Disney Channel facts for kids
Third variant of the 2014 logo used since 2019
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| Country | United States |
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| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Programming | |
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| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Disney Entertainment |
| Parent | Disney Branded Television |
| Sister channels |
List
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| History | |
| Launched | April 18, 1983 |
| Former names | The Disney Channel (1983–1997) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Watch live |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Service(s) | Fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV |
Disney Channel is a popular American TV channel. It's the main channel of Disney Branded Television, which is part of The Walt Disney Company. It's a "pay television" channel, meaning you usually need to subscribe to a cable or satellite service to watch it.
The channel first started on April 18, 1983, and was called "The Disney Channel." Back then, it was a special "premium channel" that families could add to their cable TV. Since 1997, it's been known simply as Disney Channel. Its shows are now mostly for kids and teenagers aged 7 to 17. You can watch original TV series, movies made for TV, and some other fun programs.
As of September 2022, Disney Channel is available in over 190 million homes in the U.S. and around the world. You can find its shows on TV, online, and on mobile devices, especially through the DisneyNow app. While there used to be many Disney Channels globally, some have closed down. This is partly because of the rise of social media and streaming services like Disney+.
Contents
History of Disney Channel
The Disney Channel first launched across the U.S. on April 18, 1983. It started as a premium channel, meaning you paid extra for it. It was on for 16 hours a day, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. By September 1983, it was available in all 50 U.S. states. By the end of that year, over 611,000 people had subscribed!
In October 1983, the channel showed its first movie made just for cable TV, called Tiger Town. This movie even won an award! By January 1985, the channel was making a profit and had 1.75 million subscribers.
Over time, more and more cable companies started including The Disney Channel in their basic TV packages, instead of as an extra premium channel. On April 6, 1997, the channel officially changed its name to just Disney Channel.
What Shows and Movies Can You Watch?
Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs)
Disney Channel has been making movies just for TV since it started. These were first called Disney Channel Premiere Films. In October 1997, they changed the name to "Disney Channel Original Movies" (DCOMs). The first DCOM was Under Wraps, a Halloween movie that aired on October 25, 1997.
One of the most popular DCOMs ever is High School Musical 2. When it first aired on August 17, 2007, 17.2 million people watched it! This set a record for the most-watched TV movie premiere on the channel. Other very popular DCOMs include Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, Camp Rock, and The Cheetah Girls movies.
The Cheetah Girls movies were also a huge success. The first movie in 2003 was watched by over 84 million people worldwide. Its sequel was seen by 8.1 million viewers in the U.S. The group even went on a concert tour that was one of the top 10 tours of 2006!
Besides its own original movies, Disney Channel also shows movies that were first released in movie theaters. Many of these are from Walt Disney Pictures or Pixar.
Special Programming Blocks
Current Blocks
- Disney Junior/Mickey Mornings – This block airs on weekday mornings and shows programs for younger kids, like preschoolers. These shows come from Disney Junior. It started on February 14, 2011, and the "Mickey Mornings" name began in June 2020.
Past Blocks
- Disney Night Time – When Disney Channel was a premium channel, this block showed programs for older audiences, like parents, in the evenings. It included older movies and special concerts.
- The Magical World of Disney – This was a Sunday night block for movies and specials from 1990 to 1996. Later, from 1996 to 2001, it became the name for all the movies shown nightly starting at 7:00 p.m.
- Toonin' Tuesday – From 1993 to 1996, every Tuesday evening featured animated shows and movies.
- Bonus! Thursday – This block ran from 1993 to 1996 and showed programs for teenagers, like Kids Incorporated and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club.
- Totally Kids Only ("TKO") – This was an afternoon block of live-action and animated shows for kids from 1992 to 1996.
- Block Party – From 1995 to 1996, this weekday block showed popular animated series like Darkwing Duck and DuckTales.
- Vault Disney – This late-night block, which started in 1997, showed classic Disney TV series and specials, like Zorro and The Mickey Mouse Club. It ended in 2002.
- Zoog Disney – Launched in 1998, this block was hosted by animated robot-like characters called "Zoogs." It combined TV with the internet, showing viewer comments on screen. It ended in 2002.
- Disney Replay – From 2013 to 2016, this block showed reruns of older Disney Channel shows like Lizzie McGuire and Hannah Montana on Wednesday nights.
- Disney XD on Disney Channel – This block showed shows from the Disney XD channel, like Phineas and Ferb and Star vs. the Forces of Evil, on Friday and Saturday nights.
Channel Bumpers
Between shows and commercials, Disney Channel uses short videos called "bumpers." These bumpers have changed a lot over the years, using different animation styles and live action.
In 2002, Disney Channel changed its look, including its bumpers and logo. These new bumpers often showed the famous 'mouse ears' logo and a new theme song. This four-note song is very well-known and is still used today!
