The Walt Disney Company Disney Media Networks, and Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, A&E Networks, and Freeform; publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions; and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a group of 14 theme parks around the world. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991. Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 and is the signature mascot and emblem for Disney and one of the world's most recognizable characters. On December 14, 2017, Disney announced an agreement to acquire 21st Century
The Walt Disney Company Sword and the Rose" (1953), and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954). Disney ended its distribution contract with RKO in 1953, forming its own distribution arm, Buena Vista Distribution. In December 1950, Walt Disney Productions and the Coca-Cola Company teamed up for Disney's first venture into television, the NBC television network special "An Hour in Wonderland". In October 1954, the ABC network launched Disney's first regular television series. In 1954, Walt Disney used his "Disneyland" series to unveil what would become Disneyland, an idea conceived out of a desire for a place where parents and children could both have fun