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HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of
The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...
, by
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
,
Peter Orton Peter Charles Orton, CVO (17 June 1943 – 5 December 2007) was a British media entrepreneur and television producer noted for his work in children's television. He, Muppets creator Jim Henson and businesswoman Sophie Turner Laing founded HIT ...
, and
Sophie Turner Laing Sophie Henrietta Turner Laing, (born 7 September 1960) is a British businesswoman and media executive. She was chief executive officer of global content creator, producer and distributor Endemol Shine Group from December 2014 until July 2020. ...
. Orton alone took over the company in 1989 upon learning Henson's intent to sell the company to
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
. HIT owned and distributed
children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...
such as ''
Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...
'', ''
Fireman Sam ''Fireman Sam'' ( Welsh: ') is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd ...
'', ''
Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with ...
'', ''
Pingu ''Pingu'' is a stop-motion children's television series co-created by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann. It was originally produced from 1990 to 2000 by Swiss company The Pygos Group (originally called Trickfilmstudio) for SF DRS in Switzerl ...
'', ''
Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...
'', and ''
Angelina Ballerina ''Angelina Ballerina'' is a children's book series by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig about a fictional mouse (full name Angelina Jeanette Mouseling) who is training to become a ballerina. The first book in the series was ...
''. HIT Entertainment was one of several partner companies, alongside
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primaril ...
,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
, and Sesame Workshop, that founded
PBS Kids Sprout Universal Kids is an American children's television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented channel jointly ...
, with many of HIT's shows airing on the channel as a result at the time. On 1 February 2012, HIT Entertainment was acquired by
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
, as Mattel was initially only interested in the ''Thomas & Friends'' brand in its acquisition, according to ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wit ...
''. Mattel absorbed the company on 31 March 2016 into its then newly created division,
Mattel Creations Mattel Television is the television production division of American toy and entertainment company Mattel, originally founded under the name Mattel Creations on March 31, 2016. It is headed by general manager and senior vice president, Frederic So ...
.


History


1982–1990: Beginning and early years

Peter Orton Peter Charles Orton, CVO (17 June 1943 – 5 December 2007) was a British media entrepreneur and television producer noted for his work in children's television. He, Muppets creator Jim Henson and businesswoman Sophie Turner Laing founded HIT ...
had met
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
when he was at the Children's Television Workshop handling distribution of ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
''. As a result, he became close friends with Henson and went to work with him in 1981. Together, they set up Henson International Television, which was the international distribution arm of
Jim Henson Productions The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known fo ...
the following year, with Orton becoming the company's CEO. Jim Henson Productions started negotiations with
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
regarding a possible purchase of the company in the late 1980s. Because of these negotiations, the company head, Orton and other employees at Henson International Television convinced Henson to allow them to spin off the distribution arm as an independent distribution company. Henson agreed, and Orton led a management buyout of the Henson International Television division from Henson in 1989, forming a new company named HIT Communications PLC.


