The Jim Henson Company, Inc., formerly known asMuppets, Inc.,Henson Associates, Inc., andJim Henson Productions, Inc. (commonly referred to asHenson), is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field ofpuppetry, particularly through the creation ofKermit the Frog and theMuppets characters.[1]
The company was established in November 1958 bypuppeteersJim andJane Henson,[2] and is currently independently owned and operated by their children. Henson has produced many successful television series, includingThe Muppet Show (1976–1981),Fraggle Rock (1983–1987), andBear in the Big Blue House (1997–2006); as well, the company designed the Muppet characters forSesame Street (1969–present).
Subsequently, control of the company was assumed by Henson's children:Lisa,Cheryl,Brian,John, andHeather. In 2000, Henson was sold to German media companyEM.TV & Merchandising AG; by the end of that year, however, EM.TV's stock collapsed, and the Henson family re-acquired the company in 2003.
In the interim, EM.TV sold the rights to theSesame Street Muppets toSesame Workshop in early January 2001,[4] following a December 2000 announcement. Henson sold The Muppets andBear in the Big Blue House properties to Disney in 2004, but retains the remainder of its program library and assets.
As of 2025[update], Brian, Lisa, Cheryl, and Heather Henson maintain control of the company. Their mother, Jane Henson, died in April 2013 and brother, John Henson, died in February 2014.
Jim andJane Henson officially founded Muppets, Inc. on November 20, 1958, three years afterSam and Friends debuted onWRC-TV in Washington, D.C. Aside fromSam and Friends, the majority of its work until 1969 was in advertising; appearances on late-night talk shows; and short "meeting films" primarily for enterprise use, produced from 1965 to 1996. In 1968, the company began designing characters and producing short films for the fledglingSesame Street, which premiered onNET (succeeded byPBS) in November 1969.
One of the company's first characters to appear regularly on television,Rowlf the Dog, originated in commercials forPurina Dog Chow and became a regular character onThe Jimmy Dean Show from 1963 to 1966. During this time, the show's host,Jimmy Dean, refused an opportunity to own 40% of the company, assuming that he did not attain that right. Jim Henson also pitched several different projects to the major American television networks, to little avail. Some ideas became unaired pilots, while others were never produced.
Henson Associates logo from 1976 to 1987.
In 1976, producerLew Grade approached Henson to produce a weekly series in Grade's native United Kingdom. This series becameThe Muppet Show, produced byAssociated Television (ATV) for theITV network. The success ofThe Muppet Show led to the Muppets becoming an enduringmedia franchise. Another company controlled by Grade,ITC Entertainment, originally ownedThe Muppet Show, among other Henson productions, but Henson acquired the rights to these productions in the 1980s. During this time, Henson formedJim Henson's Creature Shop, a special effects studio partially responsible for the filmsThe Dark Crystal andLabyrinth; and television seriesThe StoryTeller,Farscape, andDinosaurs.
Jim Henson Productions logo from 1988 to 2001.
Later in his life, Henson producedFraggle Rock andThe Jim Henson Hour. In August 1989, Henson andDisney CEOMichael Eisner began merger discussions reportedly valued at $150 million, which also included a fifteen-year contract for Henson's personal "creative services."[5] However, the deal did not include the rights to theSesame Street characters, which were owned by Henson, although merchandising revenue was split between Henson and theChildren's Television Workshop.
Also during the negotiations, management of the company's Henson International Television distribution unit based in the United Kingdom purchased their unit from the company, leading to the establishment ofHIT Entertainment.[6] On May 16, 1990, as negotiations continued, Jim Henson died oftoxic shock syndrome. Following Henson's death, neither Disney nor Jim Henson Productions could come to an accord. Negotiations officially ended in December 1990, and Henson remained an independent company.[7][8]
The Henson family assumed management of the company, and Brian Henson was named president, chairman, and CEO in January 1991.[9] In the following years, Henson entered into deals with several companies, including television rights to the Henson library withDisney Channel andNickelodeon; a record label withBMG Kidz; and a home media label withBuena Vista Home Video.[10] In 1995, Henson entered into an agreement withABC to produce primetime television series, leading toMuppets Tonight andAliens in the Family.
Jim Henson Home Entertainment logo used since 2001.
In 2000, the Henson family sold the company to the German media companyEM.TV & Merchandising AG, for $680 million.[12][13] That summer, EM.TV sold Henson's stakes in the Odyssey and Kermit cable channels in exchange for an 8.2% stake in Hallmark-controlled Crown Media Holdings.[14] By the end of 2000, after EM.TV subsequently experienced major financial problems, EM.TV sold the company's ownership of theSesame Street Muppets and Henson's small interest in theNoggin television network to Sesame Workshop,[15] and by early 2001, Henson itself was marked for sale.[16] Disney,[17]Viacom,[18]HIT Entertainment,[19]AOL Time Warner,[20]Haim Saban,[21]Classic Media,[22] as well as Henson management, among others, were all parties reportedly interested in acquiring the company.
