Disney Channel


Disney Channel is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company.
Launched on April 18, 1983, under the name The Disney Channel as a premium channel on top of basic cable television systems, it originally showcased programming towards families due to availability of home television sets locally at the time. It dropped "The" from its name in 1997, thus getting rebranded as Disney Channel, with its programming shifting focus to target mainly children and adolescents ages 6–14. The channel showcases original first-run children's television series, theatrically released and original television films and other selected third-party programming.
, Disney Channel is available to approximately 70 million pay television households in the United States — down from its peak of 100 million households in 2011. The channel's international footprint, once encompassing 46 channels available in 33 languages, has also diminished in parts of Europe and most of the Asia-Pacific due to the launch of Disney+ and competition from streaming media and social media platforms.

History

Disney Channel launched nationally as a premium channel at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time on April 18, 1983, under the name The Disney Channel. The channel's development with help from its founding president Alan Wagner, and formally announced the launch of its family-oriented cable channel in early 1983. The channel – which initially maintained a 16-hour-per-day programming schedule from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time – would become available on cable providers in all 50 U.S. states by September 1983, and accrue a base of more than 611,000 subscribers by December of that year. In October 1983, the channel debuted its first made-for-cable movie, Tiger Town, which earned the channel a CableACE Award. The channel had reached profitability by January 1985, with its programming reaching 1.75 million subscribers by that point.
In September 1990, TCI's Montgomery, Alabama, system became the first cable provider to carry the channel as a basic cable service. Between 1991 and 1996, a steadily increasing number of cable providers began shifting The Disney Channel from a premium add-on offering to their basic tiers, either experimentally or on a full-time basis; however, Walt Disney Company executives denied any plans to convert the channel into an ad-supported basic service, stating that the premium-to-basic shifts on some providers was part of a five-year "hybrid" strategy that allowed providers to offer the channel in either manner. On April 6, 1997, the channel officially rebranded as Disney Channel, although occasionally marketed as "Disney" from 1997 to 2002.

Programming

Movie library

s have also been produced for broadcast on Disney Channel since its launch under the banner of Disney Channel Premiere Films, with the first film released being Tiger Town in 1983, until October 1997, which is when they stopped using the "Premiere Films" label and renamed it the "Disney Channel Original Movies" thereafter. The first movie to be released under the Disney Channel Original Movie category was Under Wraps, a Halloween themed movie that aired for the first time on Disney Channel on October 25, 1997.
The most successful original film under the banner in terms of popularity and accolades is High School Musical 2, which debuted on August 17, 2007, to 17.2 million viewers and set a current longstanding record for the highest-rated television premiere in the history of the channel. Following High School Musical 2, the movie that had the second highest-rated Disney Channel Original Movie premiere was Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, followed by Camp Rock, Descendants 2, Princess Protection Program, Teen Beach Movie, and Jump In!. It also set a basic cable record for the single most-watched television program until December 3, 2007, when corporate sister channel, ESPN, surpassed it with the telecast of an NFL game between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens on its Monday Night Football programme by 0.3 million viewers more. The Cheetah Girls media franchise was also notably successful in terms of merchandise and sales for its concert tours and soundtrack albums. Its debut film from 2003, being the first Disney Channel original musical television film, premiered to over 84 million global viewers and its sequel premiered to 8.1 million American viewers and in the process became the most successful of the film series. An 86-date concert tour featuring the eponymous girl group was ranked as one of the top 10 concert tours of 2006, smashing the record at the Houston Rodeo previously set by Elvis Presley in 1973, selling out with 73,500 tickets in three minutes at one point.
In addition to its original television films, Disney Channel has rights to theatrically released feature films, with some film rights shared with sister network, Freeform. Alongside films released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the channel also maintains rights to films from other studios. Some films released by Bagdasarian Productions have also aired on Disney Channel, although most of them are not currently owned by any of the Walt Disney Company's divisions.

Programming blocks

Current

  • Disney Jr. – A weekday morning block of preschool programming from Disney Jr. It debuted on February 14, 2011, following the closure of Playhouse Disney; In June 2020, Mickey Mouse-hosted continuity segments branded as "Mickey Mornings" were launched, replacing the previous "Disney Junior on Disney Channel" branding. The Mickey Mornings branding was quietly phased out in November 2025, reverting to the Disney Jr. branding, followed by the interstitials in December.

