Buena Vista Television, Inc. Disney established a television syndication unit in 1985, with Robert Jacquemin as senior vice president of domestic television distribution, after the company convinced
Chicago film critics Gene Siskel and
Roger Ebert to move their show
At the Movies from
Tribune Entertainment/
WGN-TV at the end of the 1985–86 television season. None of its animated feature films were planned to enter syndication at the time. and on September 20, 1986, the second iteration of
At the Movies, later re-titled
Siskel & Ebert, premiered as the company's first production. In 1990, the company offered its first game show,
The Challengers, into first-run syndication. In late 1986, Buena Vista was shopping
DuckTales for a 1987 debut, with a 4–6 p.m. placement and a 2.5/3.5 syndicator/station ad split. In late 1990 and early 1991, after launching
The Disney Afternoon syndicated block, Buena Vista had considered starting a new one-hour morning block to start in 1992. On August 24, 1994, a reorganization of Disney took place in which
Richard H. Frank became head of a newly formed Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications, which was split from
Walt Disney Studios and included Buena Vista Television. The company had absorbed the original iteration of
Debmar Studios after Mort Marcus became the company's president in 1994. In April 1996, due to the ongoing post Disney–
Capital Cities/ABC Inc. merger realignment and the retirement of its president, Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications' divisions were reassigned to other groups. Therefore, Buena Vista Television, as a part of Walt Disney Television International, was transferred to
Disney–ABC Television Group. In February 1997, Buena Vista began development on the
Comedy Central original daytime game show ''
Win Ben Stein's Money'', presided over by actor, financial planner, motivator and author Ben Stein. The series debuted July 27, 1997 on Comedy Central; and Jimmy Kimmel was named co-host and quizmaster opposite Stein himself. In March 2007,
Starz Inc. sued Buena Vista Television for breaching their agreement by allowing films to be available online through
Apple Inc.'s
iTunes Store and other outlets. The introduction of the
Apple TV device forced Starz to file suit, which hinged on the "contractual definition of 'television'" and whether complete television exclusivity was granted, as Starz then had a secondary distribution deal with
Netflix, which had introduced their streaming service (and eventual competitor to the future
Disney+) two months earlier.
Disney–ABC Domestic Television In May 2007, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to semi-retire the use of the
Buena Vista brand in favor of focusing on the three core brands of
Disney,
ABC, and
ESPN instead. As a result, Buena Vista Television was rebranded as Disney–ABC Domestic Television (DADT). By July 2008, Disney–ABC Domestic Television signed additional carriage agreements with
Vudu and
CinemaNow, which was then added to the Starz lawsuit. On December 2, 2008, Disney–ABC Domestic Television and Starz Entertainment settled their online distribution lawsuit with the terms undisclosed. In February 2020, Disney licensed 21 television series, from
Ally McBeal to
Witches of East End including
Lost and
Desperate Housewives, to Amazon-owned
IMDb's
ad supported streaming service. On August 10, 2020, Disney–ABC Domestic Television took over the syndication function of the original
20th Television. ==First-run programming==