Type Subsidiary Area served North America | Industry Television syndication Website disneyabc.tv | |
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Key people Janice Marinelli (President) Headquarters Burbank, California, United States Founded 1983, Burbank, California, United States Parent organizations The Walt Disney Company, Disney–ABC Television Group | ||
Disney–ABC Domestic Television, also operating as ABC Syndication (formerly known as Buena Vista Television and also known as Disney Domestic Television and Disney-ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution), is the in-home sales and content distribution firm of the Disney–ABC Television Group, a division of The Walt Disney Company. Content distribution responsibilities include domestic television syndication, domestic pay TV, Internet and cable video-on-demand (VOD), and pay-per-view outlets.
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Background
ABC's first syndication arm, ABC Films (established in July 1953), was spun off as Worldvision Enterprises in March 1973 due to fin-syn laws (which have since been repealed).
Buena Vista Television
Disney–ABC Domestic Television was established in 1983 as Walt Disney Domestic Television Distribution. Two years later, the unit was incorporated as Buena Vista Television.
In April 1996, due to ongoing post Disney–Capital Cities/ABC merger realignment and retirement of its president, Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications group's divisions were reassigned to other groups. Hence BVTV, as a part of Walt Disney Television International, was transferred to Capital Cities/ABC. Former employees during 1997 that launched The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show were Mary Kellog, Jeff Kopp, Hayma Washington, Michael Davies, Shauna Garr, and Nahshon Dion Anderson.
In 1999, Buena Vista Television and its subsidiary, Valleycrest Productions, reached an agreement with British company Celador to distribute the U.S. version of the UK game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The show premiered in August 1999, with Regis Philbin as host.
As BVTV, DADT initially acted as a de facto syndication arm for ABC after Disney bought the network in 1996, since at the same time, ABC's original production division was folded into Touchstone Television. That company became ABC Studios in 2007, also as part of Disney's branding strategy. In between these transactions, Disney reorganized all its non-ESPN TV assets into the Disney–ABC Television Group in 2004, making BVTV the official syndication arm of ABC.
In March 2007, Starz Entertainment sued BVTV for breaching their agreement by allowing movies available online through Apple's iTunes Store and other outlets. The introduction of AppleTV device forced Starz to file suit which hinged on the "contractual definition of 'television.'" and whether complete TV exclusivity was granted, as Starz then had a secondary distribution deal with Netflix.
Disney–ABC Domestic Television
In May 2007, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to semi-retire the use of the Buena Vista brand, instead focusing on the three core brands of Disney, ABC, and ESPN. As a result, Buena Vista Television was rebranded as Disney–ABC Domestic Television (DADT). BVT converted to a limited liability business form on April 10, 2009.
By July 2008, DADT signed additional carriage agreements with Vudu and CinemaNow which was then added to the Starz lawsuit. On December 2, 2008, DADT and Starz Entertainment settled their online distribution lawsuit with the terms undisclosed.