The Lyons Group

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title: "The Lyons Group" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mattel", "barney-(franchise)", "mass-media-companies-established-in-1986", "mass-media-companies-disestablished-in-1994", "1986-establishments-in-texas", "1994-disestablishments-in-texas", "defunct-companies-based-in-texas", "hit-entertainment"] description: "American video production group, 1986–1994" topic_path: "general/mattel" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lyons_Group" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American video production group, 1986–1994 ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
name	The Lyons Group
foundation
defunct
fate	Became a subsidiary of Lyrick Studios, which became a subsidiary of HIT Entertainment which got bought by Mattel
successors	Lyrick Studios
location	Richardson, Texas
hq_location_country	U.S.
num_employees	250 (1993)
production
key_people
owner
divisions	Barney Publishing
::

| name = The Lyons Group | foundation = | defunct = | fate = Became a subsidiary of Lyrick Studios, which became a subsidiary of HIT Entertainment which got bought by Mattel | successors = Lyrick Studios | location = Richardson, Texas | hq_location_country = U.S. | num_employees = 250 (1993) | production = | key_people = | owner = | divisions = Barney Publishing The Lyons Group (alternatively known through copyright and trademark as Lyons Partnership, L.P.) was a video production group founded in 1986. Currently retaining ownership through copyright, it produced Barney & the Backyard Gang alongside its successor Barney & Friends.

History

Beginnings

The company traces its origins back to 1986, where it was founded as a B2B video production and corporate training video service. In the late 1980s, Sheryl Leach proposed a preschool video series, which eventually would be Barney & the Backyard Gang, to DLM, Inc (Developmental Learning Materials). At the time Leach was working at DLM, Inc. as a writer. The board she proposed to turned her down. Owner of DLM, Inc., Richard C. Leach, who was Sheryl's father-in-law, agreed to back her with the project with $700,000 of his own money, but $1 million in total was provided for the video project. The Lyons Group was formed by Leach under DLM, Inc., to help market Barney. The company was named after Richard's mother, Bernice Lyons Leach.

Ownership & Copyright

DLM, Inc. changed its name to RCL Enterprises, Inc. in 1992 due to it divesting itself of Developmental Learning Materials and selling its instructional materials to Macmillian/McGraw Hill and its assessment materials to Riverside Publishing, a subsidiary of Houghton Mifflin. Around this time The Lyons Group began using their alternative name, Lyons Partnership, L.P. through copyright and trademark, which continues to be used today. As the company was growing around this time, The Walt Disney Company was looking to buy the company. Michael Eisner, who was CEO of the company at the time, offered to make Barney as big as Mickey Mouse if the company was sold to Disney, but Leach refused. Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was also a part of The Walt Disney Company at the time, laid out plans he envisioned for Barney if involved with Disney. Again, Leach refused as he liked the idea of the company being independent. In 1994, RCL Enterprises, Inc. was moved to its parent company, Lyrick Corporation. Lyrick Corporation formed the subsidiary Lyrick Studios which held the Lyons Group unit.

References

References

1. Hinton, Carla. (June 7, 1995). "Third Show Scheduled For Barney".
2. (February 14, 1994). "LYONS STICKING WITH BARNEY STRATEGY".
3. (October 22, 1993). "Barney #4".
4. Lawson, Carol. (December 3, 1992). "Why Young Children Scream".
5. (October 28, 1995). "EXECUTIVE TURNTABLE".
6. (January 24, 1993). "What's not to like about that big, purple bundle known as Barney?".
7. Baldwin, Dan. (September 1, 1991). "CREATING A MONSTER".
8. (April 24, 1994). "Barney's big success breeds some equally big problems".
9. Sagon, Candy. (June 21, 1992). "DUMPING THE LITTLE DINOSAUR THAT COULD".
10. Jones, Arthur. (September 11, 1998). "Vatican II in living color, filled with promises".
11. Destefano, Ed. "Richard Leach".
12. Vischer, Phil. (November 15, 2004). "What Happened to Big Idea? (Part 6)".

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