1990–1999: Becoming independent

HIT continued distributing programming by initially signing popular British series ''
Postman Pat ''Postman Pat'' is a British stop-motion animated television series first produced by Woodland Animations. The series follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman who works for Royal Mail postal service in the fictional village of Greendal ...
'' and the long-running '' Alvin and the Chipmunks'' series. The company then financed and distributed animated feature films based on ''
The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...
'' and ''
Peter Rabbit Peter Rabbit is a fictional animal character in various children's stories by English author Beatrix Potter. A mischievous, adventurous young rabbit who wears a blue jacket, he first appeared in ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' in 1902, and subs ...
'' books. Helping to fund the company was an investment by British satellite and cable television operator
Flextech Living TV Group was a British television consortium originally called Flextech before becoming a subsidiary of British Sky Broadcasting, with Challenge still broadcasting. Living TV Group had several owned channels, available in the United K ...
took a 23% share in HIT for about £600,000. The HIT Wildlife division was set up to produce nature and wildlife programming which provided the company with 35% of its revenue by the mid-1990s. HIT also handled international distribution for ''
Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...
'', produced by
Allen, Texas Allen is a city in Collin County in the U.S. state of Texas, and a northern suburb of Dallas. According to the 2020 U.S. census its population was 104,627, up from 84,246 in 2010. Allen is located approximately twenty miles (32.2 km) nort ...
-based
Lyrick Studios Lyrick Studios, formerly The Lyons Group, was an American video production and distribution company based in Allen, Texas best known for their flagship property '' Barney & Friends''. The company was known for producing and distributing telev ...
. With the success of ''Barney'', HIT began to develop its own programming. In 1996, HIT was listed on the AIM to raise funding; it used the funding to launch HIT Video that produced direct-to-video programming in the UK. A new character came to the company's attention in 1996, when advertising executive and would-be cartoonist
Keith Chapman Keith Chapman (born 1959) is a British television writer and producer, best known as the creator of children's television programmes ''Bob the Builder'' and ''PAW Patrol.'' Biography He worked for Jim Henson International, designing characters ...
pitched his idea to HIT Entertainment. Chapman's character was a little builder named
Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with ...
. While a number of other producers had turned down the idea, HIT recognized its potential and bought the rights to developing the Bob the Builder character into a television series. With another offering in 1997, HIT increased its capitalization and move to the primary
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...
, whose funding HIT would use to develop some of its first original series, including ''
Brambly Hedge ''Brambly Hedge'' is a series of illustrated children's books by Jill Barklem, recounting the adventures of a community of mice who live together in the tranquil surroundings of the English countryside. The writer described ''Brambly Hedge'' as ...
'', '' Percy the Park Keeper'', and ''
Kipper A kipper is a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split in a butterfly fashion from tail to head along the dorsal ridge, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold-smoked over smouldering wood chips (typically oak). In the United Ki ...
'', which became its first hit on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. In 1998, HIT formed its own animation production company, HOT Animation, and its Consumers Product Division. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
agreed to broadcast ''
Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with ...
''. HIT signed a series of American broadcasting deals starting with
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
for ''Kipper'' and expanded to Starz/
Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pre ...
for the ''Brambly Hedge'' and ''Percy the Park Keeper'' television series,
HBO Family Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is bas ...
for the ''
Anthony Ant ''Anthony Ant'' is a 1999 animated television series based on a book of the same name by Graham Philpot and Lorna Philpot. It takes place in "Antville," an underground city. Anthony and his friends must avoid being stepped on by the "Bigfeet" (hu ...
'' cartoon series and
Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily ...
for the ''Wylands Ocean World'' wildlife program. ''Kipper'' won the 1998 BAFTA Award for Best Children's Animation. At the end of the year, HIT offered another group of shares. In 1999, HIT had 10 first-run television series in the United States and started an American subsidiary. In April, ''Bob the Builder'' successfully debuted on the BBC, and in July the company made another public offering of stock. An American deal for ''Bob the Builder'' was signed in December with Nickelodeon to start airing in January 2001.
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
signed a five-year licensing agreement for the development of the ''
Angelina Ballerina ''Angelina Ballerina'' is a children's book series by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig about a fictional mouse (full name Angelina Jeanette Mouseling) who is training to become a ballerina. The first book in the series was ...
'' television series.


