HIT Entertainment facts for kids
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Formerly
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Television production |
| Genre | Entertainment Children's programming |
| Fate | Absorbed into Mattel Creations, name currently used for licensing purposes only |
| Predecessors | Gullane Entertainment Lyrick Studios |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Founders |
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| Defunct | 31 March 2016 |
| Headquarters |
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Number of locations
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3 |
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Key people
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Peter Orton |
| Products |
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| Services |
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| Owner |
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Number of employees
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188+ |
| Divisions |
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| Subsidiaries |
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HIT Entertainment Limited (often called HiT) was a company that made and shared TV shows for kids. It started in 1982 as Henson International Television. Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turner Laing created it. It was first part of The Jim Henson Company. Later, Peter Orton took over in 1989.
HIT was known for popular shows like Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam, Pingu, Barney & Friends, and Angelina Ballerina. HIT also helped start PBS Kids Sprout, a TV channel for young children. Many of HIT's shows were shown on this channel.
On February 1, 2012, Mattel bought HIT Entertainment. Mattel was especially interested in the Thomas & Friends brand. On March 31, 2016, Mattel fully brought HIT into its new division, Mattel Creations.
Contents
History of HIT Entertainment
Early Years: 1982 to 1990
Peter Orton met Jim Henson while working at the Sesame Workshop. He helped share Sesame Street around the world. Orton and Henson became good friends. In 1981, Orton started working with Henson.
The next year, they created Henson International Television. This company helped share shows made by Jim Henson Productions to other countries. Peter Orton became the company's CEO.
In the late 1980s, Jim Henson Productions thought about selling the company to The Walt Disney Company. Peter Orton and other employees convinced Henson to let their part of the company become independent. Henson agreed. In 1989, Orton bought the Henson International Television division from Henson. He then formed a new company called HIT Communications PLC.
Becoming Independent: 1990 to 1999
HIT kept sharing TV shows. They first signed deals for popular British series like Postman Pat. They also worked with the long-running Alvin and the Chipmunks series. The company then helped pay for and share animated movies. These films were based on books like The Wind in the Willows and Peter Rabbit.
HIT also handled sharing Barney & Friends to other countries. This show was made by Lyrick Studios. Because Barney was so successful, HIT started to create its own shows. In 1996, HIT became a public company to get more money. They used this money to start HIT Video. This part of the company made direct-to-video shows in the UK.
In 1996, HIT found a new character idea from Keith Chapman. This character was a building contractor named Bob the Builder. Other companies had said no to the idea. But HIT saw its potential and bought the rights to make Bob the Builder into a TV series.
In 1997, HIT got more money and moved to the main London Stock Exchange. They used this money to create their first original series. These included Brambly Hedge, Percy the Park Keeper, and Kipper. Kipper became a big hit on ITV.
In 1998, HIT started its own animation company called HOT Animation. They also created their Consumers Product Division. The BBC agreed to show Bob the Builder. HIT signed deals to show their programs in America. Kipper won an award in 1998 for Best Children's Animation.
In 1999, HIT had 10 new TV series in the United States. They also started an American branch of the company. In April, Bob the Builder first aired on the BBC and was very popular. In December, Nickelodeon agreed to air Bob the Builder in America starting in January 2001. Mattel also signed a deal to make toys for the Angelina Ballerina TV series.
Growth and Acquisitions: 2000 to 2004
In early 2000, HIT almost partnered with Britt Allcroft. This British company owned licenses for characters like Thomas the Tank Engine and Fireman Sam. But they could not agree on a price, so the deal did not happen. Bob the Builder continued to be very successful.
In December 2000, HIT's US branch teamed up with Lyrick Studios. Lyrick Studios owned Barney & Friends. This partnership was for sharing Bob the Builder and Kipper videos. This led to HIT buying Lyrick Studios for $275 million. This purchase gave HIT a way to share its shows with American audiences. It also helped Barney become more known around the world.
In May 2001, the first Bob the Builder videos were released in the United States. HIT also signed a deal with Sears to have "Bob Shops" in their stores. In October 2001, HIT bought Pingu BV, the company that owned Pingu.
