HIT Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Hit Entertainment is a British-American entertainment distribution company established in 1989, and originally the international distribution arm of Jim Henson Productions called Henson International Television (later reincorporated as HiT Communications plc.). However, following the death of Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...

 in 1990, the business was sold to several members of the company's management, led by Peter Orton
Peter Orton
Peter Charles Orton was a British media entrepreneur and television producer noted for his work in children's television. He founded HiT Entertainment in 1989.Orton lead the company from 1989 to 2005 when he sold it to Apax...

, and renamed Hit Entertainment to prevent any future confusion between the two companies.

The company has been owned by Apax Partners
Apax Partners
Apax Partners LLP is a global private equity and venture capital firm, headquartered in London. The company also operates out of eight other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel-Aviv, Madrid, Stockholm, Milan and Munich. The firm, including its various predecessors, have raised...

 since the acquisition was closed for £489.4 million (US$890 million) on 26 May 2005.

As reported in Business Week on May 10, 2010, Apax Partners LLP’s HIT Entertainment Ltd. got an extension on a revolving credit
Revolving credit
Revolving credit is a type of credit that does not have a fixed number of payments, in contrast to installment credit. Examples of revolving credits used by consumers include credit cards. Corporate revolving credit facilities are typically used to provide liquidity for a company's day-to-day...

 by one year to June 1, 2012. It agreed to higher interest to complete the debt restructuring
Debt restructuring
Debt restructuring is a process that allows a private or public company – or a sovereign entity – facing cash flow problems and financial distress, to reduce and renegotiate its delinquent debts in order to improve or restore liquidity and rehabilitate so that it can continue its...

, according to Standard & Poor’s, which lifted the company’s ratings to CCC+, seven levels below investment-grade, from selective default. HIT, the owner of British children’s characters Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine, owes lenders $560 million.

In October 2011, it was announced that American toy company Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...

 had concluded a deal to purchase Hit Entertainment for $680 million. PBS Kids Sprout
PBS KIDS Sprout
PBS Kids Sprout is a U.S. digital cable television channel, video-on-demand service, and website providing PBS Kids shows and original programming for preschoolers and their families...

, a US cable network HIT co-owns with NBCUniversal, PBS, and Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...

, is not included in the deal, and it is not yet known what will happen to that stake.

HIT is available on-demand in the UK with BT Vision
BT Vision
BT Vision is a hybrid IPTV-digital terrestrial television service provided by BT Group in the United Kingdom which was launched in December 2006...

.

Hit's catalogue

Hit's catalogue of characters include Angelina Ballerina
Angelina Ballerina
Angelina Ballerina is a fictional mouse, created by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig, who is featured in a popular series of children's books...

, Barney & Friends
Barney & Friends
Barney and Friends, also referred to by HiT Entertainment as Barney the Friendly Dinosaur, is an independent children's television show produced in the United States, aimed at children from ages 1-8...

, Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...

, Fifi & the Flowertots
Fifi & the Flowertots
Fifi and the Flowertots is a British stop-motion animated children's television series first broadcast in May 2005, which is shown on Channel 5, and on Nick Jr, in the United States. It has also been translated into Welsh as Fifi a'i Ffrindau and is shown on S4C...

, Fireman Sam
Fireman Sam
Fireman Sam is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman called Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other townspeople in the Welsh town of Pontypandy . The original idea for the show came from two ex-firemen from Kent...

, Fraggle Rock
Fraggle Rock
Fraggle Rock is a children's live action puppet television program series created by Jim Henson. The central characters were a set of "Muppet" creatures called Fraggles. The show ran from January 10, 1983, to March 30, 1987, on CBC Television in Canada, ITV in the UK, HBO in the United States,...

, Pingu
Pingu
Pingu is a British-Swiss stop-motion claymated television series created by Otmar Gutmann. The series was produced by The Pygos Group and Trickfilmstudio for Swiss television. The show is about a family of anthropomorphic penguins at the South Pole. The main character is the family's son and title...

, Rainbow Magic
Rainbow Magic
Rainbow Magic is a children's fiction brand owned by Hit Entertainment and best known for the children's books published by Orchard Books. The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors under the collective pseudonym Daisy Meadows and illustrated by Georgie Ripper...

and Thomas & Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...

