Walt Disney Television

Background

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, with the newly merged American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres taking the deal for the airing of the Walt Disney's Disneyland anthology series in American Broadcasting Company (ABC). 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.

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.

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. In 1957, Disney was producing the series Zorro. It lasted until 1959. 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. 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.

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.

In 1980, Disney severed its exclusive deal with NBC, and jumped into line as a production company for television programs. 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. 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 1959, Herbie the Love Bug, which only lasted one season on CBS. 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.