Feld EntertainmentEdit
Feld Entertainment, Inc. is one of the largest operators of live family entertainment in the United States, with a portfolio built around touring productions that travel to cities across North America and beyond. Its brands include a legacy circus operation alongside some of the most recognizable touring brands in family entertainment, such as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice, Monster Jam, and Sesame Street Live. The company has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to scale large productions, coordinate complex logistics, and adapt to shifting consumer tastes and regulatory environments, all while trying to keep live performance affordable and accessible for families.
Over the decades Feld Entertainment has navigated a marketplace that prizes spectacle, storytelling, and technical sophistication, but also increasingly questions about animal welfare, labor practices, and the long-term sustainability of touring shows. The firm has responded to these pressures with organizational changes, shifts in programming, and a renewed emphasis on the core draw of live performance: the shared experience of a crowd in a darkened arena witnessing feats that cannot be replicated at home. In doing so, Feld Entertainment has helped shape what modern, mass-audience live entertainment looks like when it travels from city to city.
History and Brands
Feld Entertainment built its position by expanding a portfolio around high-production touring events that blend athleticism, artistry, and narrative. The company’s most famous attraction, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, connected a long tradition of traveling circuses with contemporary production values, helping to sustain interest in large-scale circus arts into the 21st century. In 2017, the Ringling Bros. brand retired after more than a century of operation, marking a milestone in the evolving economics of touring entertainment and prompting a reallocation of resources toward Feld’s other touring brands and new formats. The decision was attributed by the company to a combination of rising costs, shifting audience preferences, and the broader cultural environment surrounding animal acts.
In tandem with the circus, Feld Entertainment developed and maintained a stable of touring productions that rely on different strengths. Disney on Ice has long served as a flagship family option, combining beloved Disney characters with ice choreography, theatrical mounting, and storytelling that travels to large arenas. Monster Jam offers motorsports-style entertainment and event production that emphasizes high-adrenaline competition, vehicle design, and showmanship. Sesame Street Live targets families with younger children through stage adaptations of the popular television franchise, emphasizing educational themes presented in a live, interactive format. These brands illustrate Feld’s strategy of diversification within the live-children’s entertainment niche, leveraging recognizable IP and skilled performance to draw audiences to venues around the world.
Beyond the core brands, Feld Entertainment has pursued efficiency gains through logistics, technology, and partnerships with venue operators. The company has emphasized production values, including lighting, projection, sound design, and rigging, to deliver immersive experiences in a touring model where a show must be rebuilt and ready for the next city with relatively tight turnaround times. This operational approach helps explain both the scale of Feld’s productions and the resilience of its touring model in a market that increasingly blends live experiences with digital media.
Brands and Portfolio
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus: The flagship circus operation that carried on the tradition of the traveling circus, combining circus arts with theatrical presentation. The brand’s closure in 2017 reflected broader questions about the economics of large-scale animal acts and the evolving preferences of contemporary audiences.
Disney on Ice: A long-running ice-based touring show featuring characters and stories from Disney properties, produced in collaboration with Feld’s production teams and available to arenas across multiple regions.
Monster Jam: A family-oriented motorsport-style event that brings professional monster trucks to arenas, blending live driving competition with stunt performances and a high-energy production ethos.
Sesame Street Live: A live stage production built around the familiar Sesame Street characters and educational programming, designed to engage preschool audiences through interactive storytelling.
Feld Entertainment’s touring approach typically centers on large-scale venues, with shows designed to maximize audience reach while maintaining high production standards. The company’s strategy has included leveraging well-known IP to attract families and leveraging a touring model that can bring high-quality entertainment to many markets.
Controversies and Debates
The company’s history intersects with a broader debate about animal welfare in entertainment, the economics of touring productions, and how best to balance artistic ambition with ethical and regulatory considerations. From a viewpoint that prioritizes family-oriented entertainment, several points recur:
Animal welfare and animal acts: Critics from animal-rights groups have argued that the use of animals in touring circuses raises concerns about training methods, living conditions, and overall welfare. Feld Entertainment responded by signaling a shift away from animal acts in the mid-2010s, including the decision to phase out elephants in its circus productions and to emphasize non-animal acts, advanced stagecraft, and safe, humane training approaches. Proponents of the company’s approach contend that the market and regulatory environment have evolved, that welfare standards are enhanced by veterinary oversight and professional management, and that public attitudes have shifted toward private-sector solutions rather than government mandates. Activists like PETA have played a role in shaping the public narrative around these issues, sometimes focusing attention on the costs and risks associated with maintaining animals in traveling productions while the company argues it has moved to more modern, humane formats. The discussion reflects a broader tension between traditional forms of live entertainment and evolving public expectations about animal welfare and corporate responsibility, with Feld arguing that ongoing reforms and retirements of animal acts align with contemporary norms.
Labor and employment in touring shows: A touring enterprise relies on a mix of performers, technicians, stagehands, and crew who travel from city to city. Debates can arise over wage levels, scheduling, benefits, and the use of contract labor in a gig-based touring environment. From a perspective that emphasizes flexibility and economic efficiency, the touring model creates opportunities for skilled workers to participate in large-scale productions and for communities to host major events. Critics may raise concerns about job security and compensation; supporters point to the ability of such productions to bring indirect economic activity to local venues, including hotels, restaurants, and transit providers, and to provide meaningful employment with opportunities to advance in a high-skill, high-production field.
Regulatory and cultural environment: Live entertainment operates within a patchwork of venue requirements, municipal codes, and state and federal regulations. Changes in public policy, animal welfare standards, and consumer protection norms influence how shows are produced and presented. Feld’s adjustments to its programming and operations—such as revising animal-related content and investing in high-production non-animal acts—are examples of how a large touring company can respond to evolving policy and audience preferences without sacrificing the core appeal of live performance.
Economic viability and audience trends: The closure of a recognizable brand like Ringling Bros. reflects the realities of a changing entertainment landscape, where competition from streaming, digital content, and other live experiences shapes attendance and profitability. Supporters argue that the firm’s willingness to reallocate resources toward contemporary touring formats and IP-driven shows demonstrates market responsiveness and a commitment to sustainable growth. Critics may argue that such closures signal broader vulnerabilities in traditional touring circuses, but proponents contend that innovation within live entertainment is essential for long-term competitiveness and for preserving jobs in related production ecosystems.
Corporate Strategy and Market Position
From a strategic standpoint, Feld Entertainment operates at the intersection of IP leverage, live-production excellence, and logistical scale. The company invests in robust touring infrastructures, including the ability to assemble, transport, and assemble large-scale stages, costumes, and media assets for multiple shows across various markets within a single season. The emphasis on branded IP—whether through a familiar circus tradition, a Disney property, or a popular motorsport event—helps maintain broad audience appeal and can smooth the path to sponsorships, venue partnerships, and ancillary revenues such as merchandise. The move away from animal acts, where applicable, is presented as both a response to evolving consumer expectations and a way to maintain production quality and safety standards in a modern touring environment.
In the broader landscape of live entertainment, Feld Entertainment competes with other touring producers, arena operators, and venue-driven brands. Its emphasis on scale, logistics, and brand power places it among the most recognizable players in family entertainment, with a track record of delivering large events that fill venues and create shared experiences for families and fans of the brands it carries. The company’s evolution—retaining audience-facing strengths while recalibrating content to align with contemporary norms—illustrates a broader pattern in the industry: successful touring franchises adapt to cultural and economic shifts while preserving the core spectacle and craftsmanship that define live shows.