WME-IMG has acquired Dixon Talent, the boutique agency that specializes in comedy stars and is the longtime home of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel.
Dixon Talent, launched in 2001 by James Dixon, will run as an autonomous entity within WME-IMG and remain based in New York.
“James has built his business on two core philosophies that are intrinsic to WME-IMG: a belief in great talent and applying an entrepreneurial approach to representation,” said WME-IMG co-CEO Patrick Whitesell. “We look forward to extending his business even further through the resources WME-IMG has to offer across each of its divisions,” said WME-IMG co-CEO Ari Emanuel.
Dixon is known for his close relationships with the clients that he helped launch to stardom, including the latenight trio of Stewart, Colbert and Kimmel. Other notables on Dixon’s current roster include Carson Daly and ESPN’s Bill Simmons. His past comedy clients have included Denis Leary, George Carlin, Rosie O’Donnell, Kevin James, Ray Romano and Chris Rock.
Dixon was an agent focusing on comics at WME predecessor WMA, where he worked from 1985-99. He left WMA to join Michael Ovitz’s Artists Management Group but relocated to CAA by May 2000. By the following year, he’d launched his own banner. In recent years, Dixon’s has been one of showbiz’s last remaining boutiques with a clear niche and formidable clients.
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WME-IMG’s pursuit of Dixon is a sign that the agency’s expansion did not end with its 2014 merger with IMG, which added sports, marketing, fashion and event management to the Hollywood heft of WME.
With backing from private equity investor Silver Lake, WME won the bidding for IMG and just last week scooped up the Dusseldorf, Germany-based videogame-centric talent agency Global eSports Management.
