Grom Social moves towards original content with the acquisition of Curiosity Ink

Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. today announced that it has signed a binding letter of intent to acquire the children's and family entertainment company, Curiosity Ink Media, LLC - a producer and developer of child-friendly original content - to complement the offerings. existing trademarks of the Company. -safe social media for children, animation production and web filters for schools, government agencies and private companies. Additionally, Grom has appointed two former Nickelodeon executives, Curiosity President Russell Hicks and Paul Ward, to lead its animation, social media and education divisions.

An emerging platform and provider of entertainment content for children under 13, the Company's subsidiary, Grom Social, Inc. provides a safe social media venue for children that is monitored around the clock and invites parents and guardians to play an active role in a child's social media activity. The announcements were made by Darren Marks, president and CEO of Grom.

The addition of Curiosity opens the door for Grom to explore original programming, including providing an original content pipeline for SVOD services and others looking to bolster their content offering with programs for children and families. Additionally, the Company expects the acquisition to unlock the potential for Grom to create cross-platform synergies whereby Curiosity's content can debut on Grom Social, gain user feedback, and help inform the development of the series.

"We expect the acquisition of Curiosity to strengthen our foothold in the production of original content and allow us to explore the synergies between our entertainment, social media and education services, strengthening our mission to serve children and families in a variety of ways, "Marks said. "We believe the arrival of Russell and Paul to lead Grom's portfolio, along with the addition of Curiosity Ink Media, will be a turning point for us. We are energized and euphoric at the possible opportunities represented by the addition of Russell, Paul and Curiosity Ink Media ".

As Grom's Chief Content Officer, Hicks will continue to oversee Curiosity Ink Media's original film, television and editorial projects, in addition to his new role as President of Grom's subsidiary, Top Draw Animation, Inc. Top Draw boasts a history of 22 years as an animation producer of several series including Tom and Jerry, The Hollow, Monster Beach e Penn Zero, among others. Hicks will join Top Draw CEO and founder Wayne Dearing and studio Executive SVP Stella Dearing, combining original animation with the company's historic role as an animated content producer.

Ward will take on two roles for Grom. In the new position as President of Grom Social, Ward is tasked with building on the success of Grom's emerging COPPA-compliant social media platform, designed to engage children by educating users about the importance of internet safety. As Executive Vice President, Social Enterprises, Ward will lead the evolution of the Company's subsidiary, Grom Educational Services, Inc., a provider of web filtering services used in education, government and private business.

Together, Hicks and Ward will identify and support synergistic opportunities in Grom's portfolio. Both veterans of children's and family entertainment, Hicks and Ward have served as executives with Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite during the network's historic and uninterrupted 13 years combined as the number one network in ad-supported cable television.

Prior to the formation of Curiosity, Hicks was President of Production & Development at Nickelodeon, where he was instrumental in cultivating several successful hits including SpongeBob SquarePants, Henry Danger, The Loud House and the rebirth of the Teenage mutant ninja turtles. Early in his career, while an executive at Warner Bros., Hicks played important roles in the development of Teddy Ruxpin and the revival of the tried and tested animated series, Scooby Doo.

Ward, whose 23-year tenure with Viacom was crowned by his role as Executive Vice President of Primetime, Acquisitions and Strategy at Nickelodeon Kids' & Family Group, where he led Nick during Nite's foray into original programming and was instrumental in securing top series including Friends, George Lopez and The Nanny to round out the company's list of successful programs. As a member of the TV Land executive team, he was instrumental in supporting numerous attention-grabbing promotions, including the TV Land Landmark initiative, which placed bronze statues of iconic TV characters in the cities that served as a backdrop. including a statue of Mary Tyler Moore in Minneapolis and one of Andy Griffith in Raleigh, NC, among others. Ward also helped develop the Nick at Nite & TV Land Family Table, a multi-year pro-social campaign designed to promote the social and academic benefits of families who take time to sit and eat together, an initiative he embarked on with the CASA of Columbia University (Center on Addictions and Substance Abuse).

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