NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES,
May 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- HIT
Entertainment, one of the world's leading preschool entertainment
companies, and a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. (Nasdaq:MAT), and
Universal Studios Home Entertainment, a premier home entertainment
company, announced today a deal that gives Universal distribution
rights to HIT's vast award-winning family content library including
Thomas & Friends®, Angelina Ballerina®, Barney &
Friends®, Bob the Builder®, Pingu®, Kipper®, and
more1. As part of the arrangement, Universal acquires
rights to distribute, sell, and market hundreds of titles from
HIT's extensive content library in the U.S. and Canada across Blu-ray, DVD, Electronic
Sell-Through and VOD platforms.
Universal will begin to distribute and market the HIT
Entertainment catalog on October 1. In addition, the two
companies will work together to distribute new content produced by
HIT, including the upcoming Thomas & Friends feature
length special, "Tale of the Brave," due out in fall 2014.
"HIT Entertainment's vibrant, preeminent brands are a
spectacular complement to Universal's outstanding portfolio of
family franchises, including Barbie, Despicable Me
and Curious George," said Eddie
Cunningham, Universal Pictures' President -- Worldwide Home
Entertainment. "Pairing HIT's superior entertainment properties
with Universal's formidable home entertainment sales, marketing and
distribution infrastructure effectively positions our companies for
an enduring and prosperous collaboration."
"With its strong expertise and footprint in content distribution
across both brick and mortar and digital retail platforms, we are
thrilled to partner with Universal Studios Home Entertainment to
distribute and market HIT's preschool franchises in North America," said Sid Mathur, Vice President, The Americas, HIT
Entertainment. "As consumer options to view content increase
and evolve, we look forward to working together with Universal to
leverage our popular evergreen portfolio and offer families the
best preschool offerings in home entertainment."
With the HIT partnership, Universal now distributes Mattel's top
powerhouse brands in North America
starting from HIT's preschool portfolio through Mattel's girls and
boys brands. Universal Studios Home Entertainment currently
distributes Blu-ray, DVD and Digital animated content based on some
of Mattel's hit brands including Barbie®, Monster High®,
and Hot Wheels®, and live-action content for
American Girl®.
About Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal
Pictures, a division of Universal Studios
(www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of
NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment
companies in the development, production, and marketing of
entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.
NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and
entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture
company, significant television production operations, a leading
television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a
suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a
subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
About HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment is one of the world's leading preschool
entertainment companies, specializing in building powerful brands
based on engaging stories. HIT Entertainment's world-class
portfolio includes Thomas & Friends®,
Mike the Knight™, Fireman Sam®, Bob the Builder,
Barney®, Angelina Ballerina®,
Pingu® and Rainbow
Magic®.
HIT Entertainment excels at creating and building globally
successful brands which capture the hearts and imaginations of
preschoolers and their families. This is achieved
through exceptional storytelling in multiple formats, enhanced by
creating high quality character-based products and experiences with
best-in-class partners. HIT Entertainment's lines of business span
television and home entertainment production, content
distribution, digital media, publishing, consumer products and live
events and attractions. HIT Entertainment, a division of
Fisher-Price, has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong
Kong and Japan. For more
information visit www.hitentertainment.com
For more information, please contact:
Noelle Dong / HIT
Entertainment
646.467.5336 / ndong@hitentetainment.com
Lea Porteneuve / Universal
Studios Home Entertainment
(818) 777-1391 / Lea.Portneuve@nbcuni.com
1 Excluding Fireman Sam® & Mike the
Knight™
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140429/82218
SOURCE Universal Studios Home Entertainment