--- title: Barney is back in business - The Hustle description: A look back at the purple dinosaur’s lucrative franchise — and why it’s making a return. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1106558668-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-15T021621.614Z.webp --- # Barney is back in business ![Jacob Cohen](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_5670-1-modified-768x768.png?width=48&height=48&name=IMG_5670-1-modified-768x768.png) [Jacob Cohen](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/jacob-cohen) [Jacob Cohen Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/ImJacobCohen) Published: February 15, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 Whether you loved watching Barney as a kid, or enjoyed seeing NBA star Charles Barkely [obliterate](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkix60xjUC8) the big purple dinosaur in a 1993 basketball game on “Saturday Night Live” — brace for impact. ![Barney is back in business](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1106558668-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-15T021621.614Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1106558668-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-15T021621.614Z.webp) This week, Mattel, which owns the rights to Barney, [said](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230213005139/en/) it’s relaunching the beloved character across TV, film, YouTube, and merchandise. #### **The business of Barney** Barney was created in 1988 by teacher Sheryl Leach as a series of home videos with the help of [$1m](https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/invasion-of-barney/) in funding (~$2.5m in today’s money) from her father-in-law. By 1991, Barney was raking in $3m+ in annual sales. That year, a TV executive whose daughter loved the videos helped secure $2m to produce 30 episodes on PBS. It was all up for the dino from there: - In 1996-97, the show attracted a peak viewership of [2.08m](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/12/business/advertising-barney-s-image-gets-makeover-for-new-crop-of-toddlers.html) preschoolers. - In 1998, retail sales of licensed Barney merchandise totaled $750m (this figure fell to $550m in 1999). - In 2001, UK-based HIT Entertainment acquired Lyrick Studios (then-Barney’s distributor) for [$275m](https://apnews.com/article/ad72d446781bec820795d054a1a1c481). By then, Barney had sold 55m videos, 68m books, and 25m plush toys. *Barney & Friends* suddenly came to an end in 2010. PBS never gave a reason, but the rise of competing children’s shows and a number of [bizarre controversies](https://www.eonline.com/news/1349743/all-the-bombshells-in-peacocks-barney-documentary-i-love-you-you-hate-me#:~:text=During%20the%20early%20'90s%2C%20critics,even%20call%20for%20Barney's%20death.) likely played a role. In 2011, Mattel bought HIT Entertainment for [$680m](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20111024005460/en/Mattel-Announces-Acquisition-of-HIT-Entertainment). #### **Why resurrect Barney now?** Presumably, the toymaker wants to leverage original content to drive sales. In 2022, Mattel’s Q4 net sales [dropped](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230208005111/en/) 22% to $1.4B. It also posted a 93% YoY drop in net income, down from $225.8m to $16.1m. - **Interesting parallel**: When fellow toymaker Lego’s sales slumped in the early 2000s, the company [managed](https://youtu.be/lOdcAdqGFnM) a successful turnaround partly with this same strategy. More recently, its 2014 film *The Lego Movie* grossed [$468m](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl643728897/). Upcoming projects in Mattel’s lineup include a [$100m](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1517268/) live-action *Barbie *movie and other films based on Hot Wheels, Magic 8 Ball, and Uno. **Want more Barney?** Check out the documentary [*I Love You, You Hate Me*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj-7H0BVrVg). Topics: [Toys](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/toys) ## Follow us on social media Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. 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