How come no Disney movies on TV?

[Big Disney Fan]

How come they never really show Disney movies on TV anymore? I don't mean the more recent movies made during this decade or those B-movies of the 70s and 80s; I mean the class A movies.

BTW, it's spun off from a similar thread: http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... highlight=.

[Super Aurora]

Because Disney hates us.

[Big Disney Fan]

Because Disney hates us.

Very funny.

But seriously, why don't they ever show any old Disney movies on TV anymore?

[Escapay]

Disney does not have as large a library of films as many other studios. So while we can always find dozens of various A-movies, B-movies, C-movies, etc. all over television (be it local channels, network broadcasts, basic cable, or premium movie channels), that's because it's coming from (at the least) seven major movie studios with a back-catalog of literally THOUSANDS of films spanning the past 80 years.

Disney only has 44 2-D Animated Classics, a few hundred live-action films, a few hundred cartoon shorts, and dozens of watchable-in-its-time TV shows. We could count the Touchstone, Miramax, Hollywood, and Dimension films, but only a few are really tied to the Disney name (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Dick Tracy, The Sixth Sense, etc.) The Disney library is miniscule compared to something like the Warner film library (every WB movie, every New Line Cinema movie, every RKO movie, every pre-1986 MGM movie, and a slew of TV material and shorts as well). So while I'm sure Disney would love to be able to showcase their films on TV (the A-list stuff and the forgettable B-movies as well), they simply don't have enough to maintain a "fresh" amount of material without repeating things ad nauseum. How often do we see Mary Poppins on TV? Usually just during the holidays on ABC Family. Usually only Turner Classic and Hallmark show the vintage Disney movies because they're shown probably once a week, and rarely during primetime.

And honestly...most of their live-action movies and TV shows have very little replay value beyond nostalgic Disney fans. When was the last time you ever saw a TV Guide listing for Johnny Tremain, Charlie the Lonesome Cougar, or any of the excellent True-Life Adventures? There's a reason Disney stopped their Vault Disney programming slot. It garnered a nice amount of older viewers (obviously the ones who'd be interested in buying the programs on DVD), but not enough to justify having it on each late-night and get decent enough ratings to cover the royalties and residuals they'd have to pay the performers and crew. It's cheaper to air the same episode of "Kim Possible" or "The Suite Life" for the 13,584,100th time at 2 am...even if the target audience should already be asleep at that hour.

Recent films have better chances of getting television airings because...well, they're recent. But Disney's got such a small library that they have to be careful with what they show and how many times they show it. Big sellers on home video and in theatres shouldn't get too many (if any) airings at all as it may/will hinder their box-office and sales figures. Thus, we will never ever see movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on television.

And of course, Super Aurora provided the easiest and most truthful answer:

Because Disney hates us

Scaps

[Big Disney Fan]

Well, I suppose your statement is more legitimate than Super Aurora's, Escapay, but what of the original Disney Channel? You know, before they went downhill fast? They showed old Disney movies like there was no tomorrow. Don't tell me you've forgotten about the older and better Disney Channel.

But what I want to know is, how come they ALWAYS put their content ONLY on DVD. One question has been answered, but another one needs answering and that is: why do they find it necessary to release their movies ONLY on DVD?

[Escapay]

Don't tell me you've forgotten about the older and better Disney Channel.

I haven't.

When Disney Channel was still a premium that had to be subscribed at a higher rate than basic cable, they naturally had a generous amount of time devoted to classic movies and shows, as well as contemporary movies and shows. The "glory years" so to speak, from the channel's inception up until the late 90s or so (when they introduced Playhouse/Zoog/Vault Disney line-ups). I don't know the specifics about it, but I think it was when Disney went from premium to basic that they restructured the channel into the aforementioned Playhouse/Zoog/Vault blocks, thus limiting the amount of time for each type of show, with Vault Disney getting the most compromises (Zoog would sometimes run over time and cut into the Vault Disney schedule, especially on Fridays and Saturdays).

In the past 10 years or so, Disney has continually been trying to change their image from the nostalgic family friendly fare they produced for years to a more hip and contemporary youthful attitude. And having a specialized line-up like Vault Disney really doesn't help sell "youthful". It's sad, as the current crap on today (some of which I enjoy, but most of which I am pretty much apathetic to) will be viewed 30 years from now as classic stuff worth being in a "Vault Disney" kind of channel.

But again, it goes back to the whole "most of the stuff was really only watchable in its time" argument I made earlier. I'm not very interested in the majority of the vintage Mickey Mouse Club episodes, for example, and aside from a few of the serials (like "Spin & Marty"), I probably wouldn't give the series the time of day. And this is coming from a Disney fan who would prefer The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band over The Lizzie McGuire Movie. But Disney Channel isn't catering to me, or anyone who has any interest in pre-2003 material. And that's even more sad, because we're the ones that are willing to pay for dusty old episodes of "The Wonderful World of Color", and Disney sees little value in releasing it beyond limited-run two-disc sets that get far overpriced when they go out of print.

