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Pay television , also known as subscription television , premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel , refers to subscription -based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and streaming television . In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era . Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.

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88-461: Sky Witness is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky , a division of Comcast . The channel primarily broadcasts Police procedural shows from the United States aimed at the 18–45 age group. An Italian version of Sky Witness, named Sky Investigation, launched on 1 July 2021. Sky Witness's history can be traced back to 1993 when UK Living began broadcasting. The channel

176-469: A trial period , often one to three months, though there have been rare instances of free trials for pay services that last up to one year for newer subscribers to that provider's television service. Pay television has become popular with cable and satellite television . Pay television services often, at least two to three times per year, provide free previews of their services, in order to court potential subscribers by allowing this wider audience to sample

264-620: A 10 percent distribution fee. The deal also included a $ 175 million co-financing loan by Disney to DreamWorks for production and access to slots in Disney's pay television agreement, then with Starz . In late 2009, Miramax Films , a formerly independent Disney film unit, was transferred to the Walt Disney Studios, until its sale in 2010 to Filmyard Holdings . The Kingdom Comics unit's creatives and executives moved its deal to an independent Monsterfoot Productions. On September 18, 2009, Cook

352-451: A 25-picture distribution deal, with Disney taking a 5% stake in Cinergi stock. After nine films were delivered under the agreement, Cinergi sold its 12-film library (except for Die Hard with a Vengeance , co-financed with 20th Century Fox ) to Disney on November 22, 1997, for $ 20 million in exchange for Disney's Cinergi shares, production advances of $ 35.4 million and other loans. In 1998,

440-406: A crude decrypting of the over-the-air television signal and a decoding box, but never caught on for use at that time. It took another four decades when cable broadcasters started using pay-per-view on a widespread basis. "Free" variants are free-to-air (FTA) and free-to-view (FTV); however, FTV services are normally encrypted and decryption cards either come as part of an initial subscription to

528-555: A five-year distribution agreement and an advance to Spyglass. After Caravan's remaining three films were released, it went inactive. By May 2000, Disney had taken an equity stake in Spyglass. Peter Schneider was promoted to studio president in January 1999, while Thomas Schumacher was promoted to president of Walt Disney Feature Animation and Walt Disney Theatrical Productions while both became co-presidents of Disney Theatrical Group . As

616-627: A focus on their parent companies' libraries, with HBO Now replaced by HBO Max (now Max) in 2020 (which adds content from other Warner Bros. properties and third-parties, and would also be included with existing HBO subscriptions via television providers), and Showtime formally merging with Paramount+ in 2023. Canadian premium service The Movie Network similarly merged with the CraveTV service owned by parent company Bell Media in 2018. Pay-per-view (PPV) services are similar to subscription-based pay television services in that customers must pay to have

704-477: A full-service company", and hired former Circle Films executive Chris Zarpass to the newly created position as vice president of production and acquisitions, and acquisitions had taken on new importance for the company, citing two purchases, which are Benji the Hunted , and Ernest Goes to Camp . That year, In June 1987, the Walt Disney Studios decided to restructure their divisions at parent company, which included

792-478: A joint venture, Magic Films, to finance a slate of 32 films, which would not include sequels. Kingdom would provide financing with $ 135 million equity and a $ 370 million revolving credit line. With the exception of High School Musical 3 as a part of a Disney Channel franchise, Kingdom sued Disney in December 2008. In December 2005, Alan Bergman was promoted to president of the Walt Disney Studios. In January 2006,

880-513: A lower subscription fee. These are called "mini-pay" channels (a term also used for smaller scale commercial-free pay television services) and are often sold as a part of a package with numerous similarly priced channels. Usually, however, the regular pricing for premium channels ranges from just under $ 10 to near $ 25 per month per suite, with lower prices available via bundling options with cable or satellite providers, or special limited offers which are available during free preview periods or before

968-417: A main flagship channel is accompanied by secondary services with distinct schedules focusing on specific genres and audiences (such as multiplexes focusing more on "classic" films, or family-oriented programming), time shifting , or brand licensing deals (such as channels focusing specifically on Disney films , or content from U.S. pay television brands if they do not specifically run their own network in