In December 2002, a deal was announced in which EM.TV would sell a 49.9% stake in Henson to an investment group led by Dean Valentine, a former executive at Disney andUPN.[23] However, in March 2003, the deal was canceled, citing financial issues on Valentine's part.[24] In May 2003, EM.TV was reportedly nearing an agreement to sell Henson to aconsortium between Classic Media and Sesame Workshop (with financing from Sony Pictures Entertainment),[25] until the Henson family re-acquired the company for a closing price of $84 million.[26]
In February 2004, Henson sold the Muppets andBear in the Big Blue House to Disney,[27] who subsequently formedThe Muppets Studio (known at that time as The Muppets Holding Company). The term "Muppet", likewise, became a legal trademark of Disney; Sesame Workshop retained permission to use the term for itsSesame Street characters under a perpetuity license from Disney.
Henson later formed Henson Alternative, which specializes in adult content, including the live shows known alternatively asPuppet Improv,Puppet Up!,[33] andStuffed and Unstrung. In recent years, theFraggle Rock characters have made several appearances, usually at special events. The characters appeared withBen Folds Five in the music video for "Do It Anyway";[34] and in 2013, Gobo and Red Fraggle hosted aFraggle Rock marathon on theHub Network.
On August 10, 2022, the company signed a worldwide distribution agreement withShout! Factory which would allow Shout! to distribute thirteen series and specials from the Henson catalog on home entertainment and streaming platforms across all territories.[37] A similar worldwide distribution agreement went into effect on January 5, 2024, for streaming, video on demand, broadcast, digital download, packaged media and certain non-theatrical rights for the filmsLabyrinth andThe Dark Crystal, as well as behind the scenes specialsInside the Labyrinth andThe World of the Dark Crystal.[38]
On June 20, 2024, the company announced they were planning to sell the Jim Henson Company Lot off La Brea Avenue in Hollywood, which it purchased in 1999, as “part of a much longer-term strategy to have The Jim Henson Company and our renowned Burbank-based Jim Henson’s Creature Shop under one roof, which is not feasible in Hollywood due to the space the Shop requires.”[39] In November of 2024, film producerMcG and musicianJohn Mayer bought the lot for $40 million.[40][41][42]
On February 25, 2025, the company appointed DeAPlaneta Entertainment as its distributor and licensor for several Henson properties such asFraggle Rock,Dinosaur Train,Dot. andPajanimals in European territories.[43]
From 1969 to 2000, Henson was contracted to design and create Muppet characters forSesame Street. With the exception of occasional appearances in the Muppets franchise, the characters were used exclusively forSesame Street, but Henson legally owned these characters prior to their acquisition by Sesame Workshop. The only exception wasKermit the Frog, who was featured in other projects prior toSesame Street. Sesame Workshop retains the rights to use anySesame Street footage featuring the character.
The sale ended any direct affiliation between The Muppets andSesame Street, although the series retains use of the term "Muppet" under license from Disney. Many of the puppeteers continue to perform with both The Muppets andSesame Street franchises. While no longer owning theSesame Street characters, Henson continues to design them.[51] This list excludes pre-2001Sesame Street co-productions outside the United States.
^abThe film's home media, TV, and digital distribution rights were purchased by The Jim Henson Company fromITC Entertainment in August 1984.[44] The film rights were then acquired byWalt Disney Studios upon theirparent company'sacquisition of the Muppets franchise in 2004.[45] Currently,Universal Pictures handles theatrical distribution[46]—due to prior contractual obligations with the former Associated Film Distribution and ITC—but the film's ownership and copyright are controlled by Disney, with home media reissues of the film branded as aWalt Disney Pictures release.
^The film's home media, TV, and digital distribution rights were purchased by The Jim Henson Company fromITC Entertainment in August 1984.[44] Currently,Universal Pictures handles theatrical distribution[47]—due to prior contractual obligations with the former Associated Film Distribution and ITC.
^After the Muppets' acquisition to Disney in 2005.
^The Walt Disney Company acquiredBear in the Big Blue House from The Jim Henson Company in 2004.[52] The transaction included all of the series' characters, television library, copyrights and trademarks.
^The Walt Disney Company is filmed on location atDisney-MGM Studios atWalt Disney World in Orlando, Florida to helpAnimal Jam from The Jim Henson Company in 2002. The transaction included all of the series' characters, television library, copyrights and trademarks by Jim's company itself.
^Co-produced by The Jim Henson Company andHIT Entertainment. Both companies co-own the copyright.