Essentially, Disney is sending the message that they're focusing on the NOW, that they want people to know them for what they produce today, not what they made 30 years ago.

But what I want to know is, how come they ALWAYS put their content ONLY on DVD. One question has been answered, but another one needs answering and that is: why do they find it necessary to release their movies ONLY on DVD?

Easier revenue than regular tv airings that will get little to no viewership. Look at the recent update to the Disney Films on TCM thread. There's only 5 Disney movies and 2 Touchstone movies that are scheduled in the entirety of February and March. And the only ones that are really well-known among casual fans are the Touchstones, and likely 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

If Leonard Maltin wasn't pushing for the Treasures series, Disney likely would have been content enough to leave the material gathering dust in their archives, save for pulling out a few pieces to tack into Platinum Edition DVDs, or putting an hour's worth of cartoons in a quick DVD-as-the-babysitter release.

Scaps

[Big Disney Fan]

This is probably a long shot, but is there any way to get them to release the old TV episodes of the anthology series on a more constant/consistent DVD line, so that we can at least gain more reliable ways to see them?

Also, does anyone think it's better to have the movies on DVD or on TV and why do you think that way of your decision?

[Escapay]

This is probably a long shot, but is there any way to get them to release the old TV episodes of the anthology series on a more constant/consistent DVD line, so that we can at least gain more reliable ways to see them?

Beyond the Treasures, the only possible *consistent* release I can think of is Disney Movie Club Exclusives (like Zorro: Season One). Disney really sees no general-market value for most of their old TV material, and like I said before, we're lucky enough to at least get them in Treasures.

Also, does anyone think it's better to have the movies on DVD or on TV and why do you think that way of your decision?

I think it's better to have them on DVD, as it allows the viewers to pick when they want to watch it, and will almost always be of better quality (audio/visual) than a TV airing. (compare, for example, the TCM print of MGM's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World to the DVD). However, I feel Disney should still dedicate a channel to airing their vintage material (The Vault Disney Channel, an idea that's been speculated by fans for years), as a way of bringing in new viewers while also appeasing older viewers who simply don't wish to buy every Disney movie/tv show on DVD.

I don't think Disney movies should be hacked for broadcast and basic cable airings. Actually, I don't think any movie should. Commercial breaks work for television, as that's how TV shows were designed, but movies are meant to be aired without interruptions (which is why I LOVE Turner Classic Movies and other no-commercials-allowed movie channels).

Scaps

[MichaeLeah]

This is probably a long shot, but is there any way to get them to release the old TV episodes of the anthology series on a more constant/consistent DVD line, so that we can at least gain more reliable ways to see them?

Part of the problem with trying to release the old anthology of the tv shows is the content of the shows themselves. A rather large percentage of the tv shows were the movies that had been previously released in the theatre. For example, after a movie like Moon Spinners, Kidnapped, Polyanna, Jungle Cat, and many, many, more films were shown in the theatre, they were used for the tv show. (The better fims like Swiss Family Robinson was saved for a later theatrical release.) That is why the shows were so good. The content was just as good as a movie at the theatre because oftentimes they were movies from the theatre. Consequently, you probably own many more anthology episodes than you realize.

The tv shows have come out some on the Treasures sets as Escapay said. I wish they came in a cheaper version, but this is probably the best way to release the films. For example, there was a Davy Crockett set that consisted of all the Davy Crockett episodes. The Tomorrowland set contained the Tomorrowland episodes. I think you get the idea. Very it is best for Disney to just release a complete series or serial at a time. The only thing I find disappointing is when they only give us part of a series. Elfago Baca was very exciting, but we only got to watch three episodes of it, etc.

I am sorry I veered so far off course, but the essential point is that the old anthology shows couldn't be released in the same way they release The Muppet Show.

[castleinthesky]

Because Disney would rather show High School Musical and Hannah Montana.

[edsouth]

Take a look at Halmark Channel's listings for the weekend. They often offer up a few films from the studio's 60's and 70's library. I know they just showed "Big Red" the other day. I've seen quite a few "obscure" films on Halmark. Sometimes they show recent stuff from the 90's, but they do alot of the films from the years following Walt's death.

The only problem is alot of them are edited for time.

[Big Disney Fan]

Take a look at Halmark Channel's listings for the weekend. They often offer up a few films from the studio's 60's and 70's library. I know they just showed "Big Red" the other day. I've seen quite a few "obscure" films on Halmark. Sometimes they show recent stuff from the 90's, but they do alot of the films from the years following Walt's death.

The only problem is alot of them are edited for time.

Well, unfortunately, I don't have the Hallmark Channel, and now that you mentioned the fact that they are edited for time, I probably never will look at it.

But my original concern was, why is Disney so paradoxical when it comes to their movie library? I mean, they hardly ever show their movies on TV, what few they are, yet they always seem only too happy to release those same movies on DVD. Why can't they do both and not just one or the other?