Walt Disney Television

Productions from this division were broadcast mostly on Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD and ABC. Majority of productions from this division are a plethora of animated series and a notable live-action series named Smart Guy, the latter which ran for three seasons on the WB from 1997 to 1999.


In 2003, its animation division, then known as Walt Disney Television Animation (currently just Disney Television Animation) spun-out as its own subsidiary within the larger Disney conglomerate, with an acquired production company, It's a Laugh Productions, taking over its operations for live-action productions. Walt Disney Television itself was absorbed into the first incarnation of Touchstone Television, which changed names to ABC Studios in 2007, ABC Signature Studios in 2013 and currently ABC Signature since 2020. Following the completed acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, Disney returned to using this name for its combined television segment for 2 years before they subtly changed name to Disney General Entertainment Content, with Disney Television Studios established on May 15, 2019.

Background[edit]

While initially not interest in television back in the 1930s, Walt Disney changed his mind seeing television at least as a promotional tool. Most studios were generating revenue by selling off their permanent television rights to their films made before 1948, while Disney held on to the company's film rights. Thus Walt Disney Productions was the first of the film industry, which saw television as an adversary, to enter the television production field. Walt Disney Productions did an hour-long special on Christmas Day 1950 for NBC then in 1951 for CBS. The specials used Disney film clips, short films and promoted the upcoming Alice in Wonderland theatrical film. Both specials had excellent ratings. The networks pursued Disney to do a full series for them. Disney used this interest in a series to request funding for Disneyland, which the newly merged American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres did for its American Broadcasting Company (ABC) with the airing of the Disneyland anthology series. The "Operation Undersea" episode of the series garnered Disney its first Emmy Award. The series quickly became ABC's first series to hit the top 20 in ratings.^[1]


Disney's entry into television impacted the television industry as the Disney anthology show marked a move from live to filmed delivery of television shows. Filming made it possible for higher production value. Also, a couple of the major film studios copied the show's format with MGM Parade and Warner Bros. Presents. Both shows did not last.^[1]


With the series' "Davy Crockett" episodes generating high sale of merchandise, Disney Productions produced The Mickey Mouse Club, the first youth audience television program and a daily afternoon show.^[1] In 1957, Disney was producing the series Zorro. It lasted until 1959.^[2] In 1961, Disney severed its terms with ABC and moved its weekly program to NBC, where it stayed for nearly 20 years until 1981. For years, its anthology series was Disney's lone program on network television.^[3] In 1972, it collaborated with the NBC owned-and-operated stations group to launch The Mouse Factory. It didn't last long, and it was canned in 1973.^[4]


In 1975, Disney launched a partnership with SFM Media Service Corporation to distribute The Mickey Mouse Club onto syndication starting in 1975, leading up to new episodes in 1977.^[5][6]


In 1980, Disney severed its exclusive deal with NBC, and jumped into line as a production company for television programs.^[7] The following year, it signed a production agreement with CBS to bring anthology series to the network, and the addition of producing new original programs.^[8] Disney had broken its 23-year streak of producing anthology series only in order to produce its first TV show since Zorro's cancellation in 1982, Herbie the Love Bug, which only lasted one season on CBS.^[9] This was followed by three short-lived sitcoms produced Gun Shy, Small & Frye and Zorro and Son, which also aired on CBS, but never lasted long, which led to the demise of the anthology series in 1983.^[10]

History[edit]

Walt Disney Television was formed in 1983, as the Walt Disney Pictures Television Division, the name was later shortened to Walt Disney Television in 1988. Until 1983, Disney shows were aired under the banner of the parent company, then named Walt Disney Productions. Disney made its firsts in 1985, which are Wildside, which is produced under the Touchstone Films label (now ABC Signature), and two animated cartoons The Wuzzles on CBS and Adventures of the Gummi Bears on NBC.^[11][12]


In August 1994, with the departure of Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, its filmed entertainment business was split into two, with Walt Disney Pictures continuing with motion pictures and the newly created Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications for television under Joe Roth and Richard Frank respectively.^[13]


At the time when Disney merged with Capital Cities/ABC, Disney Television was a part of Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications (WDTT).^[14] With the retirement of WDTT president Dennis Hightower in April 1996 and ongoing post-merger reorganization, Walt Disney Television (along with its Animation unit) was transferred back to The Walt Disney Studios.^[15]


The Walt Disney Television group, upon the departure of its president Dean Valentine in September 1997, was split into two units: Walt Disney Television (WDT) and Walt Disney Network Television (WDNT), reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Joe Roth. WDT would be headed by Charles Hirschhorn as president and consisted of Disney Telefilms for ABC, the-direct-to video-unit, and Walt Disney Television Animation. WDNT would handle primetime programming, headed by David Neuman as president.^[16] Neuman was also named president of Touchstone Television.^[17] In March 1998, WDNT was placed under Buena Vista TV Productions, a newly formed group under chairman Lloyd Braun, along with Touchstone Television.^[18] in June 1998, Neuman left as did his top two executives due to this reorganization.^[19]


In late 1999, Walt Disney Television Studios (also called Buena Vista Television Group or Buena Vista Television Productions), were transferred from the Disney Studios to the ABC Television Network to merge with ABC's primetime division, ABC Entertainment, forming the ABC Entertainment Television Group. Walt Disney Television Studios was later merged into Touchstone Television (became ABC Studios, now known as ABC Signature) in 2000, while its name continued to be used on new cartoons from Walt Disney Television Animation (now Disney Television Animation, which is now a unit of Disney Channels Worldwide) until 2003, when Disney later merged the television production company with the television animation division and Touchstone Television (now ABC Signature)^[20][21][22]