2000–2004: ''Bob the Builder'' to final independent years

HIT, which had long been suggesting that it intended to expand its character stable through acquisitions, nearly found a partner in early 2000, when the company held talks with
Britt Allcroft Britt Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft, 14 December 1943) is a British writer, producer, director and voice actress. She is the creator of the children's television series ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' (later re-titled ''Thomas & Friend ...
, the British company that held the licenses to such popular characters as
Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, ...
,
Captain Pugwash ''Captain Pugwash'' is a fictional pirate in a series of British children's comic strips and books created by John Ryan. The character's adventures were adapted into a TV series, using cardboard cut-outs filmed in live-action (the first series ...
, and
Sooty Sooty is a British children's television media franchise created by Harry Corbett incorporating primarily television and stage shows. The franchise originated with his fictional glove puppet character introduced to television in 1955, with the ...
. The two sides were unable to agree on a price, however, and the merger fell through. Bob the Builder continued its success with the number one record in December that year. In December 2000, HIT's US division entered into a home video partnership with
Lyrick Studios Lyrick Studios, formerly The Lyons Group, was an American video production and distribution company based in Allen, Texas best known for their flagship property '' Barney & Friends''. The company was known for producing and distributing telev ...
, home and owner of ''
Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...
'', for distribution of ''Bob the Builder'' and ''Kipper'' releases. This early partnership was an early plan for that led to HIT purchasing Lyrick for $275 million, which would in turn give HIT a marketing and distribution network that it used to introduce its properties to U.S. audiences. Vice versa, the deal would help expand ''Barney'''s international presence, which was what Lyrick needed at the time. Chief Executive of HIT, Rob Lawes, was the driving force of the acquisition. The Lyrick acquisition encouraged HIT Entertainment to pursue new acquisitions. In May 2001, the first ''Bob the Builder'' VHS volumes were released in the United States by HIT/Lyrick, while the company signed a deal with
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
to have Bob Shops in their retail stores. The Jim Henson Company's owner
EM.TV ''Sport1 Medien AG'' (known as Constantin Medien AG until January 2020) is a media company based in Ismaning near Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. W ...
was in financial trouble over its purchase of 50% share in
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
racing rights, and HIT joined a number of companies willing to purchase TJHC. In October 2001, HIT's bid for Pingu BV was accepted. In April 2002, HIT Entertainment sold their wildlife division to the newly formed Parthenon Entertainment, which was owned by the former managing director of HIT Wildlife, Carlos "Carl" Hall, with its 30 hours of programming in production and its 300-hour library was transferred in the management buyout agreement. The board of
Gullane Entertainment Gullane Entertainment PLC was a British independent production company which produced children's programming, including ''Thomas & Friends'' (1984–2021), '' Shining Time Station'' (1989–1993), and '' The Magic Adventures of Mumfie'' (1994–1 ...
agreed that their company be purchased by HIT for £139million. The television shows owned by Gullane included ''
Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...
'', ''
Magic Adventures of Mumfie ''Magic Adventures of Mumfie'' is a British animated children's television series and movie, inspired by the works of Katharine Tozer (1907-1943) with an original music score containing more than 22 songs. The series was created by Britt Allcrof ...
'', and ''
Fireman Sam ''Fireman Sam'' ( Welsh: ') is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd ...
'', which a stake of was purchased from S4C months before. On 22 August 2002, HIT Entertainment officially opened its Canadian office in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
. In March 2003, CCI Entertainment re-acquired its stake from HIT which was part of the purchase of Gullane and its library rights in Canada. HIT's next television series ''
Rubbadubbers ''Rubbadubbers'' is a 2003 British stop-motion children's television series produced by HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series aired from 15 January 2003 to 3 November 2005 on BBC2 in the UK. Created by Peter Curtis, it features seven ...
'' aired in September that year. CCI would in a decade's time be acquired and folded into
9 Story Media Group 9 Story Media Group Inc. (formerly known as 9 Story Entertainment) is a Canadian children's media production company and international distributor founded by Vincent "Vince" Commisso, Steve Jarosz, and Blake Tohana on September 1, 2002, and head ...
. On 1 April 2004, HIT and The Jim Henson Company agreed to a five-year global distribution and production deal which included distribution of 440 hours of TJHC's remaining library, including ''
Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim Hen ...
'', ''
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas ''Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas'' is a 1977 television special directed by Jim Henson, based on the 1971 children's book of the same name by Russell Hoban. The special features an ensemble cast of Henson's Muppet characters as well as chara ...
'', ''
The Hoobs ''The Hoobs'' is a live-action/animated children's television series created and produced by The Jim Henson Company and Decode Entertainment for Channel Four. Five series of 52 episodes were produced. Concept Channel 4 announced in November ...
'', and ''
Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories ''Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories'' is a children's television show hosted by Mother Goose, who tells her three goslings the stories behind well-known nursery rhymes. Production The show featured child actors and elaborate puppets created by ...
''. In addition, the agreement also included the production of new properties, including ''Frances'', in which both companies co-produced. Both companies co-owned the copyright to the series. While firing its chief executive Rob Lawes in October 2004, the company announced its launching of a 24-hour preschool channel known as
PBS Kids Sprout Universal Kids is an American children's television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented channel jointly ...
with
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
, Comcast, and Sesame Workshop.'


