Disney Channel
Encyclopedia
Disney Channel is an American basic cable
and satellite television
network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group
division of The Walt Disney Company
. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney
. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in Burbank, California
. Disney Channel International Networks, currently run by President Carolina Lightcap, is a global portfolio of more than 90 kid-driven, family inclusive entertainment channels and/or channel feeds available in over 160 countries and 30 languages. The platform brands are Disney Channel, Disney XD
, Disney Junior
, Disney Cinemagic
, Hungama TV
and Radio Disney
.
The channel specializes in television program
ming for children through original children's television series
and movies, as well as third-party programming. It is marketed mostly toward young children, with the exception of their weekend primetime block that is aimed at pre-teens and teenagers ages 9–15, and the Disney Junior
programming block aimed towards children ages 2–5. In recent years, the diversity of viewers has increased with an older audience, typically teenagers, young adults and young families.
Since November 19, 2010, the channel is offered with an alternate Spanish-language audio feed, either via a separate channel as part of a Spanish-language network package sold by cable and satellite providers or via a separate audio track with the SAP option, depending on the system.
Center, Disney chairman Card Walker
turned down the proposal. Disney tried again in 1982, planning a partnership with the satellite unit of Group W
, though the deal never came to fruition. In late 1982, the Disney Channel was formed under the leadership of its first president, Alan Wagner
. Disney later invested US$11 million on two transponders of Galaxy 1
, a Hughes Communications
satellite, and spent US$20 million on programming.
In 1983, Walt Disney Productions announced its launch of the family-oriented cable channel. The Disney Channel launched nationally on April 18, 1983 at 7 am ET
with the Disney Channel-produced series Good Morning, Mickey!
The channel's programming during its run as a premium channel, carrying through to its transition to a basic cable channel, targeted children and teenagers during the daytime, families during primetime and adults at night. At the time of its launch, Disney Channel was a premium channel that aired for 16 hours a day, from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. ET/PT (6 a.m.-10 p.m. CT, 8 a.m.-midnight MT). During its first full year, the channel was available to more than 532,000 subscribers in the U.S. In April 1984, the channel extended its programming day to 18 hours a day by adding two hours to its late night schedule (7 a.m.-1 a.m. ET/PT, 6 a.m.-midnight CT, 8 a.m.-2 a.m. MT).
and You and Me Kid
along with several foreign animated series and movies including Asterix
, The Raccoons
, Paddington Bear
, and the Australian western
Five Mile Creek
; the original late night schedule featured reruns of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
. As filler material, the channel also featured D-TV
, a series of MTV
-style music videos which showed popular music interwoven with classic Disney animation.
Subscribers initially received a monthly program guide/magazine, though it was phased out by the time the channel began targeting itself as a commercial-free basic channel. Disney Channel received a special citation from the United States president
Ronald Reagan
in 1984. As a premium channel, The Disney Channel would air week-long previews four times a year, as well as two free preview
weekends periodically (with ads targeted to non-subscribers), in the same manner as other premium channels such as HBO, Cinemax
and Showtime. On December 1, 1986, Disney Channel began broadcasting on a 24-hour-a-day schedule. Outside of daytime programs for children, the network also aired movies and original specials (largely concert specials), largely during the nighttime hours.
Early in 1986, the musical sitcom Kids Incorporated
, about a pre-teen (and later teen-to-young adult) gang of friends who formed a pop group, mixing their everyday situations with variety-show and music video style performances. It became a hit for the channel, spawning many future stars in both music and acting during its 9-year run, including Martika
(who went by her real name of Marta Marrero in the show's first season), eventual Party of Five
co-stars Scott Wolf
and Jennifer Love Hewitt
(billed as Love Hewitt), and Stacy Ferguson, nicknamed Fergie, of The Black Eyed Peas
).
In 1988, Good Morning, Miss Bliss
, a starring vehicle for Hayley Mills
of Polyanna
and The Parent Trap fame, made its debut; the series was cancelled after 13 episodes due to low ratings. NBC
picked up the series in 1989, retooled as Saved by the Bell
, with Miss Bliss actors Mark-Paul Gosselaar
, Dustin Diamond
, Lark Voorhies
and Dennis Haskins
carried over to the new show; Saved by the Bell achieved major success on NBC's Saturday morning lineup
(producing two spinoffs in the process) and in worldwide syndication.
In early 1989, the channel revived one of the company's early TV staples with The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, which was an immediate hit that proved Disney's basic variety show formula could still work, unlike in the short-lived 1970s revival. The latest version contained many of the classic elements from "theme days" to updated mouseketeer jackets, but the scripted and musical segments were more contemporary. MMC had a stellar young cast, launching the careers of future stars Christina Aguilera
, JC Chasez, Ryan Gosling
, Britney Spears
, Justin Timberlake
, Keri Russell
and others.
By 1989, The Disney Channel had a total of about five million pay subscribers nationwide. In 1991, eight cable providers volunteered to move The Disney Channel to their expanded basic cable packages, instead of offering it as a premium channel; Jones Intercable
was the first provider to carry the channel as a basic network, initially carried on the Basic Plus tier on its Fort Myers
and Broward County, Florida
systems as a test run. Soon after, other cable systems began to transition the channel to their basic tiers, either as an experiment or full-time. Even as larger multiple system operators such as Cox Communications
and Marcus Cable
began to offer The Disney Channel on their basic tiers, Walt Disney Company executives continued to deny any plans to convert the channel to an ad-supported basic service, referring to the switches to basic on some systems as part of a five-year "hybrid" strategy; allowing providers to offer it as either a pay service or a basic service.
Also in 1991, The Disney Channel experimented with multiplexing its service, rather than broadcast three channels of its service like HBO did that same year, The Disney Channel instead tested a two-channel multiplex service to two cable systems. By 1992, Nielsen Media Research estimated that a third of its subscriber base were adults without children in the home; and by 1995, The Disney Channel's subscriber base had expanded to 15 million cable homes, eight million of which received the channel through a premium subscription. In 1996, Anne Sweeney
was appointed to oversee The Disney Channel, and the channel began offering a nightly primetime film.
had long continued to rank the channel's subscriber base among all U.S. premium channels in its cable subscription total rankings rather than among basic cable networks (this total is now ranked in the NCTA's basic cable subscriber rankings).
On September 1, 1997, Disney Channel took on a revamped look and dropped the word "The" in the network's name (however, promos often referred to the channel as simply "Disney" and the logo often omitted the "Channel" in the network's name), and split the network into three programming blocks: Playhouse Disney
, comprising shows aimed at preschoolers; Vault Disney, featuring classic Disney material such as Zorro, The Mickey Mouse Club, the Walt Disney anthology television series, older television specials and features such as The Love Bug
; and the most distinct one, running from afternoon to late evening for teenagers, called Zoog Disney, which used anthropomorphic characters called "Zoogs", who resembled robots (but the Zoog characters were given human voices) as its hosts. The Zoog Disney block was introduced in August 1998, shortly after the Toon Disney
cable channel was launched. From September 2001 to August 2002, the entire weekend lineup (except for the Vault Disney and Playhouse Disney lineups) was branded as "Zoog Weekendz".
The Zoogs' original looks were two-dimensional, though they were redesigned in 2001, with a more three-dimensional design and mature voices, but were phased out after less than a year. The original Disney Channel still airs between Playhouse Disney and Zoog Disney. A new channel logo (which featured a 1930s-era Mickey Mouse on a black Mickey ear-shaped TV), was also introduced in 1997. The channel also began to carry break interruptions (not featuring commercial advertisements, but promos for network programming and eventually promotions for Disney-produced feature film and home video releases); the reasons for the channel's decision not to include traditional advertising in its programming include the possible confusion to younger viewers as to the difference between its programming and advertisements, and to prevent increases in license fees for the channel to broadcast feature films (however while the channel does not air standard ads, Disney Channel does utilize underwriter sponsorship by companies such as Best Western
and Mattel
for its programs). Disney Channel's original programming during this period began with Flash Forward in 1997 and continued with shows like The Famous Jett Jackson
, So Weird
, Lizzie McGuire
, Even Stevens
, and Kim Possible
, among others.
In 1999, Disney Channel began notifying the remaining cable operators who still offered the network as a premium service that they must begin carrying it on their basic cable tier or cease to carry it altogether, saying it would not renew retransmission contracts with providers that would choose to carry the network as a pay service, this included Time Warner Cable
and Comcast
that were the last remaining major cable providers offering the channel as a premium service. By 2001, Disney Channel was available to approximately 70 million cable and satellite subscribers, largely consisting of those who already received the channel via a basic tier as well as what remained of the subscribers that paid an additional fee for the channel. By this time, the music videos and concert specials that the channel ran since the 1997 rebrand were dropped, citing the inability to receive a stake in the revenue from artists' CD sales and lack of exclusivity for the videos; soon after, the channel began to incorporate music videos from songs featured in Disney's feature films and performed by artists on Radio Disney
and signed by Disney's in-house record companies Hollywood Records
and Walt Disney Records
.
; as a result of Vault Disney's discontinuance, for the first time in the channel's history, Disney Channel did not feature any programming targeted at adult audiences – with the only programming that intentionally targets the entire family being the channel's primetime feature films (as of June 2011, Disney Channel is the only one out of the four largest children's cable networks in the United States that does not target a dual audience: kids in the daytime, families and adults at night; Nickelodeon, The Hub
and Cartoon Network
each feature program blocks that target such a dual audience). Primetime movies were also cut to one each night (from two). The channel also ceased producing drama and reality series, shifting focus to live-action sitcoms and animated series. A month later, Disney Channel introduced its new logo (designed by CA Square), which it will be adopted internationally in May 2003. It also revealed its new graphics designed to fit the network's new look. After these changes, Playhouse Disney was the only one of the three blocks introduced in 1997 to continue airing; however, it was rebranded as Disney Junior in 2011. Around the same time, Disney Channel partnered with corporate sister ABC
to run the channel's programming on ABC's Saturday morning block
. Moreover, Disney Channel started a bumper which is still used today. Every character must introduce themselves and most character will say which series or movies are they from. After that, they will say: "You're watching Disney Channel"(except for animated characters) and draw the Disney Channel logo, using a glow stick.
Anne Sweeney
, a veteran cable executive, took control of Disney-ABC Television Group in 2004 and successfully remade Disney Channel into "the major profit driver in the company." By 2008, Condé Nast Portfolio
was able to note that the Channel "has been adding a million viewers a month—every month—for the last five years," and also called the Channel "the greatest teen-star incubator since the NBA
stopped drafting high schoolers." Sweeney's successful strategy was to discover, nurture, and aggressively cross-promote teen music stars whose style and image were carefully targeted to pre-teens and teenagers.
Beginning around that time while Disney Channel's intended target audience are preschoolers, pre-teens and young adolescents, the channel began to quickly gain in popularity and created increased competition with Viacom
-owned Nickelodeon
and the channel began to add viewers outside the main target audience and make teen idols out of some of the channel's stars. Though Disney Channel has increased its viewership to rival that of Nickelodeon, Disney Channel has yet to unseat Nickelodeon in the Nielsen ratings
as the highest-rated basic cable channel among total viewers (ages 2+) and all kid demos.
In 2003, Disney Channel released its first ever musical made-for-cable movie called The Cheetah Girls
; it received 84 million viewers worldwide. The success of The Cheetah Girls led to the creation of other music-themed original programming such as the original movie High School Musical
and the original sitcom Hannah Montana
. In 2005, That's So Raven
became the network's highest-rated series since the network's move to basic cable; as well as being the first Disney Channel Original Series to beat the 65-episode limit (the channel had formerly imposed a highly controversial programming rule in 1998, that guaranteed that any original series would end after 65 episodes as a move to prevent production cost increases, though this rule is no longer enforced); the series eventually hit 100 episodes, becoming the channel's longest-running original series and became the first to spawn a spin-off (Cory in the House
, which was cancelled midway through its second season). The Suite Life of Zack & Cody also debuted in 2005, becoming a hit for the channel. 2006 saw the debut of the hit original movie High School Musical
; that year also saw the debut of Hannah Montana, which launched the career of its star Miley Cyrus
, herself the daughter of popular 1990s country singer Billy Ray Cyrus
, who co-stars in the series. On July 28 of that year, the channel saw the debut of the its first multiple-series crossover, That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana
(involving That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana).
Promos for the next program began to only advertise the program airing afterwards and were moved from between shows to near the end of the final promo break of an episode, while a ribbon banner promoting the current program and the two programs afterwards now appeared on the bottom of the screen after the end of each promo break from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. ET. In September 2008, slightly modified versions of these graphics were introduced for high definition. The channel also moved its original series, mostly the live-action shows, from late afternoon to prime time on weekends from 8–9 p.m. ET. The Friday block is preempted when a Disney Channel Original Movie is scheduled to premiere that night. The Saturday block has aired on a periodic basis since the change and now serves as a block repeating the previous week's new episodes. The Sunday block was added in January 2008. In July 2009, Disney Channel extended its Friday lineup to two hours in prime time from 8–10 p.m. ET, dropping the primetime movie. A double-movie feature which was added on Saturday nights, which was mostly dropped in March 2010.
Two series debuted in 2007, the That's So Raven spin-off Cory in the House
which ended after two seasons (a possible casualty of the 2007 Writer's Guild strike
, which caused freshman or sophomore series whose production was interrupted midway through the season to eventually be canceled), and the popular Wizards of Waverly Place
, starring Selena Gomez
, David Henrie
and Jake T. Austin
. Phineas and Ferb
, the first original animated series to broadcast in HD, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody spin-off, The Suite Life on Deck
, debuted in 2008, along with Disney Channel Original Movies such as Camp Rock
, Minutemen
and The Cheetah Girls: One World
. The Suite Life on Deck became the number one series And Another "Pilot" In The Middle Starring Lateef Bowser in the respective categories in kids ages 6–12 and teens ages 9–14 in 2008.
