Crownmire Enterprises

**Crownmire Enterprises** (previously named **Crownmire Industries**) is a production studio based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 12, 1967. It is the studio that infamously made Series 3 of Engines of Eight.

## Company information

* Formerly: Crownmire Industries
* Type: Unknown (possibly a privately held company)
* Founded: 1967-03-12
* Defunct: 2020-09-24
* Fate: acquired by WarnerMedia, later Warner Bros. Discovery, and was folded into Warner Bros. Television Studios in 2020
* Successors: Warner Bros. Television Studios
* Headquarters: Los Angeles, California, United States
* Products: Engines of Eight (only from 1986–1989)
* Owner: Gen Crownmire (1967–1990, 2006–2020)
* Number of employees: unknown
* Divisions: unknown (possibly multiple divisions)

## History

Crownmire Enterprises began its life on March 12, 1967, when it was founded by 18-year-old Gen Crownmire in Los Angeles, California. The company was known as Crownmire Industries from 1967 to 1970. The company focused on distributing and creating television content. In 1970, Crownmire Industries was rebranded as Crownmire Enterprises to reflect its film content. In 1973, Crownmire Enterprises became acquainted with Dockyard Films, a company based out of London and also the creator of Engines of Eight. The contract between the two companies was signed officially on June 15, 1973.

The contract stated that "Crownmire Enterprises is to distribute Engines of Eight in North America and handle all marketing and promotional activities for the series." This remained until 1983. Dockyard Films had to temporarily shut down due to employees feeling carbon monoxide poisoning. Dockyard Films contracted Crownmire Enterprises to create the third series of Engines of Eight, and all the props, sets, and other show pieces were taken from their roots in London and transported to Los Angeles for production. Crownmire Enterprises began filming and production on Engines of Eight's third series in September 1983 and wrapped it up in November 1985. The third series of Engines of Eight began airing on January 24, 1986. Dockyard Films had hope that Series 3 of their show would be just as successful as Series 1 and 2 before it; however, Series 3 was met with disappointing viewership and received mixed reviews from critics. Despite the high expectations, the show failed to capture the same level of excitement and popularity as its predecessors. The decline in audience interest led to a decline in ratings, ultimately resulting in the end of the contract between Dockyard Films and Crownmire Enterprises.

The contract between the two companies ended on August 24, 1989. Gen Crownmire was severely depressed by the loss of the contract and would retire from being the owner of Crownmire Enterprises on October 8, 1990.

From then on, Crownmire Enterprises would primarily distribute miscellaneous films and struggle to regain the same level of success it had with the Dockyard Films partnership. Despite efforts to diversify its offerings, the company faced stiff competition from other distributors and failed to capture the same level of audience attention. This decline in prominence marked a significant turning point for Crownmire Enterprises, as it had to redefine its business strategy and find new avenues for growth in an increasingly competitive industry.

In 2004, Crownmire Enterprises would try to bounce back onto TV with their own self-produced series entitled "The Crown Chronicles". However, the show received mixed reviews and struggled to gain a large viewership. This setback forced Crownmire Enterprises to reevaluate their approach and explore alternative mediums for reaching their target audience, such as online streaming platforms and social media marketing.

Crownmire Enterprises would significantly lose a lot of revenue and employees due to the failure that they were becoming, but a sign of hope came on February 15, 2006, when Gen Crownmire (now aged 57) came back to be the CEO of the company. With Gen Crownmire's return, the company underwent a major restructuring, focusing on improving content quality and engaging with their audience directly through social media platforms. Additionally, Crownmire Enterprises invested in talent development programs to nurture new creative voices and revitalize their programming lineup.

Many less popular brands flocked to Crownmire Enterprises, with Gen now back as CEO, seeking the company's expertise in turning around struggling businesses. The revitalization efforts led to a significant increase in viewership and revenue, solidifying Crownmire Enterprises' position as a leader in the industry.

In 2019, the Walt Disney Company wanted to partner with Crownmire Enterprises to tap into their successful talent development programs and revitalize their own programming lineup. However, these plans fell down like a led balloon, as Gen Crownmire said he didn't want his company to be flanderized and lose its unique identity in the process. He believed that maintaining Crownmire Enterprises' creative integrity was crucial for its continued success.

On February 8, 2020, Warner Bros. acquired Crownmire Enterprises for $1 billion. This new ownership allowed Warner Bros. to distribute Crownmire Enterprises' own products but still retain the Crownmire name and brand. This strategic partnership enabled Crownmire Enterprises to reach a wider audience while benefiting from Warner Bros.'s extensive distribution network and resources. Warner Bros. also stated that they would give about 17% of themselves to Gen Crownmire and his family. Sadly, these plans never came to pass, as Gen Crownmire passed away on May 4, 2020, at the age of 71, due to bad exposure to COVID-19. This resulted in many letters of sorrow to the Crownmire family from Warner Bros. and their loyal fans. The loss of Gen Crownmire was deeply felt by both the entertainment industry and the wider community, as he was known for his visionary leadership and contributions to the world of home video business.

On June 17, 2020, after his passing ceremony on May 15, it was announced that both Warner Bros. and Crownmire Enterprises were operating under one big company. This could explain why DVDs after June 16th had the "Distributed by Crownmire Enterprises: A Warner Bros. Company" logo on both the cover and the disc. Although this worked for a while, in August 2020, things sort of fell apart with this merger due to management reorganizations occurring within both companies. As a result, both companies came to the conclusion on September 1, 2020, that they would have to fold Crownmire Enterprises with Warner Bros. Television Studios. The folding of Crownmire Enterprises into Warner Bros. was announced and finalized on September 24, 2020, with the last video to be released under the Crownmire Enterprises name being "The Crownmire Classic Collection," a compilation of episodes from their most popular television shows, releasing on September 23, 2020. This decision marked the end of an era for Crownmire Enterprises, as it merged its assets and operations with Warner Bros. Television Studios.