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1056-535: A mix of original series, films, and specials. The shift towards SVOD has resulted in increasing competition within the sector, with media conglomerates having launched their own services (such as Disney+ , Paramount+ , Peacock , and Disney's acquisition of the majority of Hulu ) to compete, and existing premium networks such as HBO ( HBO Now ) and Showtime launching direct-to-consumer versions of their existing services to appeal to cord cutters . HBO and Showtime later absorbed their DTC offerings into wider services with

1144-647: A new TV group. Richard Frank became head of the newly formed Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications (WDTT). Roth moved in from Caravan Pictures to helm the remaining Walt Disney Studios as chairman. Hoberman stepped down as president in January 1995 to take a five-year, multi-film deal for his production company, Mandeville Films . Roth was appointed as chairman of Walt Disney Studios in 1996. In April 1996, due to ongoing post-Disney- CC/ABC merger realignment and retirement of its president, WDTT group's division were reassigned to other groups with most transferred to

1232-411: A pay television bouquet – in other words, an offer of pay-TV channels – or can be purchased for a one-time cost. FTA and FTV systems may still have selective access. ABC Australia is one example, as much of its programming content is free-to-air except for National Rugby League (NRL) games, which are encrypted. Walt Disney Studios (division) The Walt Disney Studios is a major division of

1320-437: A reorganization of its theatrical and animation units to improve resource usage and continued focus on new characters and franchise development. Walt Disney Feature Animation — sans Walt Disney Television Animation — and Buena Vista Theatrical Worldwide were organized under the Walt Disney Studios. In 2003, the studio set a worldwide box office record of $ 3 billion gross. In September 2005, Disney and Kingdom Films formed

1408-689: A restriction as a few providers optionally sell that service without requiring a Showtime subscription. Unlike other cable networks, premium services are almost always subscribed to a la carte , meaning that one can, for example, subscribe to HBO without subscribing to Showtime (in Canada, there are slight modifications, as most providers include U.S. superstations – such as WAPA-TV – with their main premium package by default). However, subscribing to an "individual" service automatically includes access to all of that service's available multiplex channels and, in some cases, access to content via video-on-demand (in

1496-425: A seasonal package. They are typically the most expensive type of pay services, generally running in the range of $ 35 to $ 50 per month. Some pay services also offer pornographic films ; Cinemax was well known for carrying a late-night block of softcore films and series known as "Max After Dark"—a reputation that led to the network often being nicknamed "Skinemax" by viewers. Cinemax phased out this programming in

1584-525: A seven-year lease from the Fox Corporation . On May 1, 2019, president Alan Bergman was promoted to co-chairman. Horn added the new title of the studio's chief creative officer. Disney announced a round of layoffs for the studio, mostly from 20th Century Fox, in the production and visual effects departments. They also announced on July 31, 2019, that the Fox Research Library will be folded into

1672-463: A shift in its strategy of releasing more Disney-branded (i.e. Walt Disney Pictures) films and fewer Touchstone titles. The move was expected to reduce the Group's work force by approximately 650 positions worldwide. This was a cost-cutting move with its yearly slate would consist of 12 to 15 films. After being transferred to various other division groups since they were acquired in 2004, The Muppets Studio

1760-540: A short time during the 1980s, and unlike other general-interest pay services accepted outside advertising for broadcast during its sports telecasts), Preview , SelecTV and ON TV in the late 1970s, but those services disappeared as competition from cable television expanded during the 1980s. In Australia , Foxtel , Optus Television and TransACT are the major pay television distributors, all of which provide cable services in some metropolitan areas , with Foxtel providing satellite service for all other areas where cable

1848-401: A specific market). Typically, these services are bundled together with the main channel at no additional charge, and cannot be purchased separately. Depending on local regulations, pay television services generally have more lenient content standards because of their relatively narrower distribution, and not being subject to pressure from sponsors to tone down content. As a result, programming

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1936-601: A studio chairman role. Schneider left Walt Disney Studios in June 2001 to form his own theater production company partly funded by Disney. While no successor had been named, Dick Cook, chairman of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group (distribution); Thomas Schumacher, president of Walt Disney Animation; and Nina Jacobson, president of the Buena Vista Motion Picture Group (production) would take on

