1.
Feature Story
/
This Timeline
is to demonstrate the significant growth of Walt
Disney, as an individual, from a celebrity art form
achiever, to his company's scientific achievements
and influance in the field of EMw
Telecommunications. TVI was right there with Disney
at the dawn of the home video industry in the early
1980s, when it featured the Disney product on its
magazine covers.
• •
That was the
era when the consumer wanted more flexibility and
control over what they watched and listened to. The
rising stars of the day were short, short video
content, Laser Disks, and the VHS, or Sony's 3/4"
and Betamx VCR tape machines.
• •
Laser Disks and
the video tape deck were commercially introduced to
the world in 1976. Not only did this allow people
to provide families with their own home video
theaters, but allowed them to copy programs off of
television.
• •
Disney Studio
cartoons, along with the VRA RadioPlay music
technology, were the first to introduce a short,
short program that could keep a viewer's interest
for more than 4 minutes.
• •
The 4 minute
music for television play, were video taped at Troy
Cory's Vine Street Video Center in Hollywood.
The
studio produced the first of Rod Stewart's video
hits, and the video versions of the Sherman
Brothers - Bob Roberts, and Troy Cory songs that
were recorded in the early 70s.MORE
STORY.
• •
Today, 25 years
later, the portable DVD player, (not
including iPod's gigabit hard drive storage
unit, and LookRadio's VRATeleplay downloadale
kudocasts), - are not only hot sellers on the
Internet, but play stations like, Sony's new
portable game console, provides over 2.2 million
North Americans with a continous flow of family
entertainment.
• •
It's been
proven that owners of these portable DVD, iPod,
iHandy and computer media file players are buying
significantly more movies and iTunes for their
devices than anybody predicted. How can you beat
the price of 99 cents per song, and a $1.99 for a
day-old ABC-Disney program.
•
The
Early Days (1900s) 1901 -
Walter Elias Disney born in Chicago 1918 - Walt forges parents' signatures, and
enlists in American Ambulance Corps 1919 - Walt and Ubbe Iwwerks (later Ubbe
Iwerks) form Iwerks-Disney Commercial
Artists
•
Creating Mickey Mouse - (1920s) 1928 -
Iwerks modifies Disney's "Oswald The Lucky
Rabbit" character, turning him into Mickey
Mouse 1928 -
First silent film featuring the Mouse premieres
on Sunset Boulevard 1928
- Mickey Mouse is featured for the first time
in the short animated film, "Steamboat Willie" 1928 -
"Steamboat Willie" is first cartoon designed
for use with a soundtrack
1929
- Walt Disney Productions
formed •
Animated
Films & Academy Award - (1930s) 1930 -
The first Mickey Mouse comic strip is
published, in New York Mirror 1930 - Disney buys Iwerks' 20% share of
company for US$2,920 1934 - Three Little Pigs wins Academy
Award 1937 - Disney's first full-length animated
feature film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
premieres at cost of US$1.5 million
•
World War II - Going Public - (1940s)
1940 -
Walt Disney Productions goes public to lower
debt after debt reaches US$4.5 million. 1940 - The
company moves its operations from Hollywood to
Burbank, CA. 1940 - Pinocchio premieres at Central
Theatre in New York 1941 -
Fantasia opens in Chicago 1941 - Disney animators stage a strike for
five months with strong industry and community
support. Deal
to return back to work is finally brokered by
federal mediators 1943 - The American Broadcast Company
network is formed after the FCC rules that NBC must
sell one of its two radio networks. The NBC Blue
network is sold to Edward J. Noble for $8 million.