. Hit also owns redistribution rights to several other shows (Wishbone
Wishbone (TV series)
Wishbone is a television show which aired from 1995 to 1998 and reruns from 1998 to 2001 in the United States featuring a Jack Russell Terrier of the same name. The main character, the talking dog Wishbone, lives with his owner Joe Talbot in the fictional modern town of Oakdale, Texas...

, et al.).

According to its web site, Hit's catalog comprises over 1,500 hours of children's programming in 240 countries and in over 45 different languages. Hit also claims to produce more than 900 minutes of new programming a year.

Hit purchased Gullane Entertainment
Gullane Entertainment
Gullane Entertainment was the name of the company that replaced that of The Britt Allcroft Company in 2000, when Britt Allcroft herself left the company she had originally co-founded with her then-husband Angus Wright....

 (the owners of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...

and Magic Adventures of Mumfie
Magic Adventures of Mumfie
Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie is an animated made-for-television movie and television series created by Britt Allcroft and directed by John Laurence Collins. It is based on the Mumfie novels by Katherine Tozer, which were originally published in 1936. Mumfie is a 'nelifunt', a toy...

) in 2003, in the process becoming owner of the Guinness Book of Records, which was sold in 2004, and in the same year also purchased Lyrick Studios
Lyrick Studios
Lyrick Studios, Inc. is an American video production and distribution company founded in 1991 and based in Allen, Texas. The company was best known for its distribution of home videos, audio products and children's books and toys for the children's television series Barney & Friends and...

 (who were the US distributors of The Wiggles
The Wiggles
The Wiggles are a children's group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1991. Their original members were Anthony Field, Phillip Wilcher, Murray Cook, Greg Page, and Jeff Fatt. Wilcher left the group after their first album...

 and Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...

 and the owners of Barney & Friends
Barney & Friends
Barney and Friends, also referred to by HiT Entertainment as Barney the Friendly Dinosaur, is an independent children's television show produced in the United States, aimed at children from ages 1-8...

 and Wishbone
Wishbone (TV series)
Wishbone is a television show which aired from 1995 to 1998 and reruns from 1998 to 2001 in the United States featuring a Jack Russell Terrier of the same name. The main character, the talking dog Wishbone, lives with his owner Joe Talbot in the fictional modern town of Oakdale, Texas...

).

Hit appointed Lionsgate as its North American home video partner in 2008, responsible for the distribution, sales and marketing of HIT's extensive portfolio, which had been distributed since 2006 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....

.

Hit Entertainment is a fully integrated studio, that incorporates production, worldwide distribution, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 home entertainment, publishing, licensing and merchandising.

Hit currently sells programming to over 120 countries. The chairman of HIT Entertainment is Greg Dyke, the former Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the CEO is Jeff Dunn, formerly the Group Chief Operating Officer of Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...

.

Hit Movies

Hit Movies is a movie division created by Hit Entertainment. Industry veteran Julia Pistor is in charge of the division, as well as Hit Entertainment's CEO Jeff Dunn. Hit Movies will not be launching preschooler movies, but movies for the whole family to enjoy, such as film franchises based on Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder, as well as new characters and stories. Hit has signed with the United Talent Agency to help create opportunities in film, television, and digital entertainment. The UTA has also helped create partnerships for Hit properties with toys, books, and live events, and has achieved success. The first film planned is a Thomas and Friends film, with a yet to be announced title, which is scheduled for release in 2014.

List of shows

  • Anything produced by Britt Allcroft (Thomas and Friends, Captain Pugwash
    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 , also called Captain Pugwash, first shown on the BBC in 1957, a later colour...

    , James the Cat
    James the Cat
    James the Cat was a children's series created by Kate Canning and produced by Jan Clayton with Grampian Television. It chronicles the many events which take place at the Cornerhouse between James and his new friends. Fellow characters include: Mrs...

    )
  • The work of Collingwood O'Hare (Animal Stories
    Animal Stories
    Animal Stories is a British pre-school animated television series. Cartoon Network TOO began airing this program on 5 June 2006. It also aired on Playhouse Disney in the US in the early 2000s.-References:...

