Disney's just traded sportscaster Al Michaels for the rights to, among other things, Walt's original character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Michaels, long the voice of ABC's "Monday Night Football" is leaving the network to join Universal-owned NBC's "Sunday Night Football" in the fall. But he was under contract to Disney-owned ABC, so the network extracted some concessions from Universal to release him.
Most of the deal involves Disney-owned ESPN getting the rights to air more highlights from NBC-covered sports events, such as Notre Dame football. But Universal also threw in the rights to Oswald, a character that Universal owned from back in the day before Walt Disney formed his own studio.
Walt drew Oswald for a series of cartoon shorts distributed by Universal. But Walt didn't own the character's rights. So when Walt decided to set out on his own, he created a new character by shortening Oswald's ears and putting shoes on his feet.
And thus, Mickey Mouse was born.
I also think that letting Mr. Michaels out of the ESPN contract was the right thing to do. Mr. Michaels and John Madden, and the rest of the MNF team have always aired an excellent show. It would be wrong to break up the team (not just Al and John, but the whole MNF production).
I am happy that Mr. Iger seems to understand and respect tradition, loyalty, and history. He also seems to be able to strike the proper balance of the three.
I am looking forward to the future of the Walt Disney Company for the first time in a long time.
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