Disney Channel launched two new series in 2009: Sonny with a Chance
starring Demi Lovato
in February, and JONAS starring the Jonas Brothers
in May. New movies in 2009 included: Dadnapped
, Hatching Pete
, Princess Protection Program
, and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
. The four original movies for 2009 each featured at least two stars from Disney Channel's original series. Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie also became the highest-rated cable program of 2009 (excluding sporting events), premiering to 11.4 million viewers and becoming the second highest-rated DCOM premiere in history. The premiere of the crossover special Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana
(involving Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life on Deck and Hannah Montana) also beat out its competition (both cable and broadcast network programming) on the night of its premiere with 9.1 million viewers (making it the highest-rated episodes of Wizards and On Deck to date). In October 2009, Disney Channel premiered a new short series, Have a Laugh!
, which features 4 to 5-minute segments including re-dubbed versions of classic Disney cartoons. The first of which premiered on October 26, 2009: Lonesome Ghosts
.
The new logo, released May 2010, is the Disney Channel logo encased in a rounded box (which looks like a smartphone application icon); the point was so that Disney could put the logo more towards the middle of the screen (like they did with the 2008 logo), but with the 2002 logo. It came into use on May 7, 2010, though the logo was first seen in March 2010, and at the time was exclusively used on the weekend evening lineup, with a slow roll-out of a new imaging campaign that was completed in that month's Memorial Day weekend. Disney also started their campaign "It's On!" in June as part of their Summer 2010 lineup. The 2002 logo is still used sometimes in old promos for shows (shows that started before the new logo), and bumpers in between shows.
In 2010, the channel launched its first original sitcom intentionally targeted at family audiences: Good Luck Charlie
, starring Bridgit Mendler
and Jason Dolley
, a series some have compared to the shows on sister network ABC's former TGIF
comedy lineup of the 1990s. The final season of Hannah Montana premiered, branded as Hannah Montana Forever for the final season. Jonas returned as Jonas L.A., though it ended that October. That fall, the second animated series, Fish Hooks
, and the buddy sitcom Shake It Up
were introduced. Four original movies premiered: Starstruck
, Den Brother
, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam
, and Avalon High
. Two other made-for-TV movies produced for Disney Channel in association with Canadian cable channels debuted as well: Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars
(produced in association with pay services Movie Central
and The Movie Network
) and 16 Wishes
(produced in association with Family Channel).
In 2011, four popular original series are scheduled to end: Sonny with a Chance
(later becoming So Random!
), Hannah Montana
, The Suite Life on Deck
, and Wizards of Waverly Place
. Sonny with a Chance was retooled due to Demi Lovato's announcement that she would not return to the series, in order to focus on her music career. Five series were announced to be added to the lineup in 2011: So Random!
, A.N.T. Farm
, PrankStars
, Jessie
, and Austin & Ally
. Seven Disney Channel Original Movies have also been confirmed for 2011: The Suite Life Movie
, Lemonade Mouth
, Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure, Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension, Geek Charming
, and Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!
. The Teletoon original movie, My Babysitter's a Vampire
, premiered on June 10, 2011 with its spin-off series, also called My Babysitter's a Vampire
, that premiered June 27, 2011. As of mid-2011, Disney Channel no longer has its "Disney Channel Original Series" vanity card tagged onto the end of its series when aired on television.
, Phineas and Ferb
, Fish Hooks
, Good Luck Charlie
, Shake It Up
, So Random!
, A.N.T. Farm
, My Babysitter's a Vampire
, PrankStars
, and Jessie
. Reruns of ended Disney Channel original shows such as The Suite Life on Deck
air, along with occasional airings of Disney XD series Pair of Kings
, Kickin' It
, and Kick Buttowski. Future programming on Disney Channel include the series Austin & Ally
, and Gravity Falls. Unlike the majority of cable channels, all of Disney Channel's original scripted programs, including those on the former Playhouse Disney block, feature tag scenes during the closing credits. The channel also airs short-form programs known as "short shows", which air more commonly on the Disney Junior block. Music videos, mainly featuring Walt Disney Records
and Hollywood Records
artists as well as songs featured in newer Disney feature films are frequently aired, though the full versions of these music videos typically air only during the video's premiere and as filler between programs, while shorter versions usually air during promo breaks during the current program).
Disney Channel mostly produces and airs original sitcoms
that are geared toward teenage girls and also airs a moderate amount of animated series geared more towards upper-elementary and middle school-age children. Series produced by Walt Disney Television
or production companies unrelated to the Walt Disney Company used to make up most of the schedule; nowadays, with the explosion of Disney Channel Original Series, these series have almost completely been dropped from the channel.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Disney Channel aired classic Disney animated shorts (that were largely made when Walt Disney
headed his namesake company); they were largely removed from the lineup in 2000, however their presence has returned as of 2009 with the addition of the short series have a laugh!. On December 14, 2008, it was announced that Disney Channel in the U.S. would bring back the animated block, which aired from 12–6 a.m. ET. The animated block was added to Disney Channel during the late night hours after Christmas Day 2008.
Some of Disney Channel's programming seems to appeal to teenage girls with shows like Hannah Montana
and Lizzie McGuire
. Disney Channel has aired some programming more appealing to teenage boys with Aaron Stone
and other such Disney XD
shows in 2009. The programs that premiered on Disney Channel in 2010 are the family sitcom Good Luck Charlie
, the animated series Fish Hooks
and the dance-centric sitcom Shake It Up
.
Since 2003, Disney Channel typically imposes an unwritten "6-to-a-cast" rule as its original series generally have no more than six contract cast members, with So Weird
being the last series before 2003 to have more than six cast members. However, Shake It Up is the first series to receive seven contract cast members in season two; its series also have only between 6 and 8 credited staff writers (fewer than the 8 to 11 writers standard with most scripted television series). Its multi-camera sitcoms, which use the classic studio audience/laugh track format, are shot on videotape (note that these shows have Video Control Operators, Video Tape Operators and Technical Directors listed in the closing credits) and use a simulated film look. Multi-camera series that debuted and/or ran between 2003 and 2008 (e.g., That's So Raven, Cory in the House, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, etc.) used the FilmLook
image processing; all original series that debuted either as a new series or with a new season from 2009 onward, are broadcast in high definition and use the HD-compatible 'filmizing
' technique, reducing the videotape frame rate to 24 frames per second
.
s, called Disney Channel Original Movies (or DCOMs), about 4–6 times a year, and those are frequently broadcast during the prime-time slot. In 2000, Disney Channel claimed to produce a new movie each month; this only lasted throughout that same year. Disney Channel began producing its Original Movies in 1997 with the premiere of Northern Lights
. The number of DCOMs per year began to increase – from two in 1997 to three in 1998 to a high of twelve in 2000.
High School Musical 2 is currently the most successful DCOM in popularity and awards, setting a cable record for most viewers of a basic cable program, when its August 2007 debut scored 17.2 million, a record that stood until the December 3, 2007 Monday Night Football
matchup between the New England Patriots
and Baltimore Ravens
on corporate sibling ESPN
surpassed it with 17.5 million viewers (it still remains the most-watched scripted program in cable television history). The Cheetah Girls
films are also notably successful, with huge merchandise sales, sold-out concert tours and soundtrack sales. The first film was the first TV movie musical in Disney Channel history. It saw over 84 million viewers worldwide. The second movie was the most successful of the series, bringing in 8.1 million viewers in the U.S. It scored an 86-date concert tour, and was on the top 10 tours of 2006; the tour broke a record at the Houston Rodeo that was set by Elvis Presley
in 1973. The concert sold out with 73,500 tickets sold in three minutes.
Film rights for much of the channel are shared by sister network ABC Family
. The network also has rights to many films not released by Disney (either because the studio does not have a children's network or has one that is incompatible with their focus), such as Warner Bros.
' (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
(known in the US as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
), Universal Pictures
(Beethoven, An American Tail
, The Land Before Time
), The Weinstein Company
(Hoodwinked
, The Magic Roundabout
), Sony Pictures (Stuart Little
, Stuart Little 2
, Hook
), Lionsgate (Happily N'ever After
), 20th Century Fox
(Ice Age
, the Home Alone film series, Catch That Kid
), Paramount
(Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)). Also, another non-Disney Christmas themed film, such asThe Polar Express
have aired. Other non-Disney films over the years have included Little Secrets
, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
, Another Cinderella Story
and Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
just to name a few. Films produced by current Disney subsidiary The Jim Henson Company
have also aired on Disney Channel in the past, although most of them are not presently owned by Disney, including The Dark Crystal
, Labyrinth
, Buddy, The Muppet Movie
, The Muppets Take Manhattan
, The Muppet Christmas Carol
, Muppet Treasure Island
, Muppets From Space
, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
. Bagdasarian Productions films have also aired on Disney Channel, although most of them are not presently owned by Disney, including The Chipmunk Adventure
, Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein
, Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman
, Spirited Away
and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Between 1986 and 1998, films made up most Disney Channel's evening and overnight schedule. It now only airs films usually each afternoon and in primetime Monday through Thursday nights. Many of the channel's earliest original movies (particularly those made from 1997 to 2002) have seldom been aired by Disney Channel in recent years, except for some holiday-themed movies; in January 2009, the channel began airing these older original movies on Friday and Saturday nights at 3 am ET/PT; since June 2010, movies also air on Sundays in late night and since July 2010, the movies start at 2:30 am ET/PT and some of the late-night weekend movies are aired without promo breaks. A Disney Channel Original Movie used to air twice in a row on the night of its premiere; this tradition ended with the January 2006 premiere of High School Musical. Encore presentations of Disney Channel Original Movies however, still sometimes air on the channel in prime time on the Saturday and Sunday after its original Friday night debut (Camp Rock
, Dadnapped
, Starstruck
, and Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars
are the only exceptions to this rule). Camp Rock
and Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
are currently the only DCOMs to air on a non-Disney Channel branded network domestically as they have both aired on sister channel ABC Family
, and Camp Rock has also aired on ABC
as part of The Wonderful World of Disney. On September 13, 2010, Disney Channel began airing theatrically released films in a 4:3 letterbox
format on the channel's primary SD feed, broadcasting them in a similar manner to how they are aired on the HD feed.
Disney Channel occasionally airs "special edition" airings of its high-profile original movie premieres: sing-along
versions of The Cheetah Girls trilogy, High School Musical, High School Musical 2 and Camp Rock have aired in which lyrics are displayed on screen for viewers to sing with the songs in the films; the channel also airs "What's What" editions of its high-profile original movies using a format that mimics the former VH1
series Pop Up Video in which facts about the movie and its stars pop up on screen at various points during the film.
In part because the network does not air commercials and advertises only network programming, films typically run short of their allotted time slot interstitial program
ming airs to fill an entire two-hour slot, usually an episode of a Disney Channel original series for a film running about 90 to 100 minutes, an 11-minute-long episode of an original animated series for a film running 105 minutes, and any film longer than 105 minutes has the remaining time filled with a music video, promotions, and/or shorts such as Shaun the Sheep
, Have a Laugh!
or Take Two with Phineas and Ferb
.
on Disney Junior, and the Have a Laugh! short films on the network itself. Programming in this block includes Jake and the Never Land Pirates
, Special Agent Oso
, Imagination Movers
, Handy Manny
, Little Einsteins
, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
, Jungle Junction
and My Friends Tigger & Pooh
.
Disney Junior is the successor to Playhouse Disney
, another preschool-targeted block which debuted in September 1997. Disney Junior will become its own digital cable and satellite channel in February 2012, replacing SOAPnet
. The Disney Junior channel will become a direct competitor to Nickelodeon
's Nick Jr.
channel and PBS and Comcast's PBS Kids Sprout
.
, A.N.T. Farm
, Phineas & Ferb, Jessie
and Fish Hooks
, while Sunday nights feature Good Luck Charlie
, So Random!
and Shake It Up
. PrankStars
new episodes premiere on either Friday or Sunday. Programming on both night's schedules (since October 2010) is somewhat fluid, as while all series have a permanent place on the Friday and Sunday primetime schedules, episode premieres of all of Disney Channel's original series are subject to being rotated on and off the schedule depending on which episodes are scheduled for that week as they usually air as part of a 90-minute block from 8–9:30 pm ET/PT on Friday and Sunday evenings.
The Saturday night schedule usually features repeats of recent episodes of the channel's original series and occasional airings of movies, after an attempt in early 2009 to use the night to launch a beachhead against Nickelodeon's Saturday night block with the premiere of JONAS and the move of Wizards of Waverly Place
from Fridays to Saturdays proved unsuccessful. Encores of each night's programs typically air during the midnight-3 a.m. timeslot each night in reverse fashion.
and Phineas and Ferb
. Occasionally, new first-run episodes of either series will be featured in the block, though new episodes may also sometimes air in their original Friday night time slots.
programming, with the title of the branding changing every year. Halloween films such as the Halloweentown
series have premiered in this month, along with Twitches, Twitches Too
, The Scream Team
, Mostly Ghostly
, and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
, along with Halloween episodes of the Original Series. In April, Disney Channel airs a week of Halloween DCOMs.
programming, with the title of the branding changing every year. Christmas films such as the The Christmas Visitor, The Ultimate Christmas Present
, 'Twas the Night
, Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!
, and Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation
have premiered in this month, along with Christmas episodes of the Original Series.
and premiered on June 24, 2011 on Disney Channel.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the month of February 2011 had finished as Disney Channel’s most-watched February sweeps period in Total Day ratings in the network's history ever, earning an average of 1.7 million viewers among Total Viewers, along with 590,000 viewers with a 2.1 rating share among Kids 6–11 and 459,000 viewers with a 1.9 rating share among Tweens 6–9; 9–15; among the first two demos, the channel posted its 14th consecutive month of year-to-year gains in both demos. First-run episodes of Shake It Up, Wizards of Waverly Place and Good Luck Charlie earned six of television’s top 10 telecasts that month in key child demographics, with Phineas and Ferb ranked as the No.1 animated series on TV among Kids 6–11 and Tweens 9–14 for that month and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ranked among TV’s top 10 programs for that month in Playhouse Disney's Kids 2–5 target demographic.
, carrying action and comedy programming from Disney Channel and the former Jetix block from Toon Disney along with some first-run original programming and off-network syndicated shows. Like its predecessor Toon Disney and unlike parent network Disney Channel, Disney XD is advertiser-supported. The channel carries the same name as an unrelated mini-site and media player on Disney.com
, which stood for Disney Xtreme Digital, though the "XD" in the channel' s name is said to not have an actual meaning.