2024-481: Is Canal+ and its scrambled services, which operated in France from 1984 to the 2011 closedown of analogue television, Spain from 1990 to 2005 and Poland from 1995 to 2001. Some U.S. television stations launched pay services (known simply as "subscription television" services) such as SuperTV , Wometco Home Theater , PRISM (which principally operated as a cable service, only being simultaneously carried over-the-air for

2112-431: Is most synonymous with premium entertainment services focused on films or general entertainment programming such as, in the United States, Cinemax , HBO , MGM+ , Showtime , and Starz , but such services can also include those devoted to sports , as well as adult entertainment . In contrast to most other multichannel television broadcasters, which depend on advertising and carriage fees as their sources of revenue,

2200-701: Is not available. Austar formerly operated as a satellite pay service, until it merged with Foxtel and SelecTV . The major distributors of pay television in New Zealand are Sky Network Television on satellite and Vodafone on cable. In the 2010s, over-the-top subscription video on demand (SVOD) services distributed via internet video emerged as a major competitor to traditional pay television, with services such as Amazon Video , Hulu , and Netflix gaining prominence. Similarly to pay television services, their libraries include acquired content (which can not only include films, but acquired television series as well), and

2288-581: Is the namesake studio that encompasses the release of its own live-action productions, in addition to films produced by the company's animation studios , mainly Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios . Marvel Studios —acquired through Disney's purchase of Marvel Entertainment in 2009—produces superhero films based on Marvel Comics characters, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Lucasfilm —acquired by Disney in 2012—develops and produces films, including those in

2376-717: Is typically aired with limited to no edits for time or, where applicable, mature content such as graphic violence , profanity , nudity , and sexual activity . As premium television services are commonly devoid of traditional commercial advertising, breaks between programming typically include promotions for upcoming programs , and interstitial segments (such as behind-the-scenes content, interviews, and other feature segments). Some sports-based pay services, however, may feature some commercial advertising, particularly if they simulcast sporting events that are broadcast by advertiser-supported television networks. In addition, most general interest or movie-based pay services do not adhere to

2464-894: The Disney Entertainment business segment of The Walt Disney Company best known for housing its multifaceted film studio divisions. Founded on October 16, 1923, and based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank, California , it is the seventh-oldest global film studio and the fifth-oldest in the United States, a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and one of the "Big Five" major film studios . The Walt Disney Studios has prominent film production companies including Walt Disney Pictures , Walt Disney Animation Studios , Pixar , Marvel Studios , Lucasfilm , 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures . Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets

2552-573: The El Capitan Theatre and the Crest by 1989. The Crest was finished first while El Capitan opened with the premiere of The Rocketeer film on June 19, 1991. In September 1990, the Walt Disney Company arranged for financing up to $ 200 million by a unit of Nomura Securities for Interscope films made for Disney. On October 23, 1990, Disney formed Touchwood Pacific Partners I to supplant

2640-587: The Golden Oak Ranch for feature films and television series productions complimenting its main Burbank studio . By the 1980s, the Walt Disney Company's collection of film units emerged as one of Hollywood's major film studios , mostly due to newly designed efforts in branding strategies, a resurgence of Walt Disney Productions' animated releases and unprecedented box office successes, particularly from Touchstone Pictures . The Walt Disney Productions film division

2728-856: The Silver Screen Partnership series as their movie studios' primary funding source. In 1992, Walt Disney Studios agreed to fund a production company, Caravan Pictures , for exiting 20th Century Fox chairman Joe Roth . In 1993, Miramax Films was purchased for $ 60 million by Disney. On March 30, 1992, Disney Studios agreed to sell KCAL-TV to Pineland, Inc. for a 45% ownership stake in Pineland, so as to have interest in TV stations in both large markets, Los Angeles and New York City, allowing for increased original programming. Instead Pineland agreed to an unsolicited bid in May from Chris-Craft Industries thus ending

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2816-535: The Wimbledon tennis tournament. Specialty pay sports channels also exist—often focusing on international sports considered niche to domestic audiences (such as, in the United States, cricket ), and are typically sold at a higher expense than traditional premium services. Out-of-market sports packages in North America are multi-channel pay services carrying professional or collegiate sporting events which are sold in

