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 breakout roles in "The Muppet Show" (1976–1981), a primetime television series that garnered four Primetime Emmy Award wins and twenty-one nominations during its five-year run. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Muppets diversified into theatrical feature films, including "The Muppet Movie" (1979); "The Great Muppet Caper" (1981); and "The Muppets Take Manhattan" (1984). The Walt Disney Company began involvement with the Muppets in the late 1980s, during which Henson entered negotiations to sell the Jim Henson Company. The Muppets continued their media presence in the 1990s with television series "The Jim Henson Hour" (1989) and "Muppets Tonight" (1996–98), both of