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The Walt Disney Company
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Public ( NYSE : DIS )
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Burbank, California ( 1923 )
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Burbank, California
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George J Mitchell , Chairman<br /> Robert Iger , President/CEO<br>
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129,000 (2005)
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Broadcasting , Animation , Motion Picture s, & Recreational Activities
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$319 billion USD ( 2005 )
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American Broadcasting Company , Buena Vista Distribution , Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group , Walt Disney Studio Entertainment, Walt Disney Parks And Resorts
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(most commonly known as '''Disney''') () is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. Founded on October 16 , 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney as a small animation studio, today it is one of the largest Hollywood studios and also owns nine theme parks and several television networks, including ABC .
Disney's corporate headquarters and primary production facilities are located at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank , California . The company is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average . It had revenues of $31.9 Billion in 2005.
Disney's main operating units are Walt Disney Studio Entertainment, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Walt Disney Media Networks, and Walt Disney Consumer Products.
Disney Studio Entertainment, also known as the Walt Disney Studios, is possibly the most important function of the company. Headed by chairman Dick Cook , until 1955 , the Walt Disney Company's main form of business was motion pictures. Today, the Walt Disney Studios is the collective name of Disney's movie studios, record labels, distribution companies, television studios, animation houses and any other form of optical media.
The Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group is a collection of Disney's main Movie Studio s, made up of;
Buena Vista Music Group
See Also: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
In addition to the well-known theme parks and resorts, this division includes Disney Regional Entertainment (which operates the ESPN Zone sports-themed restaurants), Walt Disney Imagineering , and Walt Disney Creative Entertainment . Previously, "Anaheim Sports, Inc." was also within this division. Anaheim Sports operated the Mighty Ducks Of Anaheim hockey club (sold in 2005 to Broadcom executive Henry Samueli ) and the Anaheim Angels baseball team (sold to advertising magnate Arturo Moreno in 2003).
Its Media Networks unit is centered around the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network, which it acquired through a merger with Capital Cities/ABC in 1996 .
Disney also owns a group of cable networks including: The Disney Channel , ABC Family , Toon Disney , the ESPN group, and SOAPnet . Disney also holds substantial interest in Lifetime (50%), A&E (37.5%), and E! (40%).
Through ABC, Disney also owns 10 local television stations, 26 local radio stations, and ESPN Radio , Radio Disney , and the ABC Radio (to be sold with another properties to Citadel Broadcasting , which carries such radio personalities as Sean Hannity and Paul Harvey and distributes news bulletins by ABC News ). Buena Vista Television , which also is a part of the Media Networks unit, produces such Syndicated Television Programs as '' Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? '', '' Live With Regis And Kelly '', and '' Ebert & Roeper ''.
Disney also operates its Hyperion publishing company and Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) through Media Networks. Hyperion has recently published books by comedian-author Steve Martin and bestselling author Mitch Albom . WDIG includes the Go.com web portal, based on the old Infoseek search engine which it purchased in 1998, and leading websites such as Disney.com, ESPN.com, and ABCNews.com.
- and Roy Disney and animator Ub Iwerks , produces the ''Alice in Cartoonland'' series.
- 1925 : At Walt Disney's insistence, the company is renamed Walt Disney Studios.
- 1927 : The ''Alice'' series ends; Disney picks up the contract to animate ''Oswald the Lucky Rabbit''
- cartoon '' Steamboat Willie '' released
- ''. On December 16, the original partnership formed in 1923 is replaced by '' Walt Disney Productions, Ltd. '' Three other companies, Walt Disney Enterprises , Disney Film Recording Company , and Liled Realty And Investment Company , are also formed.
- ''; first appearance of Goofy
- ''
- 1938 : On September 29th, Walt Disney Enterprises, Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and Investment Company are merged into Walt Disney Productions.
- 1940 : Studio moves to the Burbank, California buildings where it is located to this day
- occurs; as the USA enters World War II , the studio begins making morale-boosting propaganda films for the government
- 1944 : The company is short on cash; a theatrical re-release of ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' generates much-needed revenue and begins a reissue pattern for the animated feature films.
- , to star as Uncle Remus in '' Song Of The South ''
- ''; the popular True-Life Adventures series begins
- on December 16 to design his theme park.
- on April 6 to control the rights to his name. It will later own and operate several attractions inside Disneyland, including the Monorail and the Disneyland Railroad .
- to distribute its feature films; beginning of the '' Disneyland '' TV program
- opens in Anaheim, California . Walt Disney Productions owns 34.5 percent of Disneyland, Inc. It increases its stake in 1957 to 65.5 percent, then purchases the remaining shares from ABC in 1960.