    Former

  • Disney Nighttime – As The Disney Channel as a premium channel from its launch until April 6, 1997, this block featured programming aimed at older parental audiences during the evening and overnight hours under the banner title "Disney Nighttime". The content seen in these blocks was devoid of sexual and violent content. Programming seen during Disney Nighttime included older feature films, alongside original concert specials, variety specials and documentaries.
  • The Magical World of Disney – used as a Sunday night umbrella for films and specials on The Disney Channel from September 23, 1990, to November 24, 1996, originally airing exclusively on Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific. From December 1, 1996, to 2001, The Magical World of Disney served as the overall branding for Disney Channel's nightly evening lineup of films starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific.
  • The American Legacy – ran on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific from January 7, 1992, to August 27, 1996. Originally launched in honor of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the United States, the block featured films, documentaries and specials about the contributions, history and scenic wonders of the nation.
  • Toonin' Tuesday – Running from October 5, 1993, to August 27, 1996, "Toonin' Tuesday" was a weekly program block featuring various animated programs. Each Tuesday from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific,The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 11, no. 6, October/November 1993: pp. 32–33, 40. "Toonin' Tuesday" featured primarily animated films and specials. The block ended on August 27, 1996, due to changes to the channel's programming schedule.The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 14, no. 3, June/July 1996: p. 27.The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 14, no. 4, August/September 1996: p. 29.
  • Bonus! Thursday – From October 7, 1993, to August 29, 1996, The Disney Channel ran a weekly program block called "Bonus! Thursday", which ran each Thursday from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific.The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 11, no. 6, October/November 1993: pp. 33, 40.The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 12, no. 1, December 1993/January 1994: pp. 28, 43. The block featured programs aimed at teenagers, including series such as Kids Incorporated, The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, various Mickey Mouse Club serials, and Eerie Indiana, followed by films and specials. The block ended on August 29, 1996, due to changes to the channel's programming schedule.
  • Totally Kids Only – an afternoon lineup of live-action and animated series introduced in 1992, which became the overall branding for the channel's daytime children's programs from 1995 to 1996.
  • Triple Feature Friday – ran each Friday starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific from October 8, 1993, to May 30, 1997, featured three separate films – sometimes regardless of each film's genre – that were tied to a specific subject
  • Disney Drive-In – ran each Saturday starting at 1:30 p.m. Eastern/Pacific from October 8, 1994, to August 31, 1996, featured Disney series such as Zorro, Texas John Slaughter and Spin and Marty, followed by Disney films and specials The block ended on August 31, 1996, due to changes in the channel's schedule.The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 14, no. 3, June/July 1996: p. 26.
  • Block Party – From October 2, 1995, to August 28, 1996, four animated series that previously aired in syndication on The Disney Afternoon were rerun together on The Disney Channel as a two-hour programming block called "Block Party", which aired weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific. The "Block Party" branding was dropped on September 3, 1996, when Darkwing Duck was removed as the block's lead-in and Goof Troop was added to end the lineup. This unnamed block continued to air into 1997.
  • Magical World of Animals – an hour-long block of wildlife series aimed at children that ran from August 1997 to 1999. Promoted as an offshoot of the Magical World of Disney and airing Sunday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the block consisted of two series: Going Wild with Jeff Corwin and Omba Mokomba.
  • Vault Disney – premiered in September 1997, five months after Disney Channel's first major rebrand, replacing the Disney Nighttime lineup. Originally airing only on Sunday nights from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, Vault Disney expanded to seven nights a week in September 1998. The vintage programming featured during the late-night schedule changed to feature only Disney-produced television series and specials, 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, an anthology series featuring Disney animated shorts, which became the only remaining program on the channel to feature these shorts by 1999, upon the removal of Quack Pack from the schedule. The channel discontinued the block in September 2002, in favor of running reruns of its original and acquired series during the late evening and overnight hours.
  • Zoog Disney – launched in August 1998, a program block that originally aired only on weekend afternoons from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific. The hosts for the block were "Zoogs", animated anthropomorphic robot/alien creature-hybrid characters with human voices. The block unified television and the Internet, 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. From June 2000 to August 2002, the afternoon and primetime lineups on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays were branded under the umbrella title "Zoog Weekendz". The Zoogs were redesigned with cel shading and given mature voices in 2000, though the remade Zoog characters were discontinued after less than a year; the entire Zoog Disney block was phased out by September 2002.
  • Disney Replay – "Disney Replay" was a block that premiered on April 17, 2013, featuring episodes of defunct Disney Channel Original Series that premiered between 2000 and 2007. Airing Wednesday nights/early Thursday mornings, originally from 12:00 to 1:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, the block expanded to six hours on August 14, 2014. Programs featured on Disney Replay were added to the WATCH Disney Channel service on August 16, 2014. The block was discontinued on April 28, 2016, and moved to Freeform with a new name: That's So Throwback.
  • Disney XD on Disney Channel – "Disney XD on Disney Channel" is the former branding of two blocks airing on Friday and Saturday nights; an animated block airing Fridays from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., showing series mainly exclusive to Disney XD such as Phineas and Ferb, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Milo Murphy's Law, and DuckTales, and a live-action block airing Saturdays from 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., airing series such as MECH-X4 and Walk the Prank. It was discontinued as Disney XD's carriage became equivalent to that of Disney Channel.