    , The Magic Key
    The Magic Key
    The Magic Key is a series of books published for children as part of the Oxford Reading Tree, from Oxford University Press. The books are written by Roderick Hunt, illustrated by Alex Brychta, and primarily follow the lives of three children, Biff, Chip and Kipper Robinson, their parents and...

    , Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!
    Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!
    Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto! was a 52-episode animated television series, produced by Collingwood O'Hare and HIT Entertainment, aired from 2003 to 2005, and was part of Cartoon Network's Tickle-U preschool television programming block in the United States...

  • The work of Grand Slamm (Angelina Ballerina
    Angelina Ballerina
    Angelina Ballerina is a fictional mouse, created by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig, who is featured in a popular series of children's books...

    , Kipper the Dog
    Kipper the Dog
    Kipper the Dog is a character in a series of books for preschool age children by a British writer, Mick Inkpen. The books consist of 34 titles which have sold over 8 million copies and have been translated into over 20 languages. The books have also won many awards.Kipper is also the name of a...

    , Percy the Park Keeper
    Percy the Park Keeper
    Percy the Park Keeper is an animated children's series by Nick Butterworth. It stars Percy, & many other park animals,such as the Badger, The Owl,the Fox,the Mice etc....

    , Sheeep
    Sheeep
    Sheeep was a short lived animated television series that aired on CBBC, within the United Kingdom, in 2000. The show followed the adventures of three sheep called Georgina, Gogal and Hubert who often end up in some kind of conflict involving the wolves wearing sunglasses, who were the antagonists...

    )
  • The catalogue of Lyrick Studios and its subsidiary, Big Feats! Entertainment (Barney & Friends
    Barney & Friends
    Barney and Friends, also referred to by HiT Entertainment as Barney the Friendly Dinosaur, is an independent children's television show produced in the United States, aimed at children from ages 1-8...

    , Wishbone
    Wishbone (TV series)
    Wishbone is a television show which aired from 1995 to 1998 and reruns from 1998 to 2001 in the United States featuring a Jack Russell Terrier of the same name. The main character, the talking dog Wishbone, lives with his owner Joe Talbot in the fictional modern town of Oakdale, Texas...

    )
  • The work of Bumper Films
    Bumper Films
    Bumper Films was a children's stop-motion production company founded by John Walker and Ian Frampton in 1982. It is best known for creating Fireman Sam in 1987-1994. It also created Joshua Jones in 1991-1992, Starhill Ponies in 1998-2001 and Rocky Hollow in 1983. The company was also used for S4C...

     excluding Starhill Ponies which is owned by the Moonscoop Group (Fireman Sam
    Fireman Sam
    Fireman Sam is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman called Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other townspeople in the Welsh town of Pontypandy . The original idea for the show came from two ex-firemen from Kent...

    )
  • The Rainbow Magic
    Rainbow Magic
    Rainbow Magic is a children's fiction brand owned by Hit Entertainment and best known for the children's books published by Orchard Books. The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors under the collective pseudonym Daisy Meadows and illustrated by Georgie Ripper...

     book series
  • The work of Keith Chapman (Bob the Builder
    Bob the Builder
    Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...

    , Fifi and the Flowertots, Roary the Racing Car
    Roary the Racing Car
    Roary the Racing Car is an animated children's television show that currently airs on Milkshake! on Five and Nick Jr. in the United Kingdom, PBS Kids Sprout in the United States, Treehouse TV in Canada, Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Nick Jr. and ABC2 in Australia...

    )
  • Pingu
    Pingu
    Pingu is a British-Swiss stop-motion claymated television series created by Otmar Gutmann. The series was produced by The Pygos Group and Trickfilmstudio for Swiss television. The show is about a family of anthropomorphic penguins at the South Pole. The main character is the family's son and title...

  • Addie Ann
  • Distribution rights to Shaun the Sheep
    Shaun the Sheep
    Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated children's television series produced by Aardman Animations, and commissioned by the BBC and the WDR. It first aired in the UK on CBBC in March 2007...

     and Timmy Time
    Timmy Time
    Timmy Time is an animated pre-school children's comedy series created by Aardman Animations. It started broadcasting in the UK on CBeebies on 6 April 2009. The show is a spin off from the Shaun the Sheep animation which itself is a spin off from the Aardman series Wallace & Gromit, which introduced...

  • Revealed 2011 to Mike the Knight

External links

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