, which is set to premiere in February 2012; the Disney Junior channel (which will be commercial-free, like parent network Disney Channel but unlike SOAPnet, which it is replacing, and Disney XD) will compete with other preschooler-skewing cable channels such as Nick Jr. and PBS Kids Sprout
. The channel will feature programs from Disney Channel's existing library of preschool programs and movies from the Walt Disney Pictures
film library. Disney Junior will take over the channel space currently held by Disney-ABC Television Group-owned SOAPnet
, with the closure of SOAPnet citing the continued decrease in popularity of the soap opera genre on broadcast television and the growth of video on demand
(including the online streaming availability for soap operas) and digital video recorders negating the need for a linear channel devoted to soaps. The former Playhouse Disney
block on Disney Channel was rebranded as Disney Junior on February 14, 2011, and the 22 existing cable channels and program blocks bearing the Playhouse Disney name outside the United States have been or are currently in the process of rebranding under the Disney Junior name. Disney had previously announced plans for a preschool-targeted network in the U.S. in 2001, however the planned Playhouse Disney Channel did not come to fruition, though dedicated Playhouse Disney Channels did launch internationally.
/Time Warner
's Cartoon Network
and Boomerang
, and Viacom
/MTV Networks
' Nicktoons. Unlike Disney Channel, Toon Disney was an advertiser-supported cable channel. The channel carried a format of reruns of Walt Disney Television Animation
and Disney Channel-produced animated programming, along with some third-party programming, animated films and original programming. In 2002, the channel debuted a nighttime program block aimed at children ages 7–14 called Jetix
, which featured action-oriented animated and live-action series. During Toon Disney's first year on the air, Disney Channel ran a sampler block of Toon Disney programming on Sunday nights for interested subscribers. The network ceased operations and was relaunched as the preteen male-oriented Disney XD
, featuring a broader array of programming, on February 13, 2009.
was based on: Mickey Mouse
, Donald Duck
and Goofy
and thus more "traditionalist" fans of the network have gone so far to say that the network is no longer really a Disney Channel. Other critics disapprove of the marketing strategy made by Anne Sweeney
, the President of ABC-Disney Television Group, which makes the programs on Disney Channel geared mainly toward pre-teen girls and teenage girls. Sweeney had also said that the main goal of the programming on Disney Channel was not solely to entertain, but to also make money, officially stating that Disney Channel would be "the major profit driver for the (Walt Disney) Company."
Cable television in the United States
Cable television in the United States is a common form of television delivery, generally by subscription. Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948, with subscription services in 1949. Data by SNL Kagan shows that as of 2006 about 58.4% of all American homes subscribe to...
and satellite television
Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...
network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group
Disney-ABC Television Group
Disney-ABC Television Group manages all of The Walt Disney Company's worldwide entertainment and news television properties...
division of The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney
Anne Sweeney
Anne Marie Sweeney is the Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney-ABC Television Group.-Life and career:...
. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
. Disney Channel International Networks, currently run by President Carolina Lightcap, is a global portfolio of more than 90 kid-driven, family inclusive entertainment channels and/or channel feeds available in over 160 countries and 30 languages. The platform brands are Disney Channel, Disney XD
Disney XD
Disney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...
, Disney Junior
Disney Junior
Disney Junior is a current program block on Disney Channel and an upcoming American basic cable and satellite television network intended to replace SOAPnet in February 2012. It began airing on February 14, 2011, replacing Playhouse Disney....
, Disney Cinemagic
Disney Cinemagic
Disney Cinemagic is the premium subscription movie service, available through Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media. The channel first appeared on 16 March 2006, airing previews, preparing for the official launch that took place at 17:00 on 19 March 2006....
, Hungama TV
Hungama TV
Hungama TV is a TV channel for kids in India based in Mumbai. Originally a subsidiary of UTV Software Communications launched in 2004, the channel was sold to Disney in 2006. The channel retained its own identity and is helping to increase Disney's presence in India...
and Radio Disney
Radio Disney
Radio Disney is a radio network based in Burbank, California and headquartered out of the Disney Channel headquarters on West Alameda Ave., from where it has been based since November 2008. Prior to that, the network was based in Dallas, Texas...
.
The channel specializes in television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
ming for children through original children's television series
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
and movies, as well as third-party programming. It is marketed mostly toward young children, with the exception of their weekend primetime block that is aimed at pre-teens and teenagers ages 9–15, and the Disney Junior
Disney Junior
Disney Junior is a current program block on Disney Channel and an upcoming American basic cable and satellite television network intended to replace SOAPnet in February 2012. It began airing on February 14, 2011, replacing Playhouse Disney....
programming block aimed towards children ages 2–5. In recent years, the diversity of viewers has increased with an older audience, typically teenagers, young adults and young families.
Since November 19, 2010, the channel is offered with an alternate Spanish-language audio feed, either via a separate channel as part of a Spanish-language network package sold by cable and satellite providers or via a separate audio track with the SAP option, depending on the system.
1977–1983: Conception and launch
In early 1977, Jim Jimirro of Walt Disney Productions brought forth the idea of a cable television network with material from the studio. Since the company was focusing on the EpcotEpcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...
Center, Disney chairman Card Walker
Card Walker
Esmond Cardon Walker , commonly known as E. Cardon Walker or Card Walker, was a top executive at Walt Disney Productions in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He was born in Rexburg, Idaho.-Early life and career:...
turned down the proposal. Disney tried again in 1982, planning a partnership with the satellite unit of Group W
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
, though the deal never came to fruition. In late 1982, the Disney Channel was formed under the leadership of its first president, Alan Wagner
Alan Wagner
Alan Cyril Wagner was an American television executive, radio personality, writer, and opera historian and critic...
. Disney later invested US$11 million on two transponders of Galaxy 1
Galaxy 1
Galaxy 1 was the first in a line of communications satellites launched by Hughes Communications in 1983. It was the first satellite exclusively devoted to cable television, and carried many such services as HBO, Cinemax, The Movie Channel, Showtime, The Disney Channel, TBS, CNN, among some.In...
, a Hughes Communications
Hughes Communications
Hughes Communications is a provider of satellite-based communications services. The company operates its satellite business through its wholly owned subsidiary, HughesNet.In 2011, Hughes was acquired by EchoStar in a deal valued at US$1.3 billion....
satellite, and spent US$20 million on programming.
In 1983, Walt Disney Productions announced its launch of the family-oriented cable channel. The Disney Channel launched nationally on April 18, 1983 at 7 am ET
Eastern Standard Time
Eastern Standard Time may refer to:*North American Eastern Time Zone, UTC-5*Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10*An album by Hip Hop group Kooley High...
with the Disney Channel-produced series Good Morning, Mickey!
Good Morning, Mickey!
Good Morning, Mickey! was a television series on Disney Channel beginning in 1983, which featured classic Disney shorts. Although Mickey Mouse shorts, without surprise, were the primary programming, additional cartoons featuring Goofy, Donald Duck, Chip 'n' Dale, Pluto, and others were also shown...
The channel's programming during its run as a premium channel, carrying through to its transition to a basic cable channel, targeted children and teenagers during the daytime, families during primetime and adults at night. At the time of its launch, Disney Channel was a premium channel that aired for 16 hours a day, from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. ET/PT (6 a.m.-10 p.m. CT, 8 a.m.-midnight MT). During its first full year, the channel was available to more than 532,000 subscribers in the U.S. In April 1984, the channel extended its programming day to 18 hours a day by adding two hours to its late night schedule (7 a.m.-1 a.m. ET/PT, 6 a.m.-midnight CT, 8 a.m.-2 a.m. MT).
1983–1997: Early years
In the channel's first years, shows that aired during its broadcast day included Welcome to Pooh CornerWelcome to Pooh Corner
Welcome to Pooh Corner is a live-action/puppet television series that aired on Disney Channel, featuring the characters from the Winnie the Pooh universe portrayed by actors in human-sized puppet suits, except Roo, who was originally a traditional puppet...
and You and Me Kid
You and Me Kid
You and Me Kid is an American children's television series which premiered on The Disney Channel on April 18, 1983. The series was hosted by Sonny Melendrez who was joined by the You and Me Players...
along with several foreign animated series and movies including Asterix
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
, The Raccoons
The Raccoons
The Raccoons is a Canadian animated television series which was originally broadcast from 1985 to 1991 with four preceding television specials beginning in 1980. The series was created by Kevin Gillis, and produced at Atkinson Film-Arts first-hand from 1984 to 1985, then at Hinton Animation Studios...
, Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He appeared on 13 October 1958 and was subsequently featured in several books, most recently in 2008, written by Michael Bond and first illustrated by Peggy Fortnum....
, and the Australian western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
Five Mile Creek
Five Mile Creek
Five Mile Creek is an Australian western series. The series starred Liz Burch, Louise Caire Clark, Rod Mullinar, Jay Kerr, Michael Caton, Peter Carroll, Gus Mercurio, Martin Lewis, Priscilla Weems and a young Nicole Kidman...
; the original late night schedule featured reruns of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...
. As filler material, the channel also featured D-TV
D-TV
D-TV was a series of music videos created by Walt Disney Productions in 1984 using popular music and video footage from Disney videos, mostly cartoons, created out of the trend of music videos on cable channel MTV, which inspired the name of this series...
, a series of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
-style music videos which showed popular music interwoven with classic Disney animation.
Subscribers initially received a monthly program guide/magazine, though it was phased out by the time the channel began targeting itself as a commercial-free basic channel. Disney Channel received a special citation from the United States president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
in 1984. As a premium channel, The Disney Channel would air week-long previews four times a year, as well as two free preview
Free preview
Free preview, sometimes referred to by the portmanteau nickname "freeview", is a term, most commonly used by cable television, referring to when cable systems offer a pay-TV service to customers for free for a short period of time.-History:...
weekends periodically (with ads targeted to non-subscribers), in the same manner as other premium channels such as HBO, Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
and Showtime. On December 1, 1986, Disney Channel began broadcasting on a 24-hour-a-day schedule. Outside of daytime programs for children, the network also aired movies and original specials (largely concert specials), largely during the nighttime hours.
Early in 1986, the musical sitcom Kids Incorporated
Kids Incorporated
Kids Incorporated, is an American children's television program that was produced from 1984 to 1993. It was largely a youth-oriented program with musical performances as an integral part of each and every storyline....
, about a pre-teen (and later teen-to-young adult) gang of friends who formed a pop group, mixing their everyday situations with variety-show and music video style performances. It became a hit for the channel, spawning many future stars in both music and acting during its 9-year run, including Martika
Martika
Martika is an American pop singer-songwriter and actress. As a singer she released two internationally successful albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s, selling over four million copies worldwide.-Early life and career:Martika entered mainstream show business in an uncredited role as one of the...
(who went by her real name of Marta Marrero in the show's first season), eventual Party of Five
Party of Five
Party of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation...
co-stars Scott Wolf
Scott Wolf
Scott Richard Wolf is an American actor, known for his roles on the television series Party of Five as Bailey Salinger and on Everwood as Dr. Jake Hartman. Since 2009, he has appeared in the Sci-Fi series V as the morally ambiguous journalist, Chad Decker.-Early life:Wolf was born in Boston,...
and Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, producer, television director and former singer-songwriter. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated...
(billed as Love Hewitt), and Stacy Ferguson, nicknamed Fergie, of The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
).
In 1988, Good Morning, Miss Bliss
Good Morning, Miss Bliss
Good Morning, Miss Bliss is an American teen sitcom that aired on the Disney Channel from 1988 to 1989 , starring Hayley Mills as a teacher at John F...
, a starring vehicle for Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
of Polyanna
Pollyanna (1960 film)
Pollyanna is a Walt Disney Productions feature film starring child actress Hayley Mills, Jane Wyman, Karl Malden and Richard Egan in a story about a cheerful orphan changing the outlook of a small town. Based upon the novel Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter, the film was written and directed by David...
and The Parent Trap fame, made its debut; the series was cancelled after 13 episodes due to low ratings. NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
picked up the series in 1989, retooled as Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell...
, with Miss Bliss actors Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Zack Morris in NBC's Saved by the Bell, Good Morning, Miss Bliss, and Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Detective John Clark in NYPD Blue, Jerry Kellerman in TNT's Raising the Bar, and more recently Peter...
, Dustin Diamond
Dustin Diamond
Dustin Neil Diamond is an American actor, musician, director, and stand-up comedian best known for his role as Samuel "Screech" Powers in the television shows Saved by the Bell, Good Morning, Miss Bliss, Saved by the Bell: The College Years and Saved by the Bell: The New Class.-Career:Diamond's...
, Lark Voorhies
Lark Voorhies
Lark Voorhies is an American actress who rose to fame playing Lisa Turtle in Saved by the Bell, for which she was nominated for the Young Artist Award four times, winning in 1990 and 1993. She also portrayed the role as a regular on Good Morning, Miss Bliss.-Acting career:Voorhies made her acting...
and Dennis Haskins
Dennis Haskins
Dennis Haskins is an American actor known for his role as principal Richard Belding in the teen sitcom Saved by the Bell, which ran from 1989 to 1993 on NBC. He then went on to star in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which aired from 1993 to 2000...
carried over to the new show; Saved by the Bell achieved major success on NBC's Saturday morning lineup
TNBC
TNBC was a Saturday morning programing block of television shows geared toward teenagers and young adults that aired on NBC from 1992 to 2002.-History:The idea for TNBC sprang from the popularity of Saved by the Bell...
(producing two spinoffs in the process) and in worldwide syndication.
In early 1989, the channel revived one of the company's early TV staples with The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, which was an immediate hit that proved Disney's basic variety show formula could still work, unlike in the short-lived 1970s revival. The latest version contained many of the classic elements from "theme days" to updated mouseketeer jackets, but the scripted and musical segments were more contemporary. MMC had a stellar young cast, launching the careers of future stars Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
, JC Chasez, Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
, Keri Russell
Keri Russell
Keri Lynn Russell is an American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002, and for which she won a Golden Globe...
and others.