Noble made his money as the creator of Lifesavers
candy 1945
- Walt's brother, Roy Disney, becomes company
president 1946 -
Disney announces planned layoffs of over 400
employees of a staff of 1000 1947
- Walt Disney testifies in front of the House
Committee on Un-American Activities 1948 -
With US$4 million debt, Disney accepts US$1
million interest-free loan from Howard Hughes 1949 - The Walt Disney Music Company
formed
///
Part
02 •
ABC Knocks Out NBC (1950s) 1950 - First
Disney TV special "One Hour in Wonderland" airs on
NBC 1950 - Treasure Island 1951 -
Leonard Goldstein and United Paramount Theaters
buy ABC for $25 million 1952 - Walt Disney
forms Walt Disney Incorporated, to develop ideas
for a "family park" to be called Disneyland 1952 - WED Enterprises founded 1953 - Disney establishes Buena Vista
Distribution Company as Disney's film
distributor 1953 - Peter Pan 1954 - Disney and ABC sign agreement about
building of Disneyland. ABC invests US$500 000 in
cash, guarantees all WED bank loans and gets 35%
ownership of Disneyland (with all profits from
park's food concessions for 10 years 1954 - First weekly televsion series
"
Disneyland," debuts on ABC network 1955 - Disneyland
opens in Anaheim, CA
at a cost of $17 million and
has 1 million visitors within 6 months 1955 -
The ABC television network is partial investor
in Disneyland. 1955 - "Mickey Mouse Club," Disney's second
TV show is launched 1955 -
Howard Hughes offers to sell Disney the RKO
studio but Walt and Roy decline the deal 1956 - The
"Bathroom of Tomorrow" attraction opens in
Disneyland 1957 - Zorro
•
Walt's Golden Years With "Mary Poppins" -
(1960s) 1960 - Disney
buys ABC's one-third interest in Disneyland for
$7.5 m and pay off all loans 1960 -
Disney buys out ABC's remaining financial
interest in Disneyland 1964 - First death
in Disneyland 1964 - Premiere of
"Mary Poppins"-- and the musical score
by:
Robert and Richard Sherman.MORE
About Shermans 1964 - Disney features at New York World's
Fair 1965 - Disney buys rights to A.A. Milne's
"Winnie the Pooh" 1966 - Walt Disney dies of lung cancer and J
Edgar Hoover orders name removed from list of FBI's
informants 1969 - The Love
Bug
•
Orlando
Opens It's Doors To Disney - (1970s) 1970
- ABC's Monday Night Football debuts 1971 - Walt Disney World opens in Orlando,
FL 1971 - Roy Disney
dies
1971 - 100 millionth visitor to
Disneyland 1979 -
ESPN is launched
•
Disney
and Big Business, The Eisner Years - (1980s) 1980
- TVI
Magazine features Walt Disney Production's first
release of 13 Disney motion pictures on cassettes.
MORE
STORY ABOUT MIPCOM AND MIFED TVI MAGAZINE 1980 and
1987 COVER. 1983 - The Disney Channel makes its debut on
cable television 1983 - Tokyo Disneyland opens
1984 - Michael Eisner becomes the new CEO for Walt
Disney Productions.
1984 - ABC in a deal with Getty Oil acquires ESPN.
ABC sells 20% of the sports cable network to
Nabisco who in turn later deals the stake to
Hearst 1984 - Recurrent
takeover bids amid claims that group is
underperforming 1984 - First Touchstone Pictures release 1984 - Eisner and Wells become Chairman and
President 1986 - Walt Disney Productions renamed The
Walt Disney Company 1986 - Capital Cities Communications buys
American Broadcasting network for US$3.5 billion to
create Capital Cities-ABC 1986 - 500 millionth theme park visitor 1986 -
Capital Cities Communication, a large
broadcasting group, acquires the ABC television
network for 3.5 $billion 1987 - TVI
Magazine features Walt Disney Production's first
release of 13 Disney motion pictures on cassettes.
MORE
STORY 1987 - ESPN is awarded the National Football
League's first cable broadcasting deal 1987 - First
Disney Store opens 1989 -
Disney revitalizes the animated film market
with "The Little Mermaid" -- which sets box-office
records.
///
3.
1990 to 1999 / •
Decade of Disney "Best Deals" - Mergers and
Buyouts. ABC TV Network - (1990s) 1990 -
Hollywood Records founded 1990 - First Hollywood Pictures release 1991 -
Disney quarterly profit declines for the first
time since 1984. The company signs a distribution
deal with Pixar Animation Studios 1991 - Steve Jobs signs a distribution deal
with Disney and Pixar Animation Studios 1991 - Disney releases the box-office hit
"Beauty and the Beast" 1992 -
Disney is awarded a National Hockey League
expansion team to be called The Mighty Ducks of
Anaheim 1992 -
ESPN Radio is launched 1992 - Disneyland
Paris opens 1992 -
Euro Disney opens with great fanfare but is
soon struggling with poor attendance 1993 - Miramax Films sells company to Disney
for US$80
million.