2904-555: The business cycle , some broadcasters try to balance them with more stable income from subscriptions. Some providers offer services owned by the same company in a single package. For example, American satellite provider DirecTV offers the Encore channels along with the Starz multiplex (both owned by Lionsgate 's Starz Inc. ) in its "Starz Super Pack"; and The Movie Channel , Flix and SundanceTV (the latter of which continues to be sold in

2992-522: The "Fox" name from the studio's 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures branding. The two studios were renamed as 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures, respectively. Similar to other Disney film units, films produced under the 20th Century Studios began to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in the same year. Searchlight Pictures continues to operate their autonomous distribution unit in North America. In December 2020, it

3080-586: The 2010s, citing that it did not align with its current focus on action programming, and that internet porn and the amount of sexual content in other mainstream premium series (such as Game of Thrones ) made a specific block for such content redundant. Specialized channels dedicated to pornographic films also exist, that carry either softcore adult programs (such as Playboy TV ), or more hardcore content (such as The Erotic Network and Hustler TV ). Pay television channels come in different price ranges. Many channels carrying advertising combine this income with

3168-690: The Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group was formed by Roth to unite the Disney, Touchstone and Hollywood film production units with leadership under David Vogel. This was in order to centralize the various production units and to make live-action film production within Disney more cost-efficient. Roth also determined that the studio's year production slate should be cut. In August 1998, Roger Birnbaum, Caravan's co-founder, left at Roth's prompting to co-found Spyglass Entertainment with former Morgan Creek Productions vice chairman and COO Gary Barber , in which Disney gave Caravan's development slate,

3256-467: The DirecTV package despite Showtime Networks no longer owning Sundance, that channel is now owned by AMC Networks ) along with Showtime in its "Showtime Unlimited" package; Cinemax and its multiplex networks, in turn, are almost always packaged with HBO (both owned by Warner Bros. Discovery ). Though selling premium services that are related by ownership as a package is common, that may not always be

3344-525: The Revenue Commissioners. The selection is similar to the genres focusing on other countries equivalent agencies, also shown on Sky Witness. An Italian version of Sky Witness called Sky Investigation launched on 1 July 2021 with programming such as The Equalizer , Unforgettable , The Blacklist , Coroner , Law & Order , Law & Order: SVU , Bull , Private Eyes , Elementary and NCIS . Pay television The term

3432-530: The Seven Dwarfs , premiered in December 1937 and became the highest-grossing film of that time by 1939. In the 1940s, Disney began experimenting with full-length live-action films, with the introduction of hybrid live action-animated films such as The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and Song of the South (1946). That same decade, the studio began producing nature documentaries with the release of Seal Island (1948),

3520-898: The UK and Ireland, also includes a selection of documentary programming from both the Irish Broadcasters, RTE and TV3/Virgin Media Television Ireland (the Irish broadcaster now owned by the cable TV company of the same name in Ireland, not to be confused with the earlier Flextech version of Virgin Media Television). Also there is some independently produced series, some commissioned directly by Sky, focusing on Ireland's various emergency services, medical, and certain Government of Ireland agencies, such as

3608-741: The Walt Disney Archives and the Imagineering Research Library by January 2020. The studio announced a 10-year lease of most of the Pinewood Studios near London from the Pinewood Group in September 2019 to start in 2020. In August 2019, Disney became the first studio to have five films to gross over $ 1 billion at the worldwide box office in a single year. Walt Disney Studios became the first major studio to reach $ 10 billion at

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3696-441: The Walt Disney Company announced to acquire computer animation leader Pixar . The deal was finalized in May 2006. Pixar executive Ed Catmull would serve as president of both Pixar and Disney feature animation studios. Pixar executive vice president John Lasseter became chief creative officer for Pixar and the feature animated studios as well as helping to develop new Disney theme park attractions. In July 2006, Disney announced

3784-559: The Walt Disney Studios or CC/ABC. Units returning to the studio were Walt Disney Television, Disney Television Animation , Touchstone Television and Buena Vista Home Entertainment . Buena Vista International - Latin America and two other companies became owners of Patagonik Film Group , an Argentina-based production company, in 1997. In late 1997, Disney bid on CDR 's Epic movie library but lost to PolyGram Filmed Entertainment . Disney's Buena Vista Distribution and Cinergi Pictures had