By 1989, The Disney Channel had a total of about five million pay subscribers nationwide. In 1991, eight cable providers volunteered to move The Disney Channel to their expanded basic cable packages, instead of offering it as a premium channel; Jones Intercable
JONES Intercable
Jones Intercable was a cable television company founded by Glenn Jones in 1970. Jones, already a cable television veteran, had bought his first cable system in Georgetown, Colorado after taking a $400 loan on his Volkswagen....
was the first provider to carry the channel as a basic network, initially carried on the Basic Plus tier on its Fort Myers
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
and Broward County, Florida
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
systems as a test run. Soon after, other cable systems began to transition the channel to their basic tiers, either as an experiment or full-time. Even as larger multiple system operators such as Cox Communications
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
and Marcus Cable
Marcus Cable
Marcus Cable Company was a cable television & high-speed internet access provider headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and founded by Jeffrey A. Marcus and the Marcus Corporation...
began to offer The Disney Channel on their basic tiers, Walt Disney Company executives continued to deny any plans to convert the channel to an ad-supported basic service, referring to the switches to basic on some systems as part of a five-year "hybrid" strategy; allowing providers to offer it as either a pay service or a basic service.
Also in 1991, The Disney Channel experimented with multiplexing its service, rather than broadcast three channels of its service like HBO did that same year, The Disney Channel instead tested a two-channel multiplex service to two cable systems. By 1992, Nielsen Media Research estimated that a third of its subscriber base were adults without children in the home; and by 1995, The Disney Channel's subscriber base had expanded to 15 million cable homes, eight million of which received the channel through a premium subscription. In 1996, Anne Sweeney
Anne Sweeney
Anne Marie Sweeney is the Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney-ABC Television Group.-Life and career:...
was appointed to oversee The Disney Channel, and the channel began offering a nightly primetime film.
1997–2002: Split into Zoog, Vault, and Playhouse Disney
In 1997, the channel continued its transition from a premium cable channel to being offered via expanded basic cable, transitioning fully to basic cable as late as 2004 in some markets. It was at this time that the channel started to increase its viewership. Around this time, the channel began to shift its target audience more toward kids, but continued to cater to families at night. Though Disney Channel was no longer considered a premium channel, the National Cable & Telecommunications AssociationNational Cable & Telecommunications Association
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable TV industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation’s cable households and more than 200 cable program networks, as well as equipment suppliers and providers...
had long continued to rank the channel's subscriber base among all U.S. premium channels in its cable subscription total rankings rather than among basic cable networks (this total is now ranked in the NCTA's basic cable subscriber rankings).
On September 1, 1997, Disney Channel took on a revamped look and dropped the word "The" in the network's name (however, promos often referred to the channel as simply "Disney" and the logo often omitted the "Channel" in the network's name), and split the network into three programming blocks: Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney was Disney Channel's television block for programs aimed at entertaining preschool aged children, often airing as its own channel outside the United States. It was introduced in 1997 after Disney Channel's move to basic cable from premium cable, with a target audience of children...
, comprising shows aimed at preschoolers; Vault Disney, featuring classic Disney material such as Zorro, The Mickey Mouse Club, the Walt Disney anthology television series, older television specials and features such as The Love Bug
The Love Bug
The Love Bug is the first in a series of comedy films made by Walt Disney Productions that starred an anthropomorphic pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie...
; and the most distinct one, running from afternoon to late evening for teenagers, called Zoog Disney, which used anthropomorphic characters called "Zoogs", who resembled robots (but the Zoog characters were given human voices) as its hosts. The Zoog Disney block was introduced in August 1998, shortly after the Toon Disney
Toon Disney
Toon Disney was an American cable television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company. A spinoff of Disney Channel, it mostly aired children's animated series and some live action programming. Its format had similarities to those of Cartoon Network and Nicktoons...
cable channel was launched. From September 2001 to August 2002, the entire weekend lineup (except for the Vault Disney and Playhouse Disney lineups) was branded as "Zoog Weekendz".
The Zoogs' original looks were two-dimensional, though they were redesigned in 2001, with a more three-dimensional design and mature voices, but were phased out after less than a year. The original Disney Channel still airs between Playhouse Disney and Zoog Disney. A new channel logo (which featured a 1930s-era Mickey Mouse on a black Mickey ear-shaped TV), was also introduced in 1997. The channel also began to carry break interruptions (not featuring commercial advertisements, but promos for network programming and eventually promotions for Disney-produced feature film and home video releases); the reasons for the channel's decision not to include traditional advertising in its programming include the possible confusion to younger viewers as to the difference between its programming and advertisements, and to prevent increases in license fees for the channel to broadcast feature films (however while the channel does not air standard ads, Disney Channel does utilize underwriter sponsorship by companies such as Best Western
Best Western
Best Western International, Inc. is the third largest hotel chain, with over 4,195 hotels in nearly 80 countries. The chain, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, operates more than 2,000 hotels in North America alone. Best Western has a marketing program involving placement of free...
and Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
for its programs). Disney Channel's original programming during this period began with Flash Forward in 1997 and continued with shows like The Famous Jett Jackson
The Famous Jett Jackson
The Famous Jett Jackson is a joint Canadian and American Disney Channel Original Series coming-of-age television series for children ages 12–16 about a boy named Jett Jackson who plays a teenage secret-agent on a fictional TV show-within-a-show called Silverstone...
, So Weird
So Weird
So Weird is a television series shot in Vancouver, British Columbia that aired on the Disney Channel as a midseason replacement from January 18, 1999 to September 28, 2001. In season one and season two, the series centered around teenage girl Fiona Phillips who toured with her rock star mom ,...
, Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire is an American teen sitcom which premiered on the Disney Channel on January 12, 2001 and ended February 14, 2004. A total of 65 episodes were produced and aired. Its target demographic was preteens and adolescents...
, Even Stevens
Even Stevens
Even Stevens is an American comedy television series that aired on Disney Channel with a total of three seasons and 65 episodes from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003...
, and Kim Possible
Kim Possible
Kim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...
, among others.
In 1999, Disney Channel began notifying the remaining cable operators who still offered the network as a premium service that they must begin carrying it on their basic cable tier or cease to carry it altogether, saying it would not renew retransmission contracts with providers that would choose to carry the network as a pay service, this included Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
and Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
that were the last remaining major cable providers offering the channel as a premium service. By 2001, Disney Channel was available to approximately 70 million cable and satellite subscribers, largely consisting of those who already received the channel via a basic tier as well as what remained of the subscribers that paid an additional fee for the channel. By this time, the music videos and concert specials that the channel ran since the 1997 rebrand were dropped, citing the inability to receive a stake in the revenue from artists' CD sales and lack of exclusivity for the videos; soon after, the channel began to incorporate music videos from songs featured in Disney's feature films and performed by artists on Radio Disney
Radio Disney
Radio Disney is a radio network based in Burbank, California and headquartered out of the Disney Channel headquarters on West Alameda Ave., from where it has been based since November 2008. Prior to that, the network was based in Dallas, Texas...
and signed by Disney's in-house record companies Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
and Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
.
2002–2007: Disney Channel relaunched
By 2002, Disney Channel was seen in 80 million cable homes nationwide. That September, Disney Channel was gradually remodeled once more. The "Zoog" brand name was phased out from on-air usage, though it continued under separate website until 2003, when it was merged with Disney Channel's main website. On September 16, 2002, the Vault Disney block was discontinued, primarily to contribute to the network's new "hip" image, in favor of same-day repeats of the channel's original programming and off-network seriesTelevision syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
; as a result of Vault Disney's discontinuance, for the first time in the channel's history, Disney Channel did not feature any programming targeted at adult audiences – with the only programming that intentionally targets the entire family being the channel's primetime feature films (as of June 2011, Disney Channel is the only one out of the four largest children's cable networks in the United States that does not target a dual audience: kids in the daytime, families and adults at night; Nickelodeon, The Hub
The Hub (TV network)
The Hub is an American digital cable and satellite television channel that launched on October 10, 2010. The channel, which replaced Discovery Kids, is a joint venture of Discovery Communications, Inc. and Hasbro...
and Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
each feature program blocks that target such a dual audience). Primetime movies were also cut to one each night (from two). The channel also ceased producing drama and reality series, shifting focus to live-action sitcoms and animated series. A month later, Disney Channel introduced its new logo (designed by CA Square), which it will be adopted internationally in May 2003. It also revealed its new graphics designed to fit the network's new look. After these changes, Playhouse Disney was the only one of the three blocks introduced in 1997 to continue airing; however, it was rebranded as Disney Junior in 2011. Around the same time, Disney Channel partnered with corporate sister ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
to run the channel's programming on ABC's Saturday morning block
ABC Kids (United States)
ABC Kids was a children's block of animated television series and live-action children's television series. broadcast on the ABC network on Saturday–Sunday mornings in the U.S. and was broadcast on BBS/CTV in Canada until 2002...
. Moreover, Disney Channel started a bumper which is still used today. Every character must introduce themselves and most character will say which series or movies are they from. After that, they will say: "You're watching Disney Channel"(except for animated characters) and draw the Disney Channel logo, using a glow stick.
Anne Sweeney
Anne Sweeney
Anne Marie Sweeney is the Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney-ABC Television Group.-Life and career:...
, a veteran cable executive, took control of Disney-ABC Television Group in 2004 and successfully remade Disney Channel into "the major profit driver in the company." By 2008, Condé Nast Portfolio
Condé Nast Portfolio
Portfolio.com is a website published by American City Business Journals that provides news and information for small to mid-sized businesses. It was formerly the website for the monthly business magazine Condé Nast Portfolio, published by Condé Nast from 2007 to 2009.Portfolio.com is continually...
was able to note that the Channel "has been adding a million viewers a month—every month—for the last five years," and also called the Channel "the greatest teen-star incubator since the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
stopped drafting high schoolers." Sweeney's successful strategy was to discover, nurture, and aggressively cross-promote teen music stars whose style and image were carefully targeted to pre-teens and teenagers.
Beginning around that time while Disney Channel's intended target audience are preschoolers, pre-teens and young adolescents, the channel began to quickly gain in popularity and created increased competition with Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
-owned Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
and the channel began to add viewers outside the main target audience and make teen idols out of some of the channel's stars. Though Disney Channel has increased its viewership to rival that of Nickelodeon, Disney Channel has yet to unseat Nickelodeon in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
as the highest-rated basic cable channel among total viewers (ages 2+) and all kid demos.
In 2003, Disney Channel released its first ever musical made-for-cable movie called The Cheetah Girls
The Cheetah Girls (film)
The Cheetah Girls is a 2003 musical Disney Channel Original Movie, the first for Disney Channel, based on a bestselling series of young adult books of the same name by Deborah Gregory...
; it received 84 million viewers worldwide. The success of The Cheetah Girls led to the creation of other music-themed original programming such as the original movie High School Musical
High School Musical
High School Musical is a 2006 American television film, first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and...
and the original sitcom Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
. In 2005, That's So Raven
That's So Raven
That's So Raven is an American cable television teen sitcom/fantasy series. The show premiered on the Disney Channel on January 17, 2003, and ended on November 10, 2007. The show spawned Disney Channel's first spin-off series: Cory in the House...
became the network's highest-rated series since the network's move to basic cable; as well as being the first Disney Channel Original Series to beat the 65-episode limit (the channel had formerly imposed a highly controversial programming rule in 1998, that guaranteed that any original series would end after 65 episodes as a move to prevent production cost increases, though this rule is no longer enforced); the series eventually hit 100 episodes, becoming the channel's longest-running original series and became the first to spawn a spin-off (Cory in the House
Cory in the House
Cory in the House is an American television sitcom, which aired on the Disney Channel from January 12, 2007 to September 12, 2008 and was a spin-off from the Disney show That's So Raven. The show focuses on Cory Baxter, who moved from San Francisco, California to Washington, D.C., after Victor...
, which was cancelled midway through its second season). The Suite Life of Zack & Cody also debuted in 2005, becoming a hit for the channel. 2006 saw the debut of the hit original movie High School Musical
High School Musical
High School Musical is a 2006 American television film, first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and...
; that year also saw the debut of Hannah Montana, which launched the career of its star Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
, herself the daughter of popular 1990s country singer Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus
William "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...
, who co-stars in the series. On July 28 of that year, the channel saw the debut of the its first multiple-series crossover, That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana
That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana
That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana is a crossover episode of the Disney Channel sitcoms That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and Hannah Montana. In the United States it aired on July 28, 2006 as a three-part special and served as TV movie. The Crossover was watched by 7.1 million...
(involving That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana).
2007–present: Disney Channel today
In 2007, Disney Channel limited the number of original movie and series premieres to four movies and two series premiering over the course of the calendar year. The most successful Disney Channel Original Movie to date is High School Musical 2 which premiered on August 17 of that year to 17.2 million viewers, the highest-rated scripted cable telecast ever. The channel abandoned its uniform schedules for weekday and weekend afternoons (with the exception of the 7–8 p.m. ET time period), to run a five-hour (at one point six-hour) schedule featuring hour-long blocks of various original series (and the off-network programming that remained on the channel) with the schedule changing each day. That year, the channel modified its on-air presentation. Its logo turned into a ribbon, swirling around the screen until forming the Disney Channel logo instead of bouncing around the screen. Promo cards and bumpers were changed to an abstract atmosphere with ribbon theming and themed to the programs, as opposed to abstract objects bouncing and moving in the screen. The font was changed from Digital to Placard MT Bold. Instead of the Disney Channel logo popping up into a bumper and delivering a message, the ribbon swirled up, formed the logo, and another ribbon swirled out with the message.Promos for the next program began to only advertise the program airing afterwards and were moved from between shows to near the end of the final promo break of an episode, while a ribbon banner promoting the current program and the two programs afterwards now appeared on the bottom of the screen after the end of each promo break from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. ET. In September 2008, slightly modified versions of these graphics were introduced for high definition. The channel also moved its original series, mostly the live-action shows, from late afternoon to prime time on weekends from 8–9 p.m. ET. The Friday block is preempted when a Disney Channel Original Movie is scheduled to premiere that night. The Saturday block has aired on a periodic basis since the change and now serves as a block repeating the previous week's new episodes. The Sunday block was added in January 2008. In July 2009, Disney Channel extended its Friday lineup to two hours in prime time from 8–10 p.m. ET, dropping the primetime movie. A double-movie feature which was added on Saturday nights, which was mostly dropped in March 2010.
