The Muppets the Muppets film and television library. Exceptions included the "Sesame Street" characters, which were previously sold to Sesame Workshop; the "Fraggle Rock" characters, which were retained by Henson; and the distribution rights to "The Muppets Take Manhattan", "Muppets from Space", and "Kermit's Swamp Years," which were retained by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Following the acquisition, Disney formed The Muppets Holding Company (later known as The Muppets Studio), a wholly owned subsidiary responsible for managing the characters and franchise. As a result, the term "Muppet" became a legal trademark of Disney; under license from Disney, Sesame Workshop continues to use the term
The Muppets Primetime Emmy Award nominations during its run and won four, including Outstanding Variety Series in 1978. The success of "The Muppet Show" allowed Henson Associates to diversify into theatrical films centered on the Muppets; the first of these, "The Muppet Movie", was released in 1979. Following "The Muppet Movie" were "The Great Muppet Caper" and "The Muppets Take Manhattan", released in 1981 and 1984, respectively. Collectively, the three films received four Academy Award nominations. In 1983, Henson debuted another television series, "Fraggle Rock", which ran on HBO in the United States until 1987. In the late 1980s, Henson entered discussions