3872-664: The Walt Disney Studios. Fox's filmed entertainment CEO Stacey Snider exited following the acquisition. Fox executives Emma Watts, Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula joined the Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019. On March 21, 2019, Disney announced that the Fox 2000 label would be shut down by the end of the year after releasing its films in production. 20th Century Fox Animation was also repositioned to directly report to chairman Horn. 20th Century Fox and its related studios will keep their headquarters on their studio lot in Century City, thanks to

3960-733: The aforementioned leniency in content standards, they too can contain content that is more mature than those of other cable channels or television networks . These series also tend to be high-budget and aim for critical success in order to attract subscribers: notable premium series, such as HBO 's Curb Your Enthusiasm , Game of Thrones , Sex and the City , and The Sopranos , and Showtime 's Dexter , Homeland , and Weeds , have achieved critical acclaim and have won various television awards. Some premium channels also broadcast television specials , which most commonly consist of concerts and concert films , documentaries , stand-up comedy , and in

4048-419: The broadcast decrypted for viewing, but usually only entail a one-time payment for a single or time-limited viewing. Programs offered via pay-per-view are most often movies or sporting events, but may also include other events, such as concerts and even softcore adult programs. In the U.S., the initial concept and technology for pay-per-view for broadcast television was first developed in the early 1950s, including

4136-428: The common top and bottom of the hour scheduling of other cable channels and terrestrial broadcasters. As such, programs often air using either conventional scheduling or have airtimes in five-minute increments (for example, 7:05 a.m. or 4:40 p.m.); since such channels broadcast content without in-program break interruptions, this sometimes leads to extended or abbreviated breaks between programs, depending on when

4224-590: The company "had productive discussions with the newly installed leadership at the Los Angeles Times regarding our specific concerns", and had reversed its ban. In December 2017, Disney announced plans to purchase 21st Century Fox (21CF) for $ 52.4 billion. In preparation for integration of 21st Century Fox assets in March 2018, Disney created a new segment named Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International , merging two segments and transferring various units to

4312-543: The depiction of smoking and tobacco products from Walt Disney Pictures-branded films, as well as limiting such depictions in Touchstone and Miramax films. In April 2008, the Studio announced the formation of Disneynature , a nature film production label. The Studio launched its Kingdom Comics division in May, led by writer-actor Ahmet Zappa , television executive Harris Katleman and writer-editor Christian Beranek . Kingdom

4400-517: The distribution rights previously held by Paramount for Marvel Studios' Iron Man , Iron Man 2 , Thor , and Captain America: The First Avenger . In December of that same year, Disney purchased the distribution and marketing rights to future Indiana Jones films from Paramount. Paramount will continue distributing the first four films and receive "financial participation" from any additional films . In March 2015, Iger expanded

4488-463: The distribution rights to Marvel's The Avengers and Iron Man 3 in October 2010. In May 2011, Disney India and UTV Motion Pictures agreed to co-produce Disney-branded family films, with both companies handling creative function and UTV producing, marketing and distributing the films. In August 2011, Disney fired Marvel Studios ' marketing department in a restructuring. Disney would take over

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4576-479: The financial and administrative divisions of Walt Disney Pictures and Television, appointing four directors to the newly created vice president positions, included were John Covas, Linda Stefansen, Anne Waldeck and Lloyd Wendkos, although Covas became the new vice president of administration for Buena Vista Pictures Distribution , while Linda Stefansen was promoted from director of finance at Walt Disney Pictures ' marketing division to vice president of administration at

4664-660: The first of the True-Life Adventures series and a subsequent Academy Award winner for Best Live-Action Short Film . Walt Disney Productions had its first fully live-action film in 1950 with the release of Treasure Island , considered by Disney to be the official conception for what would eventually evolve into the modern-day Walt Disney Pictures . By 1953, the company ended their agreements with such third-party distributors as RKO Radio Pictures and United Artists and formed their own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution . Disney Productions purchased in 1959

4752-521: The first studio president, Schneider had supervisory control of all films released by the Disney labels. In July, Walt Disney Television , including Buena Vista Television Productions, were transferred from the Walt Disney Studios to ABC Television Network to merge with ABC's prime-time division, forming the ABC Entertainment Television Group. Roth left to form his own production company in January 2000, with Schneider moving to

