HIT Entertainment

HIT Entertainment Limited
Formerly	Henson International Television (1982–1989); Gainbase PLC (1989); HIT Communications PLC (1989–1992); HIT Entertainment PLC (1992–2005);
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Television production
Genre	Entertainment; Children's programming
Predecessors	Gullane Entertainment; Lyrick Studios
Founded	1982
Founders	Jim Henson; Peter Orton; Sophie Turner Laing;
Defunct	31 March 2016
Fate	Absorbed into Mattel Creations, name currently used for licensing purposes only
Successor	Mattel Television
Headquarters	London, England; New York City, New York, U.S.; Los Angeles, California, U.S.;
Number of locations	3
Key people	Peter Orton
Products	Children's television series; Children's films;
Services	Distribution; Licensing;
Owner	Apax Partners (2005–2012)
Number of employees	188+
Parent	Jim Henson Productions (1982–1989); Mattel (2012–2016);
Divisions	HIT Video; HIT Consumer Products; HIT Toy Company; HIT Movies;
Subsidiaries	HIT Entertainment USA Inc.; Ludgate 151 Ltd.; Entermode Ltd.; HIT Entertainment Canada Inc.;

HIT Entertainment Limited (stylised as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turner Laing. Orton alone took over the company in 1989 after learning Henson intended to sell the company to The Walt Disney Company. HIT owned and distributed children's television series such as Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder, Pingu, Barney & Friends, and Angelina Ballerina.^[5]

HIT Entertainment was one of several partner companies alongside NBCUniversal, PBS, and Sesame Workshop that founded PBS Kids Sprout; many of HIT's shows aired on the channel as a result at the time.

On 1 February 2012, HIT Entertainment was acquired by Mattel, as Mattel was initially only interested in the Thomas & Friends brand in its acquisition, according to Deadline Hollywood.^[6] Mattel absorbed the company on 31 March 2016 into its then newly created division, Mattel Creations.^[7]

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^ "HIT Entertainment PLC - Overview". Companies House. UK Government. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
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^ "Our Brands". HiT Entertainment. Archived from the original on 15 August 2002. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
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[2] "HIT Entertainment PLC - Overview". Companies House. UK Government. Retrieved 22 January 2019.

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[5] "Our Brands". HiT Entertainment. Archived from the original on 15 August 2002. Retrieved 13 February 2014.

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