2005–2011: Apax Partners ownership

On 22 March 2005,
Apax Partners Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of December 2017, the firm, including its ...
purchased HIT for £489.4 million, taking it private, with former BBC director general
Greg Dyke Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist, and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing ' ...
becoming chairman. On 26 August 2005, HIT announced an agreement with
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primaril ...
,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
, and Sesame Workshop to launch the world's first 24-hour preschool television channel entitled
PBS Kids Sprout Universal Kids is an American children's television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented channel jointly ...
, with HIT supplying programming for the channel as a result at the time. In 2006, HIT closed its DVD sales and distribution arm in the U.S. and contracted with
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...
for DVD distribution. Soon, the distribution deal ended and was transferred to
Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
who distributed HIT's videos from May 2008 to 2014. HIT continued to sell and distribute its own DVD output in the UK. In September 2007, the company and Chellomedia formed a joint venture to run the
JimJam ''Jimjam'' (stylised as ''jimjam'') is a 2000 recording by UK jazz-funk guitarist Jim Mullen, featuring fellow-Scot Hamish Stuart on rhythm guitar, Pino Palladino on bass and Ian Thomas on drums. The professional collaboration between Mullen and ...
children's channel. HIT Entertainment opened its own toy company: the HIT Toy Company. In 2008, HIT hired former
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
executive, Jeffrey D. Dunn, as chief executive and moved DVD distribution from 20th Century Fox to Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Dunn drove the company to create new characters, including
Mike the Knight ''Mike the Knight'' is a CGI-animated children's television series created by Alexander Bar and written by Marc Seal. The series premiered in Treehouse TV in 2011. Premise The series is about Mike whose father, the King, is a knight who is away ...
, and to revitalize existing brands. In February, HIT sold the ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' brand, acquired through HIT's acquisition of
Gullane Entertainment Gullane Entertainment PLC was a British independent production company which produced children's programming, including ''Thomas & Friends'' (1984–2021), '' Shining Time Station'' (1989–1993), and '' The Magic Adventures of Mumfie'' (1994–1 ...
, to
Ripley Entertainment Ripley Entertainment Inc. is an entertainment and edutainment holding company owned by the Jim Pattison Group of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company has its headquarters in an unincorporated part of southern Orange County, Florida, ne ...
. They also sold the rights to the
Sooty Sooty is a British children's television media franchise created by Harry Corbett incorporating primarily television and stage shows. The franchise originated with his fictional glove puppet character introduced to television in 1955, with the ...
characters and properties to his current presenter,
Richard Cadell Richard Cadell (born 23 March 1969) is a British illusionist, puppeteer, actor and screenwriter, best known for being the in-vision presenter and the hand of puppet Sooty since succeeding Matthew Corbett in 1998. He is a Gold Star Member of th ...
. HIT had put the rights to Sooty up for sale in October 2007. In March 2009, HIT Entertainment started its HIT Movies division in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, with Julia Pistor as division head, to create films based on the company's franchises. The division's first planned film adaptation was a live-action ''
Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...
'' film, scheduled for late 2010. In early 2010, HIT licensed ''Thomas & Friends'' to
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
for toys. By August, the company withdrew from the JimJam joint venture, but agreed to continue providing programming for the channel until the absorption into Mattel. In April 2011, Apax put HIT up for sale, with the option to sell the company in two parts: ''Thomas & Friends'' franchise and the other HIT characters with its PBS Kids Sprout stake, with either parts or separately. Several bidders came forward, including
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
,
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
,
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
,
Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
,
Classic Media Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...
,
Chorion The chorion is the outermost fetal membrane around the embryo in mammals, birds and reptiles (amniotes). It develops from an outer fold on the surface of the yolk sac, which lies outside the zona pellucida (in mammals), known as the vitell ...
, and
Saban Brands Saban Capital Group LLC is an American investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2010 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Films, part of Univision Commu ...
. By April 2011, Fireman Sam was a Top 10 UK best-selling character toy according to
NPD Group The NPD Group, Inc. (NPD; formerly National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.) is an American market research company founded on September 28, 1966, and based in Port Washington, New York. In 2017, NPD ranked as the 8th largest mar ...
. Their next programme ''Mike the Knight'', a co-production between Nelvana aired on
Treehouse TV Treehouse TV is a Canadian English-language specialty channel for preschoolers aged 2 to 5 that was launched in 1997. Its name comes from YTV's former preschool block, " The Treehouse". The channel is owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of ...
and
CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
later in the year.


