchandising for children.

Near the end of 2015, three years after DHX Media's acquisition of Cookie Jar, Hirsh left to found a new production company called Ezrin Hirsh Entertainment with music producer Bob Ezrin. Ezrin Hirsh and producer/entrepreneur Fred Seibert (and his company Frederator Networks, Inc.) together worked out an arrangement with Vancouver's Rainmaker Entertainment and on 26 October 2016 Rainmaker purchased the companies and also announced that Rainmaker's assets will consolidate its divisions under a new holding company called WOW! Unlimited Media Inc. Hirsh will serve as CEO and chairman for the holding company, with Seibert as Chief Creative Officer and CEO of Frederator. Hirsh left WOW! in December 2023.

In 2014, Michael Hirsh founded Floating Island Entertainment, where he continues to serve as CEO and Executive Producer.

A number of productions that Michael has been involved with have been nominated for or won awards. For their work on shows including Beetlejuice, Babar, Little Bear, Rupert, Franklin, Rolie Polie Olie and The Adventures of Tintin, Hirsh and his colleagues have received awards such as Daytime Emmys and Geminis.