Two series debuted in 2007, the That's So Raven spin-off Cory in the House
Cory in the House
Cory in the House is an American television sitcom, which aired on the Disney Channel from January 12, 2007 to September 12, 2008 and was a spin-off from the Disney show That's So Raven. The show focuses on Cory Baxter, who moved from San Francisco, California to Washington, D.C., after Victor...
which ended after two seasons (a possible casualty of the 2007 Writer's Guild strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
, which caused freshman or sophomore series whose production was interrupted midway through the season to eventually be canceled), and the popular Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place is a Disney Channel Original Series that premiered on October 12, 2007. It won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009...
, starring Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer best known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place...
, David Henrie
David Henrie
David Clayton Henrie is an American actor, television writer, and producer. He is noted for playing Ted Mosby's future son on How I Met Your Mother, Justin Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place and Larry on That's So Raven...
and Jake T. Austin
Jake T. Austin
Jake T. Austin is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning a career as a child actor at the age of seven, Austin is a five-time Young Artist Award nominee, best known for his role as Max Russo, the youngest of three wizards on the Disney Channel original series Wizards of Waverly Place, and as...
. Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
, the first original animated series to broadcast in HD, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody spin-off, The Suite Life on Deck
The Suite Life on Deck
The Suite Life on Deck is an American sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008 to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/spin-off of the Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody...
, debuted in 2008, along with Disney Channel Original Movies such as Camp Rock
Camp Rock
Camp Rock is a 2008 Disney Channel Original Movie starring the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato. The music is written by Julie Brown, Paul Brown, Regina Hicks and Karen Gist. The film is directed by Matthew Diamond and produced by Alan Sacks....
, Minutemen
Minutemen (film)
Minutemen is a 2008 science-fiction Disney Channel Original Movie.The film was written by John Killoran and David Diamond and David Weissman and directed by Lev L. Spiro, who received a Director's Guild nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programs for it...
and The Cheetah Girls: One World
The Cheetah Girls: One World
The Cheetah Girls: One World is a 2008 Disney Channel Original Movie. It is the third and final film of The Cheetah Girls film trilogy, and premiered on August 22, 2008...
. The Suite Life on Deck became the number one series And Another "Pilot" In The Middle Starring Lateef Bowser in the respective categories in kids ages 6–12 and teens ages 9–14 in 2008.
Disney Channel launched two new series in 2009: Sonny with a Chance
Sonny With a Chance
Sonny with a Chance is an American children's sitcom which aired on Disney Channel, created by Steve Marmel, that follows the experiences of teenager Sonny Munroe, portrayed by Demi Lovato, who becomes the newest accepted cast member of her favorite live comedy show, So Random!.The series debuted...
starring Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato
"She’s got the range, the full emotional spectrum, incredible control… Vocally, she’s the best thing Disney’s had since Christina Aguilera."—Producer Toby Gad on Demi Lovato's vocals...
in February, and JONAS starring the Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
in May. New movies in 2009 included: Dadnapped
Dadnapped
Dadnapped is a Disney Channel Original Movie which premiered February 16, 2009. Starring actors from Disney Channel Original Series, the movie had 4.6 million viewers for its premiere...
, Hatching Pete
Hatching Pete
Hatching Pete is a 2009 Disney Channel Original Movie which first aired on April 10, 2009 on Disney Channel UK and later Disney Channel and Family. It was released on DVD in America on May 12, 2009 together with Dadnapped....
, Princess Protection Program
Princess Protection Program
Princess Protection Program is a 2009 Disney Channel Original Movie that premiered on June 26, 2009 in the United States and winner of the Teen Choice Awards 2009 for Choice Summer TV Show...
, and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie is a 2009 American made-for-television comedy-drama fantasy film based on the Disney Channel Original Series Wizards of Waverly Place. Filmed primarily in San Juan, Puerto Rico in February and March 2009, the Disney Channel Original Movie premiered on August 28,...
. The four original movies for 2009 each featured at least two stars from Disney Channel's original series. Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie also became the highest-rated cable program of 2009 (excluding sporting events), premiering to 11.4 million viewers and becoming the second highest-rated DCOM premiere in history. The premiere of the crossover special Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana
Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana
Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana is a trilogy of crossover episodes between three Disney Channel original sitcoms which premiered in the United States on July 17, 2009. The crossover spanned across episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life on Deck, and Hannah Montana...
(involving Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life on Deck and Hannah Montana) also beat out its competition (both cable and broadcast network programming) on the night of its premiere with 9.1 million viewers (making it the highest-rated episodes of Wizards and On Deck to date). In October 2009, Disney Channel premiered a new short series, Have a Laugh!
Have a Laugh!
Have a Laugh!, also known as Mickey Mouse - Have a Laugh, is an animated series produced by The Walt Disney Company. The program started in October 2009 and features many Mickey Mouse characters and shorts...
, which features 4 to 5-minute segments including re-dubbed versions of classic Disney cartoons. The first of which premiered on October 26, 2009: Lonesome Ghosts
Lonesome Ghosts
Lonesome Ghosts is a 1937 Disney animated cartoon featuring the Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy trio as members of the agency "Ajax Ghost Exterminators" .-Plot:...
.
The new logo, released May 2010, is the Disney Channel logo encased in a rounded box (which looks like a smartphone application icon); the point was so that Disney could put the logo more towards the middle of the screen (like they did with the 2008 logo), but with the 2002 logo. It came into use on May 7, 2010, though the logo was first seen in March 2010, and at the time was exclusively used on the weekend evening lineup, with a slow roll-out of a new imaging campaign that was completed in that month's Memorial Day weekend. Disney also started their campaign "It's On!" in June as part of their Summer 2010 lineup. The 2002 logo is still used sometimes in old promos for shows (shows that started before the new logo), and bumpers in between shows.
In 2010, the channel launched its first original sitcom intentionally targeted at family audiences: Good Luck Charlie
Good Luck Charlie
Good Luck Charlie is an original Disney Channel television sitcom, which premiered April 4, 2010. The series was created by Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, who wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, as opposed to children only...
, starring Bridgit Mendler
Bridgit Mendler
Bridgit Claire Mendler is an American actress, singer, musician and songwriter. She plays Teddy Duncan on the Disney Channel Original Series Good Luck Charlie and starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Lemonade Mouth...
and Jason Dolley
Jason Dolley
Jason Scott Dolley , is an American actor and musician, best known for his roles on different Disney Channel projects. These include Newton "Newt" Livingston III on Cory in the House, Virgil Fox in Minutemen, Connor Kennedy in Read It and Weep and Pete Ivey in Hatching Pete...
, a series some have compared to the shows on sister network ABC's former TGIF
TGIF (ABC)
TGIF was the name of an American family-friendly prime time television programming block on the ABC network. The name comes from the initials of the popular phrase "Thank God It's Friday"...
comedy lineup of the 1990s. The final season of Hannah Montana premiered, branded as Hannah Montana Forever for the final season. Jonas returned as Jonas L.A., though it ended that October. That fall, the second animated series, Fish Hooks
Fish Hooks
Fish Hooks is an American animated television series created by Noah Z. Jones. Twenty-one episodes have been ordered for the first season. It premiered on September 24, 2010. An 11-minute preview was shown on September 3, 2010, following the Disney Channel Original Movie, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam...
, and the buddy sitcom Shake It Up
Shake It Up (TV series)
Shake It Up is an American television sitcom airing on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on November 7, 2010. Created by Chris Thompson and starring Bella Thorne and Zendaya, the show follows the adventures of Cece Jones and Rocky Blue as they star as background dancers on...
were introduced. Four original movies premiered: Starstruck
Starstruck (2010 film)
Starstruck is a 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Sterling Knight and Danielle Campbell. The movie was filmed in Los Angeles.-Plot:...
, Den Brother
Den Brother
Den Brother is a 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Hutch Dano and G. Hannelius. The film premiered on August 13, 2010 on Disney Channel...
, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam
Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam
Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam is a 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie and sequel to the 2008 film Camp Rock. Production commenced in August 2009 in Toronto, Ontario and at area summer camps. The movie premiered on on Disney Channel in the USA, along with a live simulcast on Radio Disney...
, and Avalon High
Avalon High (film)
Avalon High is a 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Britt Robertson, Gregg Sulkin, Joey Pollari and Devon Graye. The movie is based on the book of the same name by Meg Cabot...
. Two other made-for-TV movies produced for Disney Channel in association with Canadian cable channels debuted as well: Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars
Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars
Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars is a 2010 Canadian/American television film starring Jennifer Stone which premiered on March 26, 2010, on Disney Channel. It is the second film adaptation of the book, Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh, after the 1996 Harriet the Spy film that starred Michelle...
(produced in association with pay services Movie Central
Movie Central
Movie Central is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service. Movie Central is designated to operate west of the Ontario-Manitoba border, including the territories...
and The Movie Network
The Movie Network
The Movie Network is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service, owned by Astral Media. The service is licensed to operate east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, excluding the territories...
) and 16 Wishes
16 Wishes
16 Wishes is a 2010 American television film starring Debby Ryan and Jean-Luc Bilodeau, which premiered on June 25, 2010 on Disney Channel and July 16, 2010 on the Family Channel. The film was directed by Peter DeLuise. The film was the most watched cable program on the day of its premiere on the...
(produced in association with Family Channel).
In 2011, four popular original series are scheduled to end: Sonny with a Chance
Sonny With a Chance
Sonny with a Chance is an American children's sitcom which aired on Disney Channel, created by Steve Marmel, that follows the experiences of teenager Sonny Munroe, portrayed by Demi Lovato, who becomes the newest accepted cast member of her favorite live comedy show, So Random!.The series debuted...
(later becoming So Random!
So Random!
So Random! is an American Disney Channel sketch comedy series that premiered on June 5, 2011. It was announced as an independent series after Demi Lovato left the parent series, Sonny with a Chance...
), Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
, The Suite Life on Deck
The Suite Life on Deck
The Suite Life on Deck is an American sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008 to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/spin-off of the Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody...
, and Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place is a Disney Channel Original Series that premiered on October 12, 2007. It won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009...
. Sonny with a Chance was retooled due to Demi Lovato's announcement that she would not return to the series, in order to focus on her music career. Five series were announced to be added to the lineup in 2011: So Random!
So Random!
So Random! is an American Disney Channel sketch comedy series that premiered on June 5, 2011. It was announced as an independent series after Demi Lovato left the parent series, Sonny with a Chance...
, A.N.T. Farm
A.N.T. Farm
A.N.T. Farm is a Disney Channel television sitcom that premiered on May 6, 2011 as a special preview and continued as a regular series on June 17, 2011. The pilot episode, "TransplANTed" aired after the series finale of The Suite Life on Deck...
, PrankStars
PrankStars
PrankStars is a hidden camera/reality series that premiered on Disney Channel on July 15, 2011. It is hosted by Pair of Kings and Hannah Montana star Mitchel Musso. The series involves children and teenagers set up by their friends and family to meet their favorite stars in "unpredictable and...
, Jessie
Jessie (TV series)
Jessie is an American television sitcom which premiered on September 30, 2011 on the Disney Channel. The series was created and executive produced by Pamela Eells O'Connell and stars Debby Ryan as Jessie, a small town Texas girl who moves to New York City and becomes a nanny to a high profile...
, and Austin & Ally
Austin & Ally
Austin & Ally is an upcoming American television sitcom that will premiere on Disney Channel in the United States. The series was created by Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert, the writers and producers of Disney Channel sitcoms Sonny with a Chance and Jonas. Production for the pilot episode began in...
. Seven Disney Channel Original Movies have also been confirmed for 2011: The Suite Life Movie
The Suite Life Movie
The Suite Life Movie is a comedy-drama science fiction film directed by Sean McNamara, written by Michael Saltzman, and starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Brenda Song, Debby Ryan, Matthew Timmons, John Ducey, Matthew Glave, and Phill Lewis...
, Lemonade Mouth
Lemonade Mouth (film)
Lemonade Mouth is a 2011 musical drama film based on the book of the same name by Mark Peter Hughes. The film was directed by Patricia Riggen and written by April Blair, and stars Bridgit Mendler, Adam Hicks, Hayley Kiyoko, Naomi Scott, and Blake Michael...
, Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure, Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension, Geek Charming
Geek Charming
Geek Charming is a 2011 Disney Channel Original Movie based on the novel of the same name by Robin Palmer. The film was directed by Jeffrey Hornaday and was written by Elizabeth Hackett and Hilary Galanoy. It stars Sarah Hyland and Matt Prokop. It premiered on November 11, 2011 on Disney Channel....
, and Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!
Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!
Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! is a 2011 Christmas film based on the Disney Channel Original Series Good Luck Charlie. The film was directed by Arlene Sanford and written by Geoff Rodkey, and stars Bridgit Mendler, Leigh-Allyn Baker, Bradley Steven Perry, Mia Talerico, Eric Allan Kramer, and...
. The Teletoon original movie, My Babysitter's a Vampire
My Babysitter's a Vampire
My Babysitter's a Vampire is a Canadian vampire-adventure and comedy horror television film starring Vanessa Morgan and Matthew Knight. The film aired on October 9, 2010, on the Canadian television channel Teletoon. The French version of the film aired on Teletoon's French-Canadian courterpart,...
, premiered on June 10, 2011 with its spin-off series, also called My Babysitter's a Vampire
My Babysitter's a Vampire, The Series
My Babysitter's a Vampire is a 2011 Canadian television series, based on the television film of the same name. In Canada, the series premiered on Télétoon, in French, on February 28, 2011 and Teletoon, in English, on March 14, 2011. In the United States, it premiered on Disney Channel on June 27,...
, that premiered June 27, 2011. As of mid-2011, Disney Channel no longer has its "Disney Channel Original Series" vanity card tagged onto the end of its series when aired on television.
Programming
Current programming on Disney Channel includes Wizards of Waverly PlaceWizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place is a Disney Channel Original Series that premiered on October 12, 2007. It won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009...
, Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
, Fish Hooks
Fish Hooks
Fish Hooks is an American animated television series created by Noah Z. Jones. Twenty-one episodes have been ordered for the first season. It premiered on September 24, 2010. An 11-minute preview was shown on September 3, 2010, following the Disney Channel Original Movie, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam...
, Good Luck Charlie
Good Luck Charlie
Good Luck Charlie is an original Disney Channel television sitcom, which premiered April 4, 2010. The series was created by Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, who wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, as opposed to children only...