4840-644: The form of a conventional VOD television service, and in some cases, a companion on-demand streaming service as well). Most pay television providers also offer a selection of premium services (for example, the HBO, Showtime and Starz packages) in one bundle at a greatly reduced price than it would cost to purchase each service separately, as an inducement for subscribers to remain with their service provider or for others to induce subscribers into using their service. Similarly, many television providers offer general interest or movie-based premium channels at no additional charge for

4928-470: The formation of Hollywood Pictures division, which would only share marketing and distribution with Touchstone, to fill the void. Walt Disney Television and Touchstone Television were grouped together under Garth Ancier as president of network television for the Walt Disney Studios on April 18, 1989. Late in the 1980s, Disney purchased a controlling stake in one of Pacific Theatres ' chains leading Disney's Buena Vista Theaters and Pacific to renovate

5016-482: The global box office in December 2019, breaking their previous record in 2016. The studio ended 2019 eventually earning $ 13.2 billion in worldwide box office. Disney achieved this on the strength of Avengers: Endgame , The Lion King , Captain Marvel , Toy Story 4 , Aladdin , Frozen II , and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker all earning over $ 1 billion. On January 17, 2020, Disney announced it would drop

5104-400: The label. Berger was pushed out as a new CEO was appointed for Walt Disney Productions later in 1984, as Michael Eisner brought his own film chief, Jeffrey Katzenberg and film studio president, Richard H. Frank. Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures were formed within that unit on February 15, 1984, and February 1, 1989, respectively. In October 1984, Daily Variety had identified Disney as

5192-426: The largest amount raised for a film financing limited partnership by E.F. Hutton. Also in 1985, TV production company Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions begin signing a deal with Disney to produce feature films and TV shows. In 1987, the Walt Disney Studios, which until now, had sporadically acquired independently produced films, has plans to aggressively pick up properties for distribution in an effort to become "more of

5280-454: The launch of a network's prestige series. However, some other channels, such as sports and adult networks may ask for monthly pricing that may go as high as near $ 50 a month. There are also premium television services which are priced significantly higher than the mini-pay channels, but they compensate for their higher price by carrying little or no advertising and also providing a higher quality program output. As advertising sales are sensitive to

5368-467: The majority of pay television services rely almost solely on monthly subscription fees paid by individual customers. As a result, pay television outlets are most concerned with offering content that can justify the cost of the service, which helps to attract new subscribers, and retain existing subscribers. Many pay television services consist of multiple individual channels, referred to as " multiplex " services (in reference to multiplex cinemas ), where

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5456-511: The majority of the content produced by these studios for both theatrical exhibition and the company's streaming services . In 2019, Disney posted an industry record of $ 13.2 billion at the global box office . The studio owns eight of the top ten highest-grossing films of all time worldwide, and several of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time. Walt Disney Productions began production of their first feature-length animated film in 1934. Taking three years to complete, Snow White and

5544-422: The marketing and distribution of future Marvel titles, beginning with the 2012 release of The Avengers . On April 20, 2012, Ross was fired as studio chairman. Former Warner Bros. chief Alan Horn was named chairman on May 31, 2012. On October 30, 2012, Lucasfilm agreed to be purchased by the Walt Disney Company and a new Star Wars trilogy was announced. The deal was finalized on December 21. Later on

5632-583: The new segment, including the Janice Marinelli-led Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment . On June 28, 2018, DisneyToon Studios was shut down. On June 8, 2018, Disney announced Lasseter would be leaving the company by the end of the year, but would take on a consulting role until then. On June 19, 2018, Pete Docter and Jennifer Lee were announced as Lasseter's replacements as chief creative officers of Pixar and Disney Animation, respectively. In December 2018,

5720-447: The ongoing coronavirus pandemic 's continued economic impact on the company's businesses; it was no longer sustainable for Disney to run a third feature animation studio. The studio's film library and intellectual properties would still be retained by Disney. Disney Music Group was reorganized back under Walt Disney Studios on February 8, 2023. On April 26, 2023, 20th Digital Studio was dissolved. Animation Walt Disney Pictures