One of the most famous bumper styles shows a celebrity from a Disney Channel show holding a wand. They draw the Disney Channel logo on the screen, say their name, their show, and then "And you're watching Disney Channel." Fans call these "Wand IDs."
Sports on Disney Channel
Disney Channel has sometimes shown sports-related content. For example, ESPN's broadcasts of the Little League World Series baseball tournament often featured Disney Channel music stars.
In March 2023, Disney Channel aired a live professional sports event for the first time! It was a special kid-friendly broadcast of a National Hockey League (NHL) game. This broadcast was themed around the Disney Channel animated series Big City Greens, showing animated players and pucks on screen.
Other Disney Channels and Services
Current Sister Channels
Disney Junior
Disney Junior is a channel mainly for preschoolers. It started as a morning block on Disney Channel in 1997, called Playhouse Disney. Then, on March 23, 2012, it became its own 24/7 channel. Disney Junior doesn't have commercials and shows programs from Disney's preschool library.
Disney XD
Disney XD launched on February 13, 2009. It took the place of Toon Disney. This channel is for kids aged 6 to 14 and shows action and comedy programs. Unlike Disney Channel and Disney Junior, Disney XD does have commercials. The "XD" in its name doesn't actually stand for anything!
Former Sister Channels
- Toon Disney – This channel launched on April 18, 1998, and was for kids and teenagers. It showed a mix of animated shows from Disney and other companies, plus movies. It started without commercials but added them in 1999. In 2004, it added a block called Jetix for action shows. Toon Disney was replaced by Disney XD in 2009.
- Jetix – Jetix started as a programming block on Toon Disney in the U.S. on February 14, 2004. It also replaced Fox Kids channels in Europe. Jetix focused on action-oriented shows. It was later replaced by Disney XD in 2009.
- Jetix Play – This was another channel from Jetix Europe, launched in 2005. It was for younger kids than the main Jetix channel and showed older cartoons. It was replaced by Playhouse Disney and later Disney Junior in many areas.
- Radio Disney – This was a radio network that played music for kids, pre-teens, and teenagers. It started on November 18, 1996, and focused on popular music, especially from artists signed with Disney's own music labels. The Walt Disney Company closed Radio Disney in 2021.
Other Services
| Service | What it is |
|---|---|
| Disney Channel HD | This is a high-definition (HD) version of Disney Channel. It started broadcasting on March 19, 2008. Most new shows and movies on the channel are made and shown in HD. |
| Disney Channel On Demand | This service lets you watch select episodes of Disney Channel shows and movies whenever you want, through your cable or internet TV provider. |
| DisneyNow | DisneyNow is an app and website where you can stream Disney Channel shows live or watch them on demand. It replaced the older "Watch Disney Channel" service in 2017. |
| Disney+ | Launched in November 2019, Disney+ is a streaming service where you can watch tons of movies and TV shows from Disney, Marvel, National Geographic, Pixar, and Star Wars. |
| Former services | |
| Disney Family Movies | This was a subscription service that offered a limited selection of Disney movies. It started in 2008 and was shut down on October 31, 2019, before Disney+ launched. |
Production Studios
Disney Television Animation
This studio, also known as "Disney Channel Animation," creates original animated shows for Disney's kids' channels. It's located in Glendale, California.
It's a Laugh Productions
This studio, based in Studio City, California, makes live-action sitcoms and comedy shows mainly for Disney Channel.
Walt Disney EMEA Productions
This is Disney's European production studio in London, England. It helps create original shows in Europe with other companies.
Disney Original Documentary
This is a special group within Disney Branded Television that makes documentary programs for Disney Channel and Disney+.
Video Games
In 2010, a game called Disney Channel All Star Party was released for the Nintendo Wii. It was a party game featuring characters from shows like Sonny with a Chance and Wizards of Waverly Place. Many video games based on Phineas and Ferb were also released. The Disney Channel website used to have many online games with characters from shows like Kim Possible and Hannah Montana.
Marketing and Accessibility
In 2012, The Walt Disney Company announced it would stop advertising food or drink products that weren't healthy for kids. Disney Channel was one of the first media companies to do this!
Since July 1, 2012, Disney Channel has also provided "Descriptive Video Service" audio. This means that for some shows, there's an extra audio track that describes what's happening on screen for people who are blind. You might see an "AD)))" mark on screen at the start of these shows.
Disney Channel Around the World
Disney Channel has been available in many parts of the world, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and Japan. However, some channels in places like Australia, the UK, and Southeast Asia stopped broadcasting in the early 2020s. Most of their content moved to Disney+.
On December 14, 2022, Disney stopped showing its programs in Russia because of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Disney Channel also allows its shows to be aired on other TV channels outside the U.S., even if there's already a Disney Channel in that country.
See also
In Spanish: Disney Channel para niños