, Shake It Up
Shake It Up (TV series)
Shake It Up is an American television sitcom airing on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on November 7, 2010. Created by Chris Thompson and starring Bella Thorne and Zendaya, the show follows the adventures of Cece Jones and Rocky Blue as they star as background dancers on...
, So Random!
So Random!
So Random! is an American Disney Channel sketch comedy series that premiered on June 5, 2011. It was announced as an independent series after Demi Lovato left the parent series, Sonny with a Chance...
, A.N.T. Farm
A.N.T. Farm
A.N.T. Farm is a Disney Channel television sitcom that premiered on May 6, 2011 as a special preview and continued as a regular series on June 17, 2011. The pilot episode, "TransplANTed" aired after the series finale of The Suite Life on Deck...
, My Babysitter's a Vampire
My Babysitter's a Vampire, The Series
My Babysitter's a Vampire is a 2011 Canadian television series, based on the television film of the same name. In Canada, the series premiered on Télétoon, in French, on February 28, 2011 and Teletoon, in English, on March 14, 2011. In the United States, it premiered on Disney Channel on June 27,...
, PrankStars
PrankStars
PrankStars is a hidden camera/reality series that premiered on Disney Channel on July 15, 2011. It is hosted by Pair of Kings and Hannah Montana star Mitchel Musso. The series involves children and teenagers set up by their friends and family to meet their favorite stars in "unpredictable and...
, and Jessie
Jessie (TV series)
Jessie is an American television sitcom which premiered on September 30, 2011 on the Disney Channel. The series was created and executive produced by Pamela Eells O'Connell and stars Debby Ryan as Jessie, a small town Texas girl who moves to New York City and becomes a nanny to a high profile...
. Reruns of ended Disney Channel original shows such as The Suite Life on Deck
The Suite Life on Deck
The Suite Life on Deck is an American sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008 to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/spin-off of the Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody...
air, along with occasional airings of Disney XD series Pair of Kings
Pair of Kings
Pair of Kings is an American television sitcom shown on the Disney XD cable channel. It was created by Dan Cross and David Hoge and stars Mitchel Musso and Doc Shaw. The sitcom's target audience are teenagers...
, Kickin' It
Kickin' It
Kickin' It is an American martial arts inspired comedy television series, which debuted on June 13, 2011 on Disney XD. Created and executive produced by Jim O'Doherty, the series is rated TV-Y7 and follows the karate instructor at an under-performing martial arts academy, played by Jason Earles,...
, and Kick Buttowski. Future programming on Disney Channel include the series Austin & Ally
Austin & Ally
Austin & Ally is an upcoming American television sitcom that will premiere on Disney Channel in the United States. The series was created by Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert, the writers and producers of Disney Channel sitcoms Sonny with a Chance and Jonas. Production for the pilot episode began in...
, and Gravity Falls. Unlike the majority of cable channels, all of Disney Channel's original scripted programs, including those on the former Playhouse Disney block, feature tag scenes during the closing credits. The channel also airs short-form programs known as "short shows", which air more commonly on the Disney Junior block. Music videos, mainly featuring Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
and Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
artists as well as songs featured in newer Disney feature films are frequently aired, though the full versions of these music videos typically air only during the video's premiere and as filler between programs, while shorter versions usually air during promo breaks during the current program).
Disney Channel mostly produces and airs original sitcoms
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that are geared toward teenage girls and also airs a moderate amount of animated series geared more towards upper-elementary and middle school-age children. Series produced by Walt Disney Television
Walt Disney Television
Walt Disney Television was the former name of the television production division of The Walt Disney Company.-History:It was formed in 1983, as the Walt Disney Pictures Television Division, the name was later shortened to Walt Disney Television in the mid-1980s...
or production companies unrelated to the Walt Disney Company used to make up most of the schedule; nowadays, with the explosion of Disney Channel Original Series, these series have almost completely been dropped from the channel.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Disney Channel aired classic Disney animated shorts (that were largely made when Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
headed his namesake company); they were largely removed from the lineup in 2000, however their presence has returned as of 2009 with the addition of the short series have a laugh!. On December 14, 2008, it was announced that Disney Channel in the U.S. would bring back the animated block, which aired from 12–6 a.m. ET. The animated block was added to Disney Channel during the late night hours after Christmas Day 2008.
Some of Disney Channel's programming seems to appeal to teenage girls with shows like Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
and Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire is an American teen sitcom which premiered on the Disney Channel on January 12, 2001 and ended February 14, 2004. A total of 65 episodes were produced and aired. Its target demographic was preteens and adolescents...
. Disney Channel has aired some programming more appealing to teenage boys with Aaron Stone
Aaron Stone
Aaron Stone is a live-action, single-camera adventure series created by Bruce Kalish. Originally broadcast with the launch of Disney XD on February 13, 2009...
and other such Disney XD
Disney XD
Disney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...
shows in 2009. The programs that premiered on Disney Channel in 2010 are the family sitcom Good Luck Charlie
Good Luck Charlie
Good Luck Charlie is an original Disney Channel television sitcom, which premiered April 4, 2010. The series was created by Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, who wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, as opposed to children only...
, the animated series Fish Hooks
Fish Hooks
Fish Hooks is an American animated television series created by Noah Z. Jones. Twenty-one episodes have been ordered for the first season. It premiered on September 24, 2010. An 11-minute preview was shown on September 3, 2010, following the Disney Channel Original Movie, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam...
and the dance-centric sitcom Shake It Up
Shake It Up (TV series)
Shake It Up is an American television sitcom airing on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on November 7, 2010. Created by Chris Thompson and starring Bella Thorne and Zendaya, the show follows the adventures of Cece Jones and Rocky Blue as they star as background dancers on...
.
Since 2003, Disney Channel typically imposes an unwritten "6-to-a-cast" rule as its original series generally have no more than six contract cast members, with So Weird
So Weird
So Weird is a television series shot in Vancouver, British Columbia that aired on the Disney Channel as a midseason replacement from January 18, 1999 to September 28, 2001. In season one and season two, the series centered around teenage girl Fiona Phillips who toured with her rock star mom ,...
being the last series before 2003 to have more than six cast members. However, Shake It Up is the first series to receive seven contract cast members in season two; its series also have only between 6 and 8 credited staff writers (fewer than the 8 to 11 writers standard with most scripted television series). Its multi-camera sitcoms, which use the classic studio audience/laugh track format, are shot on videotape (note that these shows have Video Control Operators, Video Tape Operators and Technical Directors listed in the closing credits) and use a simulated film look. Multi-camera series that debuted and/or ran between 2003 and 2008 (e.g., That's So Raven, Cory in the House, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, etc.) used the FilmLook
FilmLook
Filmlook is the name of a form of image processing used on television programs, established in 1989. Since 1992, Filmlook, Inc. is also the corporate name of the post-production company which invented the process.-Development:...
image processing; all original series that debuted either as a new series or with a new season from 2009 onward, are broadcast in high definition and use the HD-compatible 'filmizing
Filmizing
Filmizing is a process that makes video productions seem to have been shot on film. The term is generic and informal. The process is usually electronic, although filmizing can sometimes occur as an un-intentional by-product of some optical techniques, such as telerecording.-Differences between...
' technique, reducing the videotape frame rate to 24 frames per second
24p
In video technology, 24p refers to a video format that operates at 24 frames per second frame rate with progressive scanning . Originally, 24p was used in the non-linear editing of film-originated material...
.
Movie library
A film is broadcast every weekday afternoon and most nights during the week, but not necessarily a theatrically released feature film. Disney Channel airs new original filmTelevision movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
s, called Disney Channel Original Movies (or DCOMs), about 4–6 times a year, and those are frequently broadcast during the prime-time slot. In 2000, Disney Channel claimed to produce a new movie each month; this only lasted throughout that same year. Disney Channel began producing its Original Movies in 1997 with the premiere of Northern Lights
Northern Lights (TV series)
Northern Lights is a 2006 comedy-drama broadcast on ITV starring Mark Benton and Robson Green. It is a spin-off of the 2004 Christmas special Christmas Lights....
. The number of DCOMs per year began to increase – from two in 1997 to three in 1998 to a high of twelve in 2000.
High School Musical 2 is currently the most successful DCOM in popularity and awards, setting a cable record for most viewers of a basic cable program, when its August 2007 debut scored 17.2 million, a record that stood until the December 3, 2007 Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
matchup between the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
and Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
on corporate sibling ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
surpassed it with 17.5 million viewers (it still remains the most-watched scripted program in cable television history). The Cheetah Girls
The Cheetah Girls (film)
The Cheetah Girls is a 2003 musical Disney Channel Original Movie, the first for Disney Channel, based on a bestselling series of young adult books of the same name by Deborah Gregory...
films are also notably successful, with huge merchandise sales, sold-out concert tours and soundtrack sales. The first film was the first TV movie musical in Disney Channel history. It saw over 84 million viewers worldwide. The second movie was the most successful of the series, bringing in 8.1 million viewers in the U.S. It scored an 86-date concert tour, and was on the top 10 tours of 2006; the tour broke a record at the Houston Rodeo that was set by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
in 1973. The concert sold out with 73,500 tickets sold in three minutes.
Film rights for much of the channel are shared by sister network ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
. The network also has rights to many films not released by Disney (either because the studio does not have a children's network or has one that is incompatible with their focus), such as Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
' (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released in the United States and India as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film is the first instalment in the Harry Potter film series,...
(known in the US as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the second instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
), Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
(Beethoven, An American Tail
An American Tail
An American Tail is a 1986 American animated adventure film directed by Don Bluth and produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment. The film tells the story of Fievel Mouskewitz and his family as they immigrate from Russia to America for freedom. However, Fievel gets lost and must...
, The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time is a 1988 American animated adventure film directed and co-produced by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall....
), The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
(Hoodwinked
Hoodwinked
Hoodwinked!, also titled Hoodwinked on its theatrical poster and in other sources, is a 2005 American computer-animated family action comedy film, produced by Blue Yonder Films with Kanbar Entertainment, directed by Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Tony Leech, and produced by Maurice Kanbar, David K....
, The Magic Roundabout
The Magic Roundabout
The Magic Roundabout was a children's television programme created in France in 1963 by Serge Danot...
), Sony Pictures (Stuart Little
Stuart Little (film)
Stuart Little is a 1999 family film. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by E. B. White. It combines live-action and computer animation. The screenplay was co-written by M. Night Shyamalan and Greg Brooker, with uncredited script doctoring by David O. Russell and Billy Ray...
, Stuart Little 2
Stuart Little 2
Stuart Little 2 is a 2002 American live action and CGI animated film, directed by Rob Minkoff and starring Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie and Jonathan Lipnicki and the voices of Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, Melanie Griffith, James Woods and Steve Zahn. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film and includes...
, Hook
Hook (film)
Hook is a 1991 American fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, and features Maggie Smith, Caroline Goodall, Charlie Korsmo, Amber Scott, and Dante Basco. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing...
), Lionsgate (Happily N'ever After
Happily N'Ever After
Happily N'Ever After is a 2007 American computer-animated film based on the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. It is a Vanguard Animation production, released by Lions Gate Films on January 5, 2007...
), 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
(Ice Age
Ice Age (film)
Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents...
, the Home Alone film series, Catch That Kid
Catch That Kid
Catch That Kid! is a 2004 American adventure comedy film directed by Bart Freundlich. It is a remake of the Danish blockbuster Klatretøsen...
), Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
(Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)). Also, another non-Disney Christmas themed film, such asThe Polar Express
The Polar Express (film)
The Polar Express is a 2004 motion capture computer-animated film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. Written, produced, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the human characters in the film were animated using live action performance capture technique, with the...
have aired. Other non-Disney films over the years have included Little Secrets
Little Secrets
Little Secrets is a 2002 independent comedy-drama film starring Evan Rachel Wood, Michael Angarano, and David Gallagher. It premiered in the Heartland Film Festival in October 2001, and made its limited theatrical release on August 23, 2002.-Plot:...
, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by Chris Columbus, David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe...
, Another Cinderella Story
Another Cinderella Story
Another Cinderella Story is a 2008 romantic comedy directed by Damon Santostefano and starring Selena Gomez and Drew Seeley. The film was released direct-to-DVD by Warner Premiere on September 16, 2008. It was released on DVD in the UK on October 27, 2008...
and Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown is a 1977 animated film produced by United Feature Syndicate for Paramount Pictures, directed by Bill Meléndez, and the third in a series of movies based on the Peanuts comic strip...
just to name a few. Films produced by current Disney subsidiary The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company, an American entertainment organization, traces its origins to the founding of Muppets, Inc. in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The Muppets helped the company gain worldwide acclaim in family entertainment for more than four decades...
have also aired on Disney Channel in the past, although most of them are not presently owned by Disney, including The Dark Crystal
The Dark Crystal
The Dark Crystal is a 1982 British-American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Although marketed as a family film, it was notably darker than previous material created by them. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking. The primary concept artist was the...
, Labyrinth
Labyrinth (film)
Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
, Buddy, The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Released in 1979, the film was produced by Henson Associates, Children's Television Workshop and ITC Entertainment....
, The Muppets Take Manhattan
The Muppets Take Manhattan
The Muppets Take Manhattan is the third of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets, and also the final film before Henson's death. This film was produced by Henson Associates and TriStar Pictures, and was filmed on location in New York City during the summer of...
, The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Muppet Christmas Carol is a 1992 musical comedy film adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, starring Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, directed by Brian Henson, produced by The Jim Henson Company, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
, Muppet Treasure Island
Muppet Treasure Island
Muppet Treasure Island is a 1996 American musical film based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. It is the fifth feature film to star The Muppets and was directed by Jim Henson's son Brian Henson....
, Muppets From Space
Muppets from Space
Muppets from Space is a 1999 science fiction comedy film and the sixth feature film to star The Muppets, and the first since the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson to have an original Muppet-focused plot. The film was directed by Tim Hill, produced by Jim Henson Pictures, and released to theaters...
, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz is a 2005 musical telefilm directed by Kirk Thatcher and starring Ashanti and The Muppets. The film was produced by Bill Barretta and written by Debra Frank, Steve L. Hayes, Tom Martin, and Adam F...
and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland is the second theatrical feature-length film starring the cast of the popular U.S. children's series Sesame Street...