5808-494: The original term of license agreements with a distributor may also be broadcast as "sub-runs", in which a service holds rights to film long after the conclusion of a distribution agreement (under this arrangement, the pay service that originally licensed the rights to a particular film title, or one other than that which had held rights, may hold the broadcast rights through a library content deal). Many general interest premium channels also produce original television series . Due to

5896-587: The past, theatrical plays . Sports programming is also featured on some premium services; HBO was historically known for its broadcasts of boxing , while Showtime and Epix also carry mixed martial arts events. Some general interest premium channels have aired other professional sporting events in the past: HBO for example, carried games from the National Hockey League (NHL), National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) in its early years, and from 1975 to 1999 aired

5984-477: The planned business merger with Disney's KCAL. David Hoberman , president of Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone, was promoted by Katzenberg to president of motion pictures at Walt Disney Studios in April 1994 , while Ricardo Mestres was forced out as president of Hollywood Pictures in exchange for a production deal. On August 24, 1994, with Katzenberg's resignation, Walt Disney Studios was reorganized by spinning off

6072-521: The previous program concludes and when the start time of the next program is. The only universal variation to this is prime time , where the main channel in each pay service's suite usually schedules films to start on the hour. Films comprise much of the content seen on most pay television services, particularly those with a general entertainment format and those that focus exclusively on films . Services often obtain rights to films through exclusive agreements with film distributors . Films acquired during

6160-534: The programming previously screened on the Comcast-owned Universal TV (particularly first-run acquired series) was moved to Sky Witness; allowing the channel to be closed and replaced by Sky Comedy . Sky Witness is also available in Ireland via Sky Ireland and Virgin Media Ireland . The Irish opt-out feed features localised advertising and sponsorship. The same Sky Witness schedule, shown in both

6248-411: The responsibilities of Schneider while continuing in their current positions. In February 2002, Cook was named as studio chairman. In January 2002, Buena Vista International - Latin America formed a joint venture production company, Miravista, with Admira, Telefónica 's content production and distribution division, for primarily Brazilian and Mexican film productions. In January 2003, Disney initiated

6336-451: The same company, Anne Waldeck was moved into the vice president administrative position for Buena Vista Home Video , and Lloyd Wendkos was named vice president of administration at Buena Vista International . In April 1988, Touchstone became a unit of Walt Disney Pictures with newly appointed head Ricardo Mestres. With several production companies getting out of film production or closing shop by December 1988, Walt Disney Studios announced

6424-479: The same day, Disney agreed to have Netflix as its exclusive U.S. television subscription service for first-run Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios and Disneynature feature films starting in 2016, replacing its agreement with Starz that ends in 2015. In April 2013, the Walt Disney Studios laid off 150 workers, including staff from its marketing and home entertainment units. In July 2013, Disney acquired all of

6512-578: The service for a period of days or weeks; these are typically scheduled to showcase major special event programming, such as the pay cable premiere of a blockbuster feature film, the premiere (either a series or season premiere ) of a widely anticipated or critically acclaimed original series or occasionally, a high-profile special (such as a concert). Subscription services transmitted via analogue terrestrial television have also existed, to varying degrees of success. The most known example of such service in Europe

6600-431: The seventh major film studio due to the hiring of Eisner as Disney chairman and his plans for the company. In late 1984, Fred Silverman and his InterMedia production company has struck a deal with the Walt Disney Studios. Organized in 1985, Silver Screen Partners II, L.P. financed films for Disney with $ 193 million in funding. In January 1987, Silver Screen III began financing films for Disney with $ 300 million raised,

6688-465: The situation: for example, in the United States, Cinemax and Encore are optionally sold separately from or in a single package with their respective parent networks HBO and Starz, depending on the service provider. The Movie Channel and Flix meanwhile, are usually sold together with Showtime (all three channels are owned by Paramount Global ); though subscribers are required to purchase Showtime in order to receive Flix, The Movie Channel does not have such

6776-702: The studio briefly banned reporters of the Los Angeles Times from attending pre-release screenings for its films, after it had published reports on Disney's political influence in the Anaheim area that the company deemed to be "biased and inaccurate". After a boycott effort emerged among several notable critics and publications (including Washington Post blogger Alyssa Rosenberg, The New York Times , and Boston Globe critic Ty Burr ), and several major film critic societies threatened to disqualify Disney films from their year-end awards in retaliation, Disney stated that

