Lyrick Studios

Lyrick Studios, Inc., made in 1988 as The Lyons Group, was an American video production and distribution company based in Allen, Texas, a suburb in Dallas. They were known for producing and distributing shows like Barney and Wishbone, as well as videos and albums from two music artists, Joe Scruggs and The Wiggles. They also had book rights to Humongous Entertainment characters like Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, and Pajama Sam. They paired with Big Idea for mass market distribution of prints and reprints of VeggieTales home videos, as well as rights to VeggieTales plush toys. On February 9, 2001, the company was acquired by HIT Entertainment and the two companies merged in June the same year, with the logo continuing to be used until August 2002.
History
The Beginning (1988 - 1994)
In 1988, The Lyons Group was formed as a division of DLM, Inc., an educational company owned by Richard C. Leach. Lyons began producing and distributing a direct-to-video pilot series titled Barney & the Backyard Gang, which was created by Leach's daughter-in-law, Sheryl Leach. Three years after the home video series debuted, Barney caught the attention of executives at PBS, and the concept was then changed for television as Barney & Friends. The show started broadcasting on the organization's flagship television service on April 6, 1992.
Lyrick Studios was formed in 1994, and The Lyons Group became a division of a new company under the name Lyons Partnership.
The Acquisitions and Expansion Era (1995 - 2000)
The company made 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.
In the late 1990s, Lyrick got the distribution (selling) rights for VeggieTales and The Wiggles. They also had book and video game distribution rights for some Humongous Entertainment video game characters, such as Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, and Pajama Sam.
The HIT Entertainment Acquisition Era and Aftermath (2001 - 2003)
According to Phil Vischer, he chose the company to release the videos since Lyrick Studios' founder and former chairman Richard C. Leach was a committed Christian, and the company let the religious tones on the shows remain intact, unlike other distributors Big Idea had asked beforehand. The company was acquired by HiT Entertainment on February 9, 2001, shortly before Richard C. Leach died.
In 2002, Big Idea turned to Warner Home Video to serve as their new mass market distributor; HiT responded to this by filing a lawsuit against them for $11 million, which was one of the major causes of Big Idea's 2003 bankruptcy with The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown. The home video division of the company was rebranded under the HIT Entertainment name and remained trading until at the end of 2006, when HIT shuttered the division and began to release products in the United States through outside third-parties instead.
Distribution
Programs
Movies
Theatrical
Television
Direct-to-Video
Notes
References
1994 establishments in the United States
2003 disestablishments in the United States
1990s establishments in Texas
American entertainment companies
Companies based in Texas
Defunct companies of the United States
21st-century disestablishments in Texas