Disney Channel (originally "The Disney Channel" from 1983 to 1997) is an Australian satellite television channel that is owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group, a unit of the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly for all ages and Disney Junior shows aimed at children 3-9, its programming consists of original first-run television series, theatrically-released and original made-for-cable movies and select other third-party programming. The channel – which formerly operated as a premium service – originally marketed its programs towards families, and then at younger children by the late 1990s, although its viewing audience has diversified since the mid-2000s to include older teenagers and adults.

The channel is also the flagship property of Disney Channels Worldwide (currently run by President and Chief Creative Officer Gary Marsh), a group of more than 90 entertainment channels aimed at children and families that is available in over 160 countries and 30 languages (platform brands that are part of the unit, in addition to Disney Channel, include Disney XD, Disney Junior, Disney Cinemagic, Hungama TV and Radio Disney).

As of August 2013, Disney Channel is available to approximately 98,142,000 television households (85.94% of cable, satellite and telco customers) in Australia.^[2]

History

Conception (1977–1983)

In early 1977, Walt Disney Productions executive Jim Jimirro brought forth the idea of a cable television network that would feature television and film material from the studio.^[3] Since the company was focusing on the development of Walt Disney World's Epcot Center, Disney chairman Card Walker turned down the proposal.^[4][5] Disney tried again in 1982, entering into a partnership with the satellite unit of Group W (which had sold its 50% ownership stake in one of The Disney Channel's early rivals, Showtime, to Viacom around the same time); however, Group W would ultimately drop out of the intended joint venture in September of that year, due to disagreements over the channel's creative control and financial obligations that would have required Group W to pay a 50% share of the channel's start-up costs.^[5]

Despite losing Group W as a partner, The Disney Channel continued on with its development – now solely under the oversight of Walt Disney Productions, and under the leadership of the channel's first president Alan Wagner;^[6] Walt Disney Productions formally announced the launch of its family-oriented cable channel in early 1983. Disney later invested US$11 million to acquiring space on two transponders of the Hughes Communications satellite Galaxy 1, and spent US$20 million on purchasing and developing programming.^[5]

Launch and early years as a premium channel (1983–1997)

The Disney Channel launched nationally as a premium channel on April 18, 1983 at 7 a.m. ET.^[7] The first program ever aired on the channel was also its first original series Good Morning, Mickey!, which showcased classic Disney animated shorts.^[8] At the time of its launch, The Disney Channel's programming aired for 16 hours each day,^[6] from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT.^[7] During its first full year, the channel was available to more than 532,000 subscribers in the U.S.^[9] Its programming during the channel's run as a premium service – carrying through to its transition to a basic cable channel – had targeted children and teenagers during the daytime, families during primetime and adults at night. The Disney Channel differed from other premium services in that not only it acquired broadcast rights to theatrically feature films, but, in addition to producing its own original programs, the channel aired several television series that were acquired through corporate sister Buena Vista Television and other program distributors. In its first years, The Disney Channel's programming included original programs Welcome to Pooh Corner and You and Me Kid, along with several foreign-imported animated series and movies including Asterix, The Raccoons, Paddington Bear and the Australian western Five Mile Creek; the original late night schedule also featured reruns of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

The channel's daytime schedule during its existence as a pay service was populated primarily by series aimed at children, interspersed with a limited number of movies (usually a single daytime feature on weekdays, and two or three films on weekends), along with occasional live-action and animated specials for children. The nighttime schedule featured a mix of movies (recent and older family-oriented movies were shown in the early evenings, while classic films usually ran during the late evening and overnight hours) and original specials (primarily in the form of concerts, variety specials and documentaries). The short segment D-TV, featuring popular music interwoven with scenes from Disney's animated shorts and feature films, also periodically aired as filler between shows. Unlike other premium services, it opted not to disclose a film's Motion Picture Association of America rating the prior to the start of the feature.

