It used to be so simple. A logo on a baseball cap. A letterhead on corporate stationary. Corporate slogan on an employee shirt or blouse. It was easy to identify who you were dealing with. Not so today!
Mergers, acquisitions, buy-outs. Turmoil in the business world has taken away our ability to identify what we once thought was the “Parent Company.” Hence: Who’s yer daddy?”
From time to time in my seminars and keynote presentations, I find occasion to mention the fact that one particular organization is a subsidiary of a much larger entity. I’m always surprised at the fact that so many of those in the audience were not aware of the relationship I referred to. I’m even more astonished at how interested everyone seems to be in learning of these affiliations. For that reason, I thought it might be interesting to share some of those examples. There are far too many to list in one column so I’ll be updating this category on a regular basis.
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 in Burbank, California, by Walt and Roy Disney. The company currently employs 133,000 employees. Disney is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. It began as a small animation studio but today is one of the largest Hollywood studios and also owns eleven theme parks, two water parks and several television networks. Divisions include:
Studio Entertainment
Disney’s original business was motion picture production. Disney Studio Entertainment, also known as Walt Disney Studios, includes Disney’s movie and animation studios, record labels and Broadway-style stage shows.
TV Networks
- ABC Television Network (10 local TV stations)
- ABC Radio (26 local radio stations)
- ABC Entertainment
- ABC Family ABC Television Studio (formerly Touchstone TV)
- A & E (37.5%)
- Buena Vista Television
- Disney Channel
- E ! (40%)
- ESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN 2, ESPNews, ESPN Classic
- History Channel
- Jetix Europe (74%)
- Lifetime (50%)
- SoapNet
- Radio Disney
- Toon Disney/Jetix
- Walt Disney Television
Motion Pictures
The Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group is a collection of Disney’s main movie studios, made up of:
- Walt Disney Pictures
- Touchstone Pictures
- Hollywood Pictures
- Miramax Films
Record Labels
- Buena Vista Music Group
- Walt Disney Records
- Mammoth Records
- Lyric Street Records
- Hollywood Records
Theatrical
- Walt Disney Theatrical
- Hyperion Theatrical (produces non-Disney-branded shows)
Animation
- Walt Disney Feature Animation
- Walt Disney Television Animation
- DisneyToon Studios
- Pixar Animation Studios
Parks and Resorts
- DisneyLand
- Disney World
- Tokyo Disneyland
- Tokyo DisneySea
- Euro Disney Resort (Paris)
- Magic Kingdom Park
- Epcot Center
- Disney’s Newport Bay Club
- Disney’s Sequoia Lodge
- Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne
- Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe
- Disney’s Davy Crockett RanchHong Kong Disneyland Resort
- Disney MGM Studios
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park
- Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park
- Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park
- Downtown Disney Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Resort
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Resort
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
- Disney Regional Entertainment (ESPN Zone sports-themed restaurants)
- Walt Disney Imagineering
- Walt Disney Creative Entertainment
- Anaheim Sports (operated Mighty Duck hockey team sold in 2005 and the Anaheim Angels sold in 2003)
Hyperion Publishing Co.
Walt Disney Internet Group
- Go.com
- Disney.com
- ESPN.com
- ABCNews.com
- Movies.com
Consumer Products
- Disney Store
- Jim Henson’s Muppets
- Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Cruise Line
- Two ships: Disney Magic and Disney Wonder
- Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.
Disney also owns the rights to the Muppets. The Walt Disney Company and The Jim Henson Company signed an agreement for Disney to buy the “Muppets” and “Bear in the Big Blue House” franchises, including all worldwide production, distribution and merchandising rights in February 2004.
The Jim Henson Company retains other works, such as Dinosaurs, Farscape, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock, and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
Sesame Street is now owned by Sesame Workshop. The Jim Henson Company still provides the characters used on Sesame Street, but those characters and the show itself are actually owned and run by Sesame Workshop, a 501(c)(3).
Jim Henson’s Muppets is listed under “Consumer Products” in this article.