6864-520: The studio surpassed $ 7 billion in global box office for the calendar year. It was the second time in history that any studio had surpassed the $ 7 billion mark, after Disney's own industry-record global gross of $ 7.6 billion in 2016. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Disney announced that the film divisions of Fox Entertainment Group (including 20th Century Fox , Fox Searchlight Pictures , Fox 2000 Pictures , 20th Century Fox Animation , Blue Sky Studios , and Fox Family) would be folded into

6952-422: The studio's smoking and tobacco prohibition to include all films released by the studio—including PG-13 rated films and below—unless such depictions are historically pertinent. The studio and Shanghai Media Group Pictures signed a multi-year movie development agreement, before the March 6, 2014, announcement, in which Chinese themes would be incorporated into Disney-branded movies. In August 2015, Marvel Studios

7040-473: The top 10 films of the year with a record four of them, The Jungle Book , Finding Dory , Captain America: Civil War , and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , with opening weekend takes of over $ 100 million. Four films in 2016 grossed over $ 1 billion and another $ 966 million globally. Two studio units' (Pixar and Marvel Studios) combined lifetime library grosses passed $ 10 billion. In November 2017,

7128-442: Was announced that effective January 1, 2021, Bergman would become chairman, overseeing creative, production, marketing, and operations for it, while Horn would remain as the studios' Chief Creative Officer, focusing solely on Disney's creative pipeline, and working in conjunction with Bergman on the studio's creative plans. On February 9, 2021, Disney announced that Blue Sky Studios would be closed effective April 2021, due in part to

7216-426: Was designed to create new properties for possible film development and re-imagine and redevelop existing movies from the Disney library, with Disney Publishing Worldwide getting a first look for publishing. On February 9, 2009, Walt Disney Studios entered a 7-year, 30-picture distribution deal with DreamWorks Studios , by which DreamWorks' films would be released through the Touchstone banner, with Disney collecting

7304-456: Was forced out as chairman, after allegedly having been asked to do so by Iger, for resisting change that Iger felt was needed and the previous year's poor results. He was then replaced by Disney Channels Worldwide president Rich Ross on October 5, 2009. The Walt Disney Company completed its acquisition of Marvel Entertainment in December 2009 for $ 4.2 billion. Disney closed a deal with Paramount Pictures to transfer worldwide marketing and

7392-454: Was incorporated into the Walt Disney Studios' Special Events Group in 2006. In April 2007, Disney retired the Buena Vista brand. Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group and Buena Vista Pictures Distribution were renamed as Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures , respectively. Hollywood Pictures was also retired as well. In July 2007, Disney CEO Bob Iger banned

7480-531: Was incorporated on April 1, 1983 as Walt Disney Pictures . In April 1983, Richard Berger was hired by Disney CEO Ron W. Miller as film president. Berger diversified the studio's output by green-lighting "more adult, more mature" films targeted toward adult audiences. As a result, Touchstone Films was started by Miller in February 1984 as a label for their films (rated PG and higher) with an expected half of Disney's 6 to 8 films yearly slate would be released under

7568-504: Was integrated into Walt Disney Studios with president Kevin Feige reporting to Disney studio chief Alan Horn instead of Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac Perlmutter . Perlmutter continued to oversee Marvel Television and Marvel Animation until 2019, in which they were folded back into Marvel Studios. In January 2016, Disney received ownership of all fourteen DreamWorks films it distributed, in compensation for outstanding loans as DreamWorks

7656-453: Was purchased by BSkyB in 2010 and announced on 25 October 2010, that Living would be rebranded as Sky Living in early 2011 to improve their entertainment line-up. On 8 June 2018, Sky announced that Sky Living would be closed and replaced on 6 August by a new channel Sky Witness , bringing an end to the Living brand after 25 years. Following the acquisition of Sky by Comcast in 2018, much of

7744-540: Was restructured into Amblin Partners . Later that same year, Disney distributed The Light Between Oceans —the fourteenth and final film in the DreamWorks distribution deal—and also the last film released under Touchstone. On December 19, 2016, Walt Disney Studios became the first major studio to reach $ 7 billion at the global box office. This surpasses Universal's record from 2015 of $ 6.89 billion. Disney did it with five of

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