The channel's primary logo (which was used until 1997) featured multiple lines resembling a TV screen that featured a negative space silhouette of Mickey Mouse's head; IDs shown before programs between 1986 and 1997 generally involved Mickey Mouse – whose arms are only shown – involved in various situations (such as having a nightmare in which the "Mickey Mouse TV" logo chases one of Mickey's gloves or Mickey making shadow figures on a flashlight-lit wall) that featured the logo being formed or displayed in various ways. The channel also provided a monthly (and later bi-monthly) program guide/magazine called The Disney Channel Magazine to its subscribers (the magazine also lent its name to a series of interstitials seen on the channel),^[7] until it ceased publication in early 1997 and was replaced by a magazine called Behind the Ears as the channel began primarily operating as a commercial-free basic channel.^[10] As a premium channel, The Disney Channel often ran free previews of five days to one week in length four times annually, as well as two periodic weekend-only previews (with ads targeted to those who were not subscribers); this resulted in The Disney Channel offering more preview events each calendar year during its tenure as a pay service than HBO, Cinemax and Showtime ran during that timeframe. In April 1984, the channel extended its daily programming to 18 hours (from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. ET/PT), with the addition of two hours onto its late night schedule.^[11] On December 1, 1986, The Disney Channel began broadcasting 24 hours a day.^[12]

Early in 1986, the musical sitcom Kids Incorporated premiered on the channel; the series was centered around 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 Disney Channel, spawning many future stars in both the music and acting worlds during its nine-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 (later a member of The Black Eyed Peas under the stage name "Fergie").

In 1988, Good Morning, Miss Bliss, a starring vehicle for Hayley Mills of Polyanna and The Parent Trap fame, made its debut. After being cancelled following a 13-episode run due to low ratings, the series was picked up by NBC in 1989, and retooled as Saved by the Bell, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies and Dennis Haskins as the only Miss Bliss actors carried over to the new show; the retooled series became a hit as part of NBC's Saturday morning lineup (producing two spinoffs in the process) and through worldwide syndication.

In early 1989, the channel revived one of Disney's early TV staples with The All-New Mickey Mouse Club (later known as simply MMC), becoming an immediate hit that proved Disney's basic variety show formula still worked in the modern era (unlike the short-lived 1970s revival). This version contained many elements seen in the original series from "theme days" to updated mouseketeer jackets, but the scripted and musical segments were more contemporary. MMC served as the launching pad for several future stars such as Christina Aguilera, JC Chasez, Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Keri Russell.

By 1989, The Disney Channel had about five million subscribers nationwide. In 1991, eight cable providers volunteered to move the channel to their expanded basic cable packages, with the first to make the transition (as a test run) being Jones Intercable's Fort Myers and Broward County, Florida systems.^[13][14] Other cable providers eventually began moving the channel to their basic tiers, either experimentally or on a full-time basis.^[14] Even as major providers such as Cox Communications and Marcus Cable began offering The Disney Channel on their basic tiers, executives for The Walt Disney Company denied plans to convert the channel into an ad-supported basic service, stating that the move from premium to basic cable on some systems was part of a five-year "hybrid" strategy that allowed providers to offer the channel in either form.^[15]

In 1991, The Disney Channel tested a two-channel multiplex service on two cable systems.^[16] By 1992, a third of the channel's subscriber base were estimated by Nielsen Media Research to be adults that did not have children;^[17] and by 1995, its subscriber base expanded to 15 million cable homes,^[18] eight million of which paid an additional monthly fee to receive the channel.^[19] In 1996, Anne Sweeney was appointed to oversee The Disney Channel, and the channel began offering a nightly primetime film.^[20]

Transition to basic cable (1997–2002)

On April 6, 1997, The Disney Channel underwent a significant rebranding, shortening its name to just "Disney Channel" – though on-air promos that ran until September 2002 typically referred to the channel simply as "Disney" – and introducing a new logo (a black Mickey ear-shaped TV, though the TV's patterning often varied, particularly by the early 2000s; early versions of the logo featured people and animated characters appearing within it such as a 1930s-era Mickey Mouse).^[21] The channel continued to transition from a premium service into a basic cable channel around this time, albeit with a similar programming format to the one it carried as a full-fledged pay channel; however, the channel began shifting its target audience more toward kids but continued to cater to family audiences at night,^[22] the channel decreased the amount of classic films it aired, and its music programming shifted towards the pre-teen and teenage demographic, incorporating music videos and revamping its concert specials to feature younger musicians popular with that target audience. Disney Channel initially continued to offer free preview events for pay television providers that continued to carry it as a premium service but discontinued them altogether within three years of the rebrand (Disney Channel would not complete its transition to a basic cable service until around 2004).^[23] Disney Channel also began to air break interruptions within shows, featuring promotions for the channel's programs, and feature film and home video releases from Disney.^[24]