Mattel subsidiary

Apax Partners agreed to sell HIT Entertainment to
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
on 24 October 2011 for $680 million excluding its share of the
PBS Kids Sprout Universal Kids is an American children's television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented channel jointly ...
television channel. The sale/merger was completed on 1 February 2012, and HIT Entertainment became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel, which was managed under its Fisher-Price unit. Due to the success of the ''Thomas & Friends'' brand, which accounted for 80% of HIT's revenues, there was talks of Mattel only wanting to purchase that franchise rather than the entire HIT library. Mattel had already worked alongside HIT Entertainment and handled marketing for ''Thomas & Friends'' toys. On 3 July 2012, it was reported that Mattel considered selling and sought a buyer for ''Barney'' and ''Angelina Ballerina'', but they eventually kept them. HIT announced a DVD distribution deal with
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
on 2 May 2014. in which Universal began distributing their catalogue for Blu-ray and DVD electronic sell-through and VOD platforms in the United States and Canada. In early summer 2015, the Edaville amusement park opened a licensed Thomas Land theme area based on ''Thomas & Friends''. On 6 October 2015, HIT Entertainment announced a long-term partnership with
9 Story Media Group 9 Story Media Group Inc. (formerly known as 9 Story Entertainment) is a Canadian children's media production company and international distributor founded by Vincent "Vince" Commisso, Steve Jarosz, and Blake Tohana on September 1, 2002, and head ...
to relaunch ''
Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...
'' and ''
Angelina Ballerina ''Angelina Ballerina'' is a children's book series by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig about a fictional mouse (full name Angelina Jeanette Mouseling) who is training to become a ballerina. The first book in the series was ...
''. On 31 March 2016, HIT was absorbed into a newly created division called
Mattel Creations Mattel Television is the television production division of American toy and entertainment company Mattel, originally founded under the name Mattel Creations on March 31, 2016. It is headed by general manager and senior vice president, Frederic So ...
.


References


External links


Official website
(archived)
The UK Government's ''Companies House'' page
{{Authority control American companies established in 1982 American companies disestablished in 2016 British companies established in 1982 British companies disestablished in 2016 Mass media companies established in 1982 Mass media companies disestablished in 2016 2005 mergers and acquisitions 2012 mergers and acquisitions Television production companies of the United Kingdom Television production companies of the United States Mattel subsidiaries Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Former The Jim Henson Company subsidiaries Entertainment companies of the United Kingdom Mass media companies based in New York City Companies based in Los Angeles