ABC or American Broadcasting Network was created in 1948 out of the NBC Blue Block. In the 1950's ABC's popularity grew and many shows were added to the network, one of the most popular was Walt Disney's Disneyland. In the early 1960's ABC became the third most popular network in the country. In 1966, the popular TV show Batman staring Adam West began on ABC. The late 60's to 1980's were some of the best years for ABC. Sitcoms began taking over television and ABC had some of the country's favorites such as the Brady Bunch, Bewitched, and The Partridge Family. Like sitcoms ABC also had some top game shows such as Family Feud, Let's Make a Deal, and The Dating Game. In 1984 ABC acquired ESPN, a sports network. ABC also became the top network. Then in 1996 Disney took control of ABC. In the early 2000's ABC's popularity began to decline but then came back up in the mid-2000's. The resurgence came in part due to such shows as Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, and Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Today ABC is still popular thanks to many shows such as Modern Family. ABC still competes with rival channels like Fox, NBC and also CBS.
Disney Channels
In 1983 Disney released its first TV channel, Disney Channel. The channel featured about 18 hours of broadcasting. Some shows that were first featured were Welecome to Pooh Corner, and You and Me Kid. Within a year Disney Channel was making a name for itself and got complemented from President Ronald Reagan. In 1989 the all new Mickey Mouse Club released featuring such future stars as Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. In 1997 the channel went from a premium cable channel to a basic cable channel. Disney Channel would then split in to 3 different program blocks Playhouse Disney meant for toddlers and young kids, Vault Disney featuring classic shows, and Zoog Disney geared to older kids and teenagers. In the 2000's Disney began to change their focus and started aiming more towards older kids to pre-teens and teens. In 2001 The Walt Disney Company bought Fox Family, and renamed it ABC Family, which they continue to use to this day to broadcast different shows that attract different age groups. Soon Disney would release hit shows as That's so Raven, Kim Possible, and The Suite Life of Zach and Cody. Disney Channel would also make their first TV movie musical, Cheetah Girls, which became very popular. Soon High School Musical came along and was so wildly popular a second TV movie was made. Today, Disney Channel is up at the top of the children's TV network list though it is yet to beat Viacom's Nickelodeon. Disney channel has also expanded to many new channels like Toon Disney, Disney XD, and Disney Junior.
ESPN
Launched in 1979, ESPN by Bill Rasmussen and his son Scott. Originally, ESPN was going to be used to broadcast and cover sports teams in the state of Connecticut. To gain attention ESPN, orignally called ESP made a deal with the NCAA to rebroadcast their college basketball games. This deal during the 1979 NCAA Tournament, had many people all over the country calling their cable company and requesting "that channel with all the basketball games." In the fall of 1979 ESPN debuted and its first show is still one of their most popular in Sportscenter. In the early 80's ESPN brought live professional sports to their channel. The first professional sport was the NBA. ESPN would also broadcast USFL games as well as sunday night football games for the NFL. On new years of 1992 ESPN Radio premiered. In 1993 ESPN also came out with ESPN2. Also in the early 1990's ESPN began working to build up their international crowd and they took up productions in Asia, Canada, Africa and also Latin America. In 1996 Disney acquired ESPN when they picked up ABC and ABC Sports and soon began working to work ESPN and ABC Sports together. ESPN in the 2000's expanded immensely with new channels and website like ESPN U and ESPN3. In 2011 the NCAA football National Championship was broadcasted by ESPN and had the most watched program in cable history with 27.3 million viewers.
Hyperion
Established in 1991, Hyperion Books was named after Hyperion Avenue, the location of Walt Disney Studios prior to 1939. Hyperion creates general interest fiction and non-fiction books. Some of their books included ESPN books, Miramax and Hyperion ebooks. Some popular books included TheFive People YouMeet in Heaven, Miles to Go, and Lipstick Jungle.
Others
Other important media outlets for Disney include ABC News, many local stations who work via on ABC station and other premium Disney channels.