- , whose characters continue to be highly profitable to this day; international distribution arm Buena Vista International is established.
- for Walt Disney World (then known as ''Disney World'' or ''The Florida Project'')
- .
- , later canceled. Walt Disney dies. His brother Roy takes over.
- ; the underlying governmental structure (see Reedy Creek Improvement District ) is signed into law.
- opens in Orlando, Florida; Roy Oliver Disney dies; Donn Tatum becomes chairman and Card Walker becomes president.
- , son of Roy and nephew of Walt, resigns from the company citing a decline in overall product quality and issues with management.
- for Laserdisc release; only TV compilations of cartoons ever see the light of day through this deal.
- and a number of his allies leave the animation division; the studio releases its first PG-rated film, '' The Black Hole ''
- becomes head of the film division with the intent of modernizing studio product; a home video division is created
- 1981 : Plans for a cable network are announced.
- opens at Walt Disney World ; Walt Disney's son-in-law Ron W. Miller succeeds Card Walker as CEO
- is canceled, The Disney Channel begins operation on US cable systems; Tom Wilhite resigns his post; Tokyo Disneyland opens in Japan
- is created; after the studio narrowly escapes a buyout attempt by Saul Steinberg , Roy Edward Disney and his business partner, Stanley Gold , remove Ron W. Miller as CEO and president, replacing him with Michael Eisner and Frank Wells . The Walt Disney Black Diamond Classics Video Series is created.
- and The Wuzzles ; The home video release of '' Pinocchio '' is a best-seller.
- ; the anthology series is revived; the company's name is changed on February 6 from Walt Disney Productions to The Walt Disney Company.
- government sign an agreement for the creation of the first Disney Resort in Europe : the Euro Disney project starts.
- 's Muppets and have the famed puppeteer work with Disney resources; the Disney-MGM Studios open at Walt Disney World ; '' The Little Mermaid '' sparks an animation renaissance.
- 's death sours the deal to buy his holdings; the anthology series canceled for second time.
- '' is the first animated film nominated for the Academy Award For Best Picture .
- opens outside Paris, France .
- ; Winnie The Pooh merchandise outsells Mickey Mouse merchandise for the first time; the policy of periodic theatrical re-issues ends with this year's re-issue of ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' but is augmented for video.
- is killed in a helicopter crash. Jeffrey Katzenberg resigns to co-found his own studio, DreamWorks SKG . Plans for Disney's America , a historical theme park in Haymarket, Virginia , are abruptly dropped. No explanation is given, and Disney announces a search for an alternate location. Euro Disneyland is renamed Disneyland Paris . The Classics video line is unofficially cancelled and replaced with the Masterpiece Collection. '' The Lion King '', the highest-grossing traditionally animated film in history, is released.
- , to be president.
- group, renaming it ABC, Inc. In December, Michael Ovitz, president of the company, leaves "by mutual consent." To celebrate the pairing, ABC's first Super Soap Weekend is held at Walt Disney World.
- s.
- opens at Walt Disney World .
- becomes president and COO. Disney begins their Gold Classic Collection DVD line, replacing their Masterpiece Collection series.
- briefly during a dispute over carriage fees; Disney's California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea open to the public; Disney begins releasing ''Walt Disney Treasures'' DVD box sets for the collector's market. Disney buys Fox Family for $3 billion in July, giving Disney programming and cable network reaching 81 million homes.
- open near Disneyland Paris (renamed Disneyland Park ). The entire area is now called Disneyland Resort Paris . Disney finishes negotions to acquire Saban Entertainment, owner of children's entertainment juggernaut Power Rangers . Subsidiary Miramax acquires the USA rights to the Pokémon movies starting with the fourth movie. Disney teams up with famous video game company Square-Enix (famous for the '' Final Fantasy Series ''. Also at the time, known as Squaresoft.) to release the first ever Disney Role-playing Game , '' Kingdom Hearts ''.
- '' becomes the first film released under the Disney label with a PG-13 rating.
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- ''The Disney Version: the life, times, art, and commerce of Walt Disney'', Richard Schickel, 1968
- ''Walt Disney: An American Original'', Bob Thomas, 1976, revised 1994
- ''Storming the Magic Kingdom: Wall Street, the raiders, and the battle for Disney'', John Taylor, 1987
- ''Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the creation of an entertainment empire'', Bob Thomas, 1998
- ''The Keys to the Kingdom: how Michael Eisner lost his grip'', Kim Masters, 2000
- ''Disneyization of Society'': Alan Bryman , 2004
- '' DisneyWar '', James B. Stewart , 2005
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