. Bagdasarian Productions films have also aired on Disney Channel, although most of them are not presently owned by Disney, including The Chipmunk Adventure
The Chipmunk Adventure
The Chipmunk Adventure is a 1987 American animated film featuring the characters from NBC's Saturday morning cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks. The Chipmunk Adventure was directed by Janice Karman from a screenplay by Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr....
, Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein
Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein
Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein is a 1999 animated horror-themed direct-to-video film, produced by Bagdasarian Productions and Universal Animation Studios, distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and based on characters from Alvin and the Chipmunks...
, Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman
Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman
Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman is a 2000 animated horror-themed direct-to-video film, produced by Bagdasarian Productions and Universal Animation Studios, distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and based on characters from Alvin and the Chipmunks...
, Spirited Away
Spirited Away
is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy-adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a sullen ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood and after her parents are transformed into pigs by the witch Yubaba,...
and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
Between 1986 and 1998, films made up most Disney Channel's evening and overnight schedule. It now only airs films usually each afternoon and in primetime Monday through Thursday nights. Many of the channel's earliest original movies (particularly those made from 1997 to 2002) have seldom been aired by Disney Channel in recent years, except for some holiday-themed movies; in January 2009, the channel began airing these older original movies on Friday and Saturday nights at 3 am ET/PT; since June 2010, movies also air on Sundays in late night and since July 2010, the movies start at 2:30 am ET/PT and some of the late-night weekend movies are aired without promo breaks. A Disney Channel Original Movie used to air twice in a row on the night of its premiere; this tradition ended with the January 2006 premiere of High School Musical. Encore presentations of Disney Channel Original Movies however, still sometimes air on the channel in prime time on the Saturday and Sunday after its original Friday night debut (Camp Rock
Camp Rock
Camp Rock is a 2008 Disney Channel Original Movie starring the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato. The music is written by Julie Brown, Paul Brown, Regina Hicks and Karen Gist. The film is directed by Matthew Diamond and produced by Alan Sacks....
, Dadnapped
Dadnapped
Dadnapped is a Disney Channel Original Movie which premiered February 16, 2009. Starring actors from Disney Channel Original Series, the movie had 4.6 million viewers for its premiere...
, Starstruck
Starstruck (2010 film)
Starstruck is a 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Sterling Knight and Danielle Campbell. The movie was filmed in Los Angeles.-Plot:...
, and Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars
Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars
Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars is a 2010 Canadian/American television film starring Jennifer Stone which premiered on March 26, 2010, on Disney Channel. It is the second film adaptation of the book, Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh, after the 1996 Harriet the Spy film that starred Michelle...
are the only exceptions to this rule). Camp Rock
Camp Rock
Camp Rock is a 2008 Disney Channel Original Movie starring the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato. The music is written by Julie Brown, Paul Brown, Regina Hicks and Karen Gist. The film is directed by Matthew Diamond and produced by Alan Sacks....
and Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior is a 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Brenda Song and Shin Koyamada. Koyamada plays a Chinese monk who visits the title character, an American teenager played by Song, claiming Wu is the reincarnation of a powerful female warrior and the only person who can...
are currently the only DCOMs to air on a non-Disney Channel branded network domestically as they have both aired on sister channel ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
, and Camp Rock has also aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
as part of The Wonderful World of Disney. On September 13, 2010, Disney Channel began airing theatrically released films in a 4:3 letterbox
Letterbox
Letterboxing is the practice of transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the film's original aspect ratio. The resulting videographic image has mattes above and below it; these mattes are part of the image...
format on the channel's primary SD feed, broadcasting them in a similar manner to how they are aired on the HD feed.
Disney Channel occasionally airs "special edition" airings of its high-profile original movie premieres: sing-along
Sing-along
Sing-along, community singing, group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing. One can use a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, hymns and drinking songs...
versions of The Cheetah Girls trilogy, High School Musical, High School Musical 2 and Camp Rock have aired in which lyrics are displayed on screen for viewers to sing with the songs in the films; the channel also airs "What's What" editions of its high-profile original movies using a format that mimics the former VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
series Pop Up Video in which facts about the movie and its stars pop up on screen at various points during the film.
In part because the network does not air commercials and advertises only network programming, films typically run short of their allotted time slot interstitial program
Interstitial program
In television programming, an interstitial program refers to a short program which is often shown between movies or other events, e.g. a cast interview after movies on premium channels...
ming airs to fill an entire two-hour slot, usually an episode of a Disney Channel original series for a film running about 90 to 100 minutes, an 11-minute-long episode of an original animated series for a film running 105 minutes, and any film longer than 105 minutes has the remaining time filled with a music video, promotions, and/or shorts such as Shaun the Sheep
Shaun the Sheep
Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated children's television series produced by Aardman Animations, and commissioned by the BBC and the WDR. It first aired in the UK on CBBC in March 2007...
, Have a Laugh!
Have a Laugh!
Have a Laugh!, also known as Mickey Mouse - Have a Laugh, is an animated series produced by The Walt Disney Company. The program started in October 2009 and features many Mickey Mouse characters and shorts...
or Take Two with Phineas and Ferb
Take Two with Phineas and Ferb
Take Two with Phineas and Ferb is a spin-off series from Phineas and Ferb that premiered on Disney Channel on December 3, 2010. The series revolves around Phineas and Ferb interviewing celebrities...
.
Disney Junior
Disney Channel currently programs shows targeted at preschool-age children on Monday through Fridays from 4 a.m.-2 p.m. and weekends from 4–9 a.m. ET/PT, called Disney Junior, which debuted on February 14, 2011. During the summer months, the block ends at 9 am ET/PT on weekdays. , the only programming featuring classic Disney characters is Mickey Mouse ClubhouseMickey Mouse Clubhouse
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a children's television series, that premiered in prime time on Disney Channel on May 5, 2006. The program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney daily block intended for preschoolers...
on Disney Junior, and the Have a Laugh! short films on the network itself. Programming in this block includes Jake and the Never Land Pirates
Jake and the Never Land Pirates
Jake and the Never Land Pirates is a musical animated Disney Junior show based on the successful Disney franchise, Peter Pan. It is the first Disney Junior original show following the switch from Playhouse Disney...
, Special Agent Oso
Special Agent Oso
Special Agent Oso is a current Disney Channel series created by Ford Riley. The program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney block intended for preschoolers...
, Imagination Movers
Imagination Movers
Imagination Movers is a child-centered rock band formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2003. The lineup includes Rich Collins, Scott Durbin, Dave Poche, and Scott "Smitty" Smith. Members of the group were longtime friends and neighbors....
, Handy Manny
Handy Manny
Handy Manny is a Disney animated children's television program that premiered on September 16, 2006. The program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney daily block intended for preschoolers...
, Little Einsteins
Little Einsteins
Little Einsteins is an animated television series on Disney Junior. The educational preschool series was developed for television by Douglas Wood who created the concept and characters, and a subsequent team headed by Emmy Award-winning director Olexa Hewryk and Dora the Explorer co-creator Eric...
, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a children's television series, that premiered in prime time on Disney Channel on May 5, 2006. The program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney daily block intended for preschoolers...
, Jungle Junction
Jungle Junction
Jungle Junction is a current CGI animated children's television series created by Trevor Ricketts. It airs on Disney Junior in the United States, as well as Playhouse Disney in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and on Playhouse Disney in Asia. It is produced in the UK by...
and My Friends Tigger & Pooh
My Friends Tigger & Pooh
My Friends Tigger & Pooh is a computer animated television series, inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. The television series features Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends, including two new characters: a brave 6-year-old red-headed girl named Darby and her dog Buster...
.
Disney Junior is the successor to Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney was Disney Channel's television block for programs aimed at entertaining preschool aged children, often airing as its own channel outside the United States. It was introduced in 1997 after Disney Channel's move to basic cable from premium cable, with a target audience of children...
, another preschool-targeted block which debuted in September 1997. Disney Junior will become its own digital cable and satellite channel in February 2012, replacing SOAPnet
SOAPnet
SOAPnet is an American cable television channel that broadcasts current and past soap operas and primetime dramas, along with some original programming. The channel launched on January 20, 2000, and is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
. The Disney Junior channel will become a direct competitor to Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
's Nick Jr.
Nick Jr.
Nick Jr. was a programming block on the Nickelodeon television channel, seen on Nickelodeon weekday mornings. It was aimed at a preschool-age audience ages 6 and under. On September 28, 2009, Nick Jr. became its own official channel, replacing Noggin...
channel and PBS and Comcast's PBS Kids Sprout
PBS KIDS Sprout
PBS Kids Sprout is a U.S. digital cable television channel, video-on-demand service, and website providing PBS Kids shows and original programming for preschoolers and their families...
.
Weekend evening blocks
Disney Channel airs first-run or recent episodes of its original series over the course of three nights, branded as "Disney Channel (day of week) Night". The Friday night schedule features Wizards of Waverly PlaceWizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place is a Disney Channel Original Series that premiered on October 12, 2007. It won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009...
, A.N.T. Farm
A.N.T. Farm
A.N.T. Farm is a Disney Channel television sitcom that premiered on May 6, 2011 as a special preview and continued as a regular series on June 17, 2011. The pilot episode, "TransplANTed" aired after the series finale of The Suite Life on Deck...
, Phineas & Ferb, Jessie
Jessie
Jessie may refer to:*"Dear Jessie", a song by Madonna*"Jessie's Girl", a 1981 single written and performed by Rick Springfield*"Jessie" , a song written and performed by Joshua Kadison*"Kim & Jessie", a song by M83...
and Fish Hooks
Fish Hooks
Fish Hooks is an American animated television series created by Noah Z. Jones. Twenty-one episodes have been ordered for the first season. It premiered on September 24, 2010. An 11-minute preview was shown on September 3, 2010, following the Disney Channel Original Movie, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam...
, while Sunday nights feature Good Luck Charlie
Good Luck Charlie
Good Luck Charlie is an original Disney Channel television sitcom, which premiered April 4, 2010. The series was created by Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, who wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, as opposed to children only...
, So Random!
So Random!
So Random! is an American Disney Channel sketch comedy series that premiered on June 5, 2011. It was announced as an independent series after Demi Lovato left the parent series, Sonny with a Chance...
and Shake It Up
Shake It Up (TV series)
Shake It Up is an American television sitcom airing on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on November 7, 2010. Created by Chris Thompson and starring Bella Thorne and Zendaya, the show follows the adventures of Cece Jones and Rocky Blue as they star as background dancers on...
. PrankStars
PrankStars
PrankStars is a hidden camera/reality series that premiered on Disney Channel on July 15, 2011. It is hosted by Pair of Kings and Hannah Montana star Mitchel Musso. The series involves children and teenagers set up by their friends and family to meet their favorite stars in "unpredictable and...
new episodes premiere on either Friday or Sunday. Programming on both night's schedules (since October 2010) is somewhat fluid, as while all series have a permanent place on the Friday and Sunday primetime schedules, episode premieres of all of Disney Channel's original series are subject to being rotated on and off the schedule depending on which episodes are scheduled for that week as they usually air as part of a 90-minute block from 8–9:30 pm ET/PT on Friday and Sunday evenings.
The Saturday night schedule usually features repeats of recent episodes of the channel's original series and occasional airings of movies, after an attempt in early 2009 to use the night to launch a beachhead against Nickelodeon's Saturday night block with the premiere of JONAS and the move of Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place is a Disney Channel Original Series that premiered on October 12, 2007. It won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009...
from Fridays to Saturdays proved unsuccessful. Encores of each night's programs typically air during the midnight-3 a.m. timeslot each night in reverse fashion.
Toonin' Saturdays
Toonin' Saturdays is a Saturday morning animation block that debuted on June 17, 2011; the "Toonin' Saturdays" lineup primarily consists of double-episode airings of Disney Channel original animated series Fish HooksFish Hooks
Fish Hooks is an American animated television series created by Noah Z. Jones. Twenty-one episodes have been ordered for the first season. It premiered on September 24, 2010. An 11-minute preview was shown on September 3, 2010, following the Disney Channel Original Movie, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam...
and Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
. Occasionally, new first-run episodes of either series will be featured in the block, though new episodes may also sometimes air in their original Friday night time slots.
Former
- Zoog Disney – Launched in August 1998, Zoog Disney was a program block that aired on weekend afternoons. The hosts for the block were "Zoogs", animated anthropomorphic characters resembling robots, but given human voices, with most of the Zoog characters acting like teenagers. The block tied television and the internet together, allowing viewer comments and scores from players of ZoogDisney.com's online games to be aired on the channel during regular programming in a ticker format (which the channel continued to use after the block was discontinued, and is used in a significantly decreased capacity as of May 2010). The Zoogs were given a more three-dimensional redesign and mature voices in 2001, but were phased out after less than a year. With the entire block phased out by September 2002. From September 2001 to August 2002, the entire Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon and primetime lineup was branded as "Zoog Weekendz".
- Disney Nighttime – From 1983 to 1997, Disney Channel, during the premium channel era featured programming aimed at adult audiences, during the nighttime hours under the banner name "Disney Nighttime"; unlike the nighttime content aired on the channel's then-competitor premium channels at the time of its launch, the "adult" programming featured on Disney Channel was devoid of sexual and violent content. Disney Nighttime featured older feature films (similar to those seen at the time on American Movie Classics, and eventually Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, with both Disney and non-Disney titles mixed in) and the traditional premium channel fare of original concert specials from artists ranging from Rick SpringfieldRick SpringfieldRick Springfield is an Australian-born singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single "Speak to the Sky" reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States...
to Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
. - Vault Disney – Disney Nighttime was reworked into "Vault Disney" in September 1997, upon Disney Channel's first major rebrand. Originally a Sunday-only block, Vault Disney expanded to seven nights a week by 1999, and aired late nights from midnight to 6 am ET (except on Sunday nights from 1997 to 1999, when the block had a 9 pm ET start time on Sundays). The classic programming changed to feature only Disney-produced television series and specials such as Zorro, Spin and MartySpin and MartySpin and Marty was a popular series of television shorts that aired as part of ABC's Mickey Mouse Club show of the mid-1950s produced by Walt Disney. There were three serials in all, set at the Triple R Ranch, a boys' western-style summer camp. The first series of 25 eleven-minute episodes,...
