The company was known for producing and distributing television shows, home videos, audio products and children's books and toys. On February 9, 2001, the company was acquired by British entertainment company HIT Entertainment and completed in June. HIT later folded Lyrick in August.
History
The company traces its origins to 1986, when The Lyons Group was formed as a division of DLM, Inc., an educational company owned by Richard C. Leach.[1] Lyons began producing and distributing a direct-to-video series titled Barney & the Backyard Gang, which was created by Leach's daughter-in-law, Sheryl Leach. Three years after its debut, Barney caught the attention of PBS executives, who subsequently revamped the concept for television as Barney & Friends and began airing on the organization's flagship television service on April 6, 1992.[2]
Lyrick Studios was formed in 1994, and DLM sold The Lyons Group to Lyrick Studios becoming the new division of the former and was renamed under the new name Lyons Partnership. The company developed the series Wishbone for PBS in 1995. This series was produced by Big Feats! Entertainment, another division of the company, and was primarily filmed on a studio backlot in Allen, Texas.[3] In the late 1990s, Lyrick acquired the distribution rights for VeggieTales and The Wiggles and also distributed book publishing and video gaming rights for some Humongous Entertainment video game characters like Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, and Pajama Sam.[3] On February 9, 2001, the company was acquired by HIT Entertainment for $275 million[4] and the two companies completed their merger in June of that year. Lyrick continued to use their logo until it was later folded into HIT on August 24, 2001.[citation needed] HIT also took over Lyrick's home video division and rebranded it under its name and it remained like this until 2006, when HIT Entertainment shuttered the division and began to release its products in the United States under third-parties instead.
^The date that the snap clamshell VHS release of Barney: Let's Go to the Zoo was released was dedicated to Lyrick Studios, which folded into HIT Entertainment.
^The #1 preschool band collaborated Barney the purple dinosaur's national stage show tour "Barney's Musical Castle" in America and Canada from Spring 2000 to Spring 2001.
^Inc, Nielsen Business Media (June 23, 2001). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^Inc, Nielsen Business Media (April 28, 2001). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