In April 2002, HIT Entertainment sold its wildlife division. This part of the company made nature and wildlife shows. It was sold to a new company called Parthenon Entertainment.
The company Gullane Entertainment agreed to be bought by HIT for £139 million. Gullane owned TV shows like Thomas & Friends, Magic Adventures of Mumfie, and Fireman Sam. On August 22, 2002, HIT Entertainment opened its Canadian office in Toronto.
In March 2003, CCI Entertainment bought back its share from HIT. This was part of the Gullane purchase. HIT's next TV series, Rubbadubbers, aired in September of that year.
On April 1, 2004, HIT and The Jim Henson Company made a five-year deal. HIT would share 440 hours of Jim Henson's shows. These included Fraggle Rock and The Hoobs. They also agreed to make new shows together, like Frances. In October 2004, HIT announced it was starting a 24-hour channel for preschool kids. This channel was called PBS Kids Sprout. HIT worked with PBS, Comcast, and Sesame Workshop to create it.
Apax Partners Takes Over: 2005 to 2011
On March 22, 2005, a company called Apax Partners bought HIT for £489.4 million. This made HIT a private company again. On August 26, 2005, HIT announced its agreement with NBCUniversal, PBS, and Sesame Workshop. This was to launch the PBS Kids Sprout channel. HIT provided shows for this channel.
In 2006, HIT stopped selling and sharing its own DVDs in the U.S. Instead, they worked with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Later, Lionsgate Home Entertainment took over DVD sharing from May 2008 to 2014. HIT continued to sell its own DVDs in the UK.
In September 2007, HIT and Chellomedia started a joint company. This company ran the JimJam children's channel. HIT Entertainment also opened its own toy company, the HIT Toy Company.
In 2008, HIT hired Jeffrey D. Dunn as its new chief executive. Dunn wanted the company to create new characters, like Mike the Knight. He also wanted to make existing brands more popular. In February, HIT sold the Guinness World Records brand. They also sold the rights to the Sooty characters.
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| Division | |
| Industry | Film production |
| Fate | Closed |
| Founded | March 2009 |
| Founder | Julia Pistor |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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| Owner | HIT Entertainment |
| Parent | HIT Entertainment |
In March 2009, HIT Entertainment started its HIT Movies division in Los Angeles. This division was created to make movies based on the company's shows. The first movie planned was a live-action Thomas & Friends film.
In early 2010, HIT allowed Mattel to make toys for Thomas & Friends. By August, the company left the JimJam joint venture. However, they agreed to keep providing shows for the channel.
In April 2011, Apax decided to sell HIT. They thought about selling the Thomas & Friends part separately from the other HIT characters. Several companies were interested, including The Walt Disney Company and Mattel. By April 2011, Fireman Sam toys were among the top 10 best-selling character toys in the UK. Their next show, Mike the Knight, aired later that year.
Becoming a Mattel Company
Apax Partners agreed to sell HIT Entertainment to Mattel on October 24, 2011. The sale was for $680 million. This deal was completed on February 1, 2012. HIT Entertainment then became a company fully owned by Mattel. It was managed under Mattel's Fisher-Price unit.
Thomas & Friends was very successful, making up 80% of HIT's money. Because of this, there were talks that Mattel only wanted to buy that brand. Mattel had already worked with HIT Entertainment and handled marketing for Thomas & Friends toys. On July 3, 2012, it was reported that Mattel thought about selling Barney and Angelina Ballerina. But they decided to keep them.
HIT announced a new DVD sharing deal with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on May 2, 2014. Universal began sharing HIT's shows on Blu-ray, DVD, and online platforms in the United States and Canada. In summer 2015, the Edaville USA amusement park opened a "Thomas Land" area based on Thomas & Friends. On October 6, 2015, HIT Entertainment announced a long-term partnership with 9 Story Media Group. This was to bring back Barney & Friends and Angelina Ballerina.
On March 31, 2016, HIT was fully brought into a new division called Mattel Creations.
Images for kids
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HIT Movies logo
See also
In Spanish: HIT Entertainment para niños