The company posts its first quarterly loss in nine
years, Blamed on losses sustained by Euro
Disney 1994
- Eisner undergoes
heart-bypass surgery 1994
- President and COO
Frank Wells dies in a helicopter crash 1994 - Beauty & the Beast stage shows
opens on Broadway 1994 - The Lion King 1994 - Disney Interactive formed 1995 - Pocahontas 1995 -
Disney announces its intent to purchase Capital
Cities/ABC for $19 billion. The deal is the largest
media merger in history to the point and the second
largest sum of money ever paid for a U.S.
company 1995
- Michael Ovitz, Eisner
friend and top talent agent in Hollywood, joins
Disney as president 1995 - Takeover of
Capital Cities/ABC for US$19 billion 1995 - Disney Online, Disney's internet
division 1996 - Disney.com launched 1996 - Buys 25% and management control of
California Angels (later renamed Anaheim Angels)
major league baseball team 1996 - Radio Disney launched on ABC Radio
Networks 1996 -
Capital Cities/ABC officially becomes part of
the Disney Company 1996 - Disney gains ownership stake in Major
League Baseball's California Angels. Team later
changes its name to the Anaheim Angels 1996 - Radio Disney is launched 1996
- Disney buys Capital
Cities/ABC. Robert Iger stays on to run the
network, named chairman of ABC Group and president
of Walt Disney International. That same year, Ovitz
is forced out - getting a payout of $109 million
that is now the subject of a shareholder
lawsuit 1997 - Sells
Chilton Business Group (39 trade magazines)
Elseviero for US$447m 1997 - The Lion King stage production
opens 1997 -
Knight Ridder purchases Disney's four
newspapers (Kansas City Star, Forth Worth
Star-Telegram, Wilkes Barre Times Leader,
Belleville News-Democrat) for $1.65 billion 1997 - Disney signs a new five-picture deal
with Pixar 1998 - Buys 43% in
Infoseek Web portal 1998 -
ESPN The Magazine is launched 1998
- Animal Kingdom
opens in Orlando, FL
1998: The Disney-Pixar "A Bug's Life" breaks
box-office records 1999 - Buys
remaining equity in Anaheim Angels from family of
'singing cowboy' Gene Autry for US$140m, spends
US$100m on Edison Field stadium 1999 -
Fairchild Publications is sold to Advance
Publications. The magazine chains includes such
titles as W, Jane, and Women's Wear Daily 1999 - ABC scores big with "Who Wants to Be
a Millionaire." Disney and Pixar release another
hit, "Toy Story 2"
2000
- Present •
Back To Walt Disney - (2000s)
2000
- Iger named
president and chief operating officer of Walt
Disney Co., filling post left vacant since Ovitz
ouster 2001 - Buys Baby Einstein company from
founder, Julie Aigner-Clark for US$25 million 2001 - Buys Fox Family Worldwide from
Murdoch/News Corp and Saban for US$5.3bn 2001 -
Cable channel later becomes known as ABC
Family 2001
- California
Adventure opens in Anaheim 2002 -
ESPN and ABC announce their acquisition of the
National Basketball Association's television
broadcasting rights 2002
- Walt Disney Studios
Paris opens 2003 -
Sells Anaheim Angels to billboard
czar Arturo
Moreno for just over $180
million 2003
- Board shakeup leads
to several departures, including Roy Disney. He
goes on to lead his own campaign for Eisner to step
down 2003 -
Roy Disney resigns as vice-chairman of the Walt
Disney entertainment
group 2004 - Cable giant Comcast makes
unsuccessful US$54 billion hostile takeover bid for
Disney in February. It withdraws its bid by April.
The embattled Eisner is stripped of chairman title
during shareholder revolt and announces retirement
in 2006. George Mitchell takes chairmanship 2004 - Disney sells 313 stores in U.S. to
retail chain Children's Place
We Preserve The
Moment Yes90
tviNews S90
•
107
The
Walt Disney Company Corporate Timeline -
1901-2005. From the birth of Walt Disney
to Michael Eisner's Farewell To Disney
•
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Television
International Magazine's Person Of The
Week POWeek•
422005
- /
NEWS
Convergence - 42nd Week of 2005
/
Feature
Story
•
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