Henson Strikes Video Deal With Tristar

Hollywood-based Jim Henson Co. has signed a five-year pact with Sony Corp.’s Columbia TriStar Home Video, bringing Henson’s video and theatrical distribution deals under the same roof. The company’s previous five-year deal with Walt Disney Co.’s Buena Vista Home Video expired in December 1997. Henson co-President Charles Rivkin said the company expects to increase its catalog by 20% in the next 12 months, with episodes from such shows as “Bear in the Big Blue House,” which airs on the Disney Channel