, The Mickey Mouse Club and the Walt Disney anthology television series, along with older Disney television specials; older Disney feature films also were part of the lineup from 1997 to 2000, but aired in a reduced capacity. The block also featured The Ink and Paint Club, featuring classic Disney animated shorts, which became the only remaining program on the channel to feature these shorts by 1999, upon the removal of Quack PackQuack PackQuack Pack is an animated television series made by The Walt Disney Company, featuring Donald Duck and his nephews. The show debuted in September 1996 as a part of the Disney Afternoon weekday afternoon programming block. Unlike other Disney Afternoon shows, it was aimed at an older audience,...
from the schedule.
Summer
The network runs summer programming blocks every year with differing themes and names; generally most of the network's series run new episodes through the summer and Original Movies premiere in these months to take advantage of the largest possible children's audience, as do most children's networks.Halloween
The network's October schedule usually focuses on HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
programming, with the title of the branding changing every year. Halloween films such as the Halloweentown
Halloweentown series
The Halloweentown film series aired as works for television on The Disney Channel between 1998 and 2006.* Halloweentown, released in 1998...
series have premiered in this month, along with Twitches, Twitches Too
Twitches Too
Twitches Too is a 2007 Disney Channel Original Movie. It is the sequel to the Disney Channel Original Movie Twitches, released in 2005. The film began production in late April 2007 and was released on October 12. It aired during Disney Channel's Halloween Month. The Disney Channel Original Series,...
, The Scream Team
The Scream Team
The Scream Team is a Disney Channel Original Movie. The movie was aired October 23 , 2004 in the U.S.- Plot :Two children move into a town where their grandfather has just died. They later discover that a society of ghosts are searching for their grandfather's lost soul. The children decide to find...
, Mostly Ghostly
Mostly Ghostly
For the 2008 movie, see Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out?.Mostly Ghostly is a book of series written by children's horror author R. L. Stine...
, and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie is a 2009 American made-for-television comedy-drama fantasy film based on the Disney Channel Original Series Wizards of Waverly Place. Filmed primarily in San Juan, Puerto Rico in February and March 2009, the Disney Channel Original Movie premiered on August 28,...
, along with Halloween episodes of the Original Series. In April, Disney Channel airs a week of Halloween DCOMs.
Christmas
The network's December schedule usually focuses on ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
programming, with the title of the branding changing every year. Christmas films such as the The Christmas Visitor, The Ultimate Christmas Present
The Ultimate Christmas Present
The Ultimate Christmas Present is a 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Brenda Song and Hallee Hirsh.-Plot:Two teen girls, Samantha Elizabeth "Sam" Kwan and Allison Rachel "Allie" Thompson find a weather machine at a shack in the woods. After learning of its controls, they use it to...
, 'Twas the Night
'Twas the Night
'Twas the Night is a 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie released in December for the Christmas holiday. Disney Channel has aired the film every year sometime in December...
, Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!
Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!
Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! is a 2011 Christmas film based on the Disney Channel Original Series Good Luck Charlie. The film was directed by Arlene Sanford and written by Geoff Rodkey, and stars Bridgit Mendler, Leigh-Allyn Baker, Bradley Steven Perry, Mia Talerico, Eric Allan Kramer, and...
, and Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation
Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation
"Phineas and Ferb's Christmas Vacation" is a special Christmas-themed episode of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. It was originally broadcast on Disney XD on December 6, 2009, on Disney Channel on December 11, 2009, and on ABC Family on December 18, 2009...
have premiered in this month, along with Christmas episodes of the Original Series.
New Year's events
A tradition going back to the Zoog Disney days in 2000, the network airs a marathon into the early morning of New Year's Day of programs, films and moments deemed the best by viewer vote on disneychannel.com, followed by an Original Series marathon on New Year's Day. As with summer and Halloween, the New Year's block has a name change yearly.Disney's Friends For Change Games
The Disney's Friends for Change Games are Olympic-based televised games aired on Disney Channel and part of the station's Friends for Change initiative. It replaces the Disney Channel GamesDisney Channel Games
The Disney Channel Games were annual Olympic-based televised games that aired on the Disney Channel from 2006–2008. The 2006 Games were filmed in California and produced by 7ATE9 Entertainment. In 2007 and 2008 the Games were filmed at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World...
and premiered on June 24, 2011 on Disney Channel.
Ratings
In the May 2010 Nielsen ratings, Disney Channel ranked No.1 for the 63rd consecutive month in the Kids 6–11 demographic and for the 62nd straight month among Tweens 9–14. Disney Channel is ranked as the second most watched cable channel among total viewers during primetime, behind USA Network in first place with an average of 2.8 million people.According to Nielsen Media Research, the month of February 2011 had finished as Disney Channel’s most-watched February sweeps period in Total Day ratings in the network's history ever, earning an average of 1.7 million viewers among Total Viewers, along with 590,000 viewers with a 2.1 rating share among Kids 6–11 and 459,000 viewers with a 1.9 rating share among Tweens 6–9; 9–15; among the first two demos, the channel posted its 14th consecutive month of year-to-year gains in both demos. First-run episodes of Shake It Up, Wizards of Waverly Place and Good Luck Charlie earned six of television’s top 10 telecasts that month in key child demographics, with Phineas and Ferb ranked as the No.1 animated series on TV among Kids 6–11 and Tweens 9–14 for that month and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ranked among TV’s top 10 programs for that month in Playhouse Disney's Kids 2–5 target demographic.
Disney XD
Disney XD is a digital cable and satellite television channel in the United States, which is aimed at males aged 7–14. The channel was launched on February 13, 2009, replacing predecessor Toon DisneyToon Disney
Toon Disney was an American cable television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company. A spinoff of Disney Channel, it mostly aired children's animated series and some live action programming. Its format had similarities to those of Cartoon Network and Nicktoons...
, carrying action and comedy programming from Disney Channel and the former Jetix block from Toon Disney along with some first-run original programming and off-network syndicated shows. Like its predecessor Toon Disney and unlike parent network Disney Channel, Disney XD is advertiser-supported. The channel carries the same name as an unrelated mini-site and media player on Disney.com
Disney.com
Disney.com is a website, owned by The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries, promotes the Disney theme parks and offers entertainment content intended for children....
, which stood for Disney Xtreme Digital, though the "XD" in the channel
Disney Junior
On May 26, 2010 Disney-ABC Television Group announced the launch of a new 24-hour preschool-targeted digital cable and satellite channel called Disney JuniorDisney Junior
Disney Junior is a current program block on Disney Channel and an upcoming American basic cable and satellite television network intended to replace SOAPnet in February 2012. It began airing on February 14, 2011, replacing Playhouse Disney....
, which is set to premiere in February 2012; the Disney Junior channel (which will be commercial-free, like parent network Disney Channel but unlike SOAPnet, which it is replacing, and Disney XD) will compete with other preschooler-skewing cable channels such as Nick Jr. and PBS Kids Sprout
PBS KIDS Sprout
PBS Kids Sprout is a U.S. digital cable television channel, video-on-demand service, and website providing PBS Kids shows and original programming for preschoolers and their families...
. The channel will feature programs from Disney Channel's existing library of preschool programs and movies from the Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
film library. Disney Junior will take over the channel space currently held by Disney-ABC Television Group-owned SOAPnet
SOAPnet
SOAPnet is an American cable television channel that broadcasts current and past soap operas and primetime dramas, along with some original programming. The channel launched on January 20, 2000, and is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, with the closure of SOAPnet citing the continued decrease in popularity of the soap opera genre on broadcast television and the growth of video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
(including the online streaming availability for soap operas) and digital video recorders negating the need for a linear channel devoted to soaps. The former Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney was Disney Channel's television block for programs aimed at entertaining preschool aged children, often airing as its own channel outside the United States. It was introduced in 1997 after Disney Channel's move to basic cable from premium cable, with a target audience of children...
block on Disney Channel was rebranded as Disney Junior on February 14, 2011, and the 22 existing cable channels and program blocks bearing the Playhouse Disney name outside the United States have been or are currently in the process of rebranding under the Disney Junior name. Disney had previously announced plans for a preschool-targeted network in the U.S. in 2001, however the planned Playhouse Disney Channel did not come to fruition, though dedicated Playhouse Disney Channels did launch internationally.
Toon Disney
This television channel, that launched on April 18, 1998, was aimed at children ages 6–12; the network's main competition were Turner BroadcastingTurner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
/Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
's Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
and Boomerang
Boomerang (TV channel)
Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
, and Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
/MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
' Nicktoons. Unlike Disney Channel, Toon Disney was an advertiser-supported cable channel. The channel carried a format of reruns of Walt Disney Television Animation
Walt Disney Television Animation
Disney Television Animation is an American animation studio that is the TV animation production arm of the Disney-ABC Television Group, owned by The Walt Disney Company, dedicated to creating, developing and producing animated television series, films, specials and other projects.Established in...
and Disney Channel-produced animated programming, along with some third-party programming, animated films and original programming. In 2002, the channel debuted a nighttime program block aimed at children ages 7–14 called Jetix
Jetix (US)
Jetix USA was a television programming brand running on Toon Disney, owned by The Walt Disney Company. It first officially began programming as a children's programming block on ABC Family in September 2002 as the ABC Family Action Block...
, which featured action-oriented animated and live-action series. During Toon Disney's first year on the air, Disney Channel ran a sampler block of Toon Disney programming on Sunday nights for interested subscribers. The network ceased operations and was relaunched as the preteen male-oriented Disney XD
Disney XD
Disney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...
, featuring a broader array of programming, on February 13, 2009.
Other services
- Disney Channel HD is a high definition simulcastSimulcastSimulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
feed, broadcasting a moderate amount of Disney Channel's programming in 720p720p720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
HD (Disney/ABC Television Group's standard resolution format for its HD simulcast channels); it began broadcasting on March 19, 2008. Most of the channel's post-2009 program content is broadcast in high definition, along with feature films produced by Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
and other film studios, Disney Channel original movies made after 2005 and select episodes, films and series produced before 2009. Many cable providers carry the HD simulcast feed, along with DirecTVDirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
, AT&T U-verse and Verizon FIOSVerizon FiOSVerizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
. Dish NetworkDish NetworkDish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
currently does not carry the Disney/ABC Cable Networks' HD simulcast channels due to a retransmission consentRetransmission consentRetransmission consent is an option granted to US television stations as part of the law that granted such stations the option to elect must-carry rights. Under retransmission consent, a full-power US television station may elect to negotiate with a cable system operator for carriage of its...
dispute with the Walt Disney Company. - Disney Channel On Demand is the channel's video-on-demandVideo on demandVideo on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
service, offering select episodes of the channel's original series and Disney Junior programming, along with select original movies and behind-the-scenes features to digital cable and IPTV providers.
Criticism
Disney Channel has received some criticism for their current programming direction. Experts criticize the company for programming that has pulled away from the characters that the network's parent company, The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
was based on: Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
, Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
and Goofy
Goofy
Goofy is a cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck...
and thus more "traditionalist" fans of the network have gone so far to say that the network is no longer really a Disney Channel. Other critics disapprove of the marketing strategy made by Anne Sweeney
Anne Sweeney
Anne Marie Sweeney is the Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney-ABC Television Group.-Life and career:...
, the President of ABC-Disney Television Group, which makes the programs on Disney Channel geared mainly toward pre-teen girls and teenage girls. Sweeney had also said that the main goal of the programming on Disney Channel was not solely to entertain, but to also make money, officially stating that Disney Channel would be "the major profit driver for the (Walt Disney) Company."
Branding
From 1983 to 1997, Disney Channel's logo involves a Mickey Mouse head inside a TV screen. When the network split in 1997, a new logo was launched, with a 1930s Mickey Mouse inside a Mickey Mouse-shaped TV. The logo was slightly modified in 1999. In 2002, a new logo (designed by CA Square) was adopted internationally, which continued until the 2010. In 2010 the logo was altered to look better in HD Widescreen format, the original 2002 logo was incased inside a rounded box, and has been used ever since.Network slogans
- Everything You've Ever Imagined. And More. (April 18, 1983–September 1983)
- Family Entertainment You Can Trust. (September 1983–1985)
- For the Family. All of It. (1985–1986)
- Disney's Our Channel (1986–1988)
- America's Family Network (1988–1997)
- Our Stars, Your Place. Everyday. (1997–2002)
- Express Yourself (2001–2007)
- Made Just for You (2002–2009)
- Dreams Come True (2009)
- Believe in Yourself (January 1–February 2, 2010)
- Follow Your Dreams (February 2–May 28, 2010)
- It's On! (May 28–September 7, 2010; for summer programming campaign)
- The Best Place To Be. (September 7, 2010–June 2011)
- Sizzling Summer (June 2011–September 5, 2011 for summer programming campaign)
- It's Monstober! (October 1, 2011-October 31, 2011 for Halloween programming campaign)
See also
- DisneyChannel.comDisneyChannel.comDisneyChannel.com is the official website of Disney Channel, a children's TV channel. Completely powered by Adobe Flash, it includes many features.-Video:...
- Disney XDDisney XDDisney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...
- Disney JuniorDisney JuniorDisney Junior is a current program block on Disney Channel and an upcoming American basic cable and satellite television network intended to replace SOAPnet in February 2012. It began airing on February 14, 2011, replacing Playhouse Disney....
- Disney CinemagicDisney CinemagicDisney Cinemagic is the premium subscription movie service, available through Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media. The channel first appeared on 16 March 2006, airing previews, preparing for the official launch that took place at 17:00 on 19 March 2006....
- Family (TV channel)
- ABC FamilyABC FamilyABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
- JetixJetixJetix was a worldwide children's television programming brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The Jetix brand was used for blocks and channels featuring action-related and adventure-related live-action and animated programming. It was also what Disney eventually turned Fox Kids into...
- Jetix PlayJetix PlayJetix Play was the sister channel of Disney XD owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was launched on January, 2003 and showing classic animated cartoons and animated television series. It was broadcast 17 hours in Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Kazakhstan &...
- Family ChannelFamily ChannelFamily is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service marketed to children and teenagers aged 2-15. It is owned by Astral Media...