HIT Entertainment Digital Newsroom

Imperial Toy Introduces New Line of Barney™ Bubble and Sand Toys!

06/30/2008

North Hills, CA

Imperial Toy® LLC, a leading worldwide manufacturer of licensed and proprietary novelty and bubble toys, and HIT Entertainment a leading provider of quality preschool entertainment, announced a licensing deal today that gives Imperial the rights to Barney™ bubble and sandbox toys beginning in the Spring 2009 season. This is the newest addition to Imperial's strong line up of HIT Properties that already includes Thomas & Friends™ and Bob the Builder™ bubble and sand toys (in stores now).

Imperial® will manufacture and market a complete bubble toy line, including both battery-operated and dip and blow bubble toys. The focal point will be the battery operated Barney™ Bubble Bellie™, based on Imperial's best selling, award winning, patented design. The Barney™ Bubble line will be on retail shelves beginning in January 2009.

Imperial Toy Introduces New Line of Barney™ Bubble and Sand Toys!

"Barney™ and bubbles are two timeless favorites," said Tim Thompson, Senior Vice President, Marketing Imperial Toy®. "Many of today's parents grew up enjoying Barney & Friends™ and can now share their love for the dino-mite dinosaur with their own kids."

"Imperial Toy has done a fantastic job with this year's launch of Bob the Builder and Thomas & Friends sand toys and bubble products," said Rick Glankler, Vice President, Consumer Products, HIT Entertainment. "We are confident that the Barney line will be equally successful, providing Barney fans with innovative toys for warm-weather fun."

About Barney™

As a helping hand for growing children, Barney (along with special pals Baby Bop™, BJ™ and Riff™ ) helps parents give their children the range of skills they need to grow - and he always does it with lots of fun, music and laughs. Barney & Friends™ episodes are always filled with Sharing, Caring, Imagining, Dancing and Learning and can be seen on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS Sprout℠. For more information about Barney and all his friends, please visit www.barney.com.

About HIT Entertainment

HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners since June 2005, is one of the world’s leading independent children’s entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT’s portfolio includes internationally renowned children’s properties, such as Bob the Builder™, Barney™, Thomas & Friends™, Pingu™, Rubbadubbers™ and Angelina Ballerina™. HIT acts as a representative for The Wiggles® in the UK, US and Canada and as worldwide representative for The Jim Henson Company’s library of classic family brands, including Fraggle Rock™. HIT also owns the Guinness World Records™ publishing and television property and Fireman Sam™, a joint venture with S4C. Launched in 1989, HIT’s lines of business span television and video production (including studios in the US and the UK), publishing, consumer products licensing and live events. With a catalog of more than 1,000 hours of young children’s programming, HIT sells its shows to more than 240 countries worldwide, in more than 40 different languages and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. In 2005, the Company joined Comcast Corporation, PBS and Sesame Workshop to launch PBS KIDS Sprout℠, a 24-hour digital cable channel and VOD service for preschoolers. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.

About Imperial:

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in North Hills, CA, Imperial Toy® is a privately held toy manufacturer with a catalogue of some of America's best-selling toys. Additional facilities are in Memphis, San Diego, Hong Kong, and Tijuana, Mexico. The company has a wide distribution network which includes leading national stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, K-mart, Kay-Bee Toys, and Toys ‘R Us. The company is the #1 manufacturer of bubbles and bubble toys in the world and the producer of toys for leading children's entertainment companies including Little Tikes®, Nickelodeon ®, Thomas the Tank Engine®, Bob the Builder®, and Universal®. For further information, call 818 536 6500 or visit www.imperialtoy.com