The channel would eventually split itself into three programming blocks: amongst which were "Playhouse Disney" (comprising shows aimed at preschoolers) and "Vault Disney" (featuring classic Disney programs such as Zorro,^[25] The Mickey Mouse Club and the Walt Disney anthology television series, older television specials and feature films). "Zoog Disney" was introduced in August 1998 and became the channel's most distinct program block,^[26] the afternoon to late evening lineup was hosted by anthropomorphic robot-like characters called "Zoogs" (which were originally two-dimensional figures, but were given a cel shaded redesign and mature voices in 2001, before being phased out after less than a year) and was designed to encourage viewer interactivity between television and the internet. The Zoog Disney brand would later expand, with all weekend programming (outside of the Vault Disney and Playhouse Disney blocks) becoming part of the "Zoog Weekendz" umbrella block from September 2001 to August 2002.

Original programming on Disney Channel began to ramp up during this period starting with the sitcom Flash Forward, and would increase in the following years with shows like The Famous Jett Jackson and So Weird, into the early 2000s with Lizzie McGuire – whose star Hilary Duff became the first lead actor or actress in one of the channel's series to cross over into music through a record deal with co-owned Hollywood Records – and Even Stevens – which helped launch the career of its star Shia LaBeouf.

In 1999, Disney Channel began mandating that cable operators who continued to carry it as a premium service must move the channel to a basic cable tier or stop carrying it altogether, stipulating that it would not renew carriage agreements with providers (such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast, the last major cable providers to carry the channel as a pay service) that chose to continue carrying the network as a premium channel.^[27] With the shift towards children as its target audience, some off-network programs acquired by the channel during the early 2000s (such as Boy Meets World and later Sister, Sister) began to be edited for content deemed inappropriate like profanity and sexual references.

By 2001, Disney Channel was available to approximately 70 million cable and satellite subscribers, largely consisting of those who already received the channel through basic cable, as well as what remained of its pay subscriber base.^[28] The music videos and concert specials that the channel ran since the 1997 rebrand were dropped by this time, citing the inability to obtain revenue from the artists' CD sales and lack of exclusivity for the videos;^[29] the channel soon after began featuring music videos from artists signed to Disney's in-house record labels Hollywood Records and Walt Disney Records, and songs featured in Disney-produced feature films. The channel debuted The Proud Family as its first original animated series in 2001, though it achieved its first major animated series hit the following year with the premiere of Kim Possible.

Success and changing focus in the 2000s (2002–2007)

By 2002, Disney Channel was seen in 80 million cable homes nationwide.^[30] In early September of that year, Disney Channel began a gradual rebranding with the "Zoog" brand being discontinued from on-air use (though Zoog Disney would continue to exist as a separate website until 2003, when the site's content was consolidated onto Disney Channel's primary website, disneychannel.com).

On September 16, the Vault Disney block was replaced by same-day repeats of the channel's original and acquired programs, primarily to contribute to the network's then-upcoming "hip" image. The block's removal resulted in Disney Channel not featuring programs aimed at adults for the first time in its history – with the channel's primetime feature films becoming the only programs that intentionally targeted a broader family audience. As of 2013, Disney Channel is the only major American cable channel aimed at children that does not directly maintain a dual audience of both kids and adults (Nickelodeon, The Hub and Cartoon Network each feature nighttime programming for families and/or adults). Movies shown during primetime were also reduced from an average of two to three features to only one each night of the week.^[31] Its original programming phased out reality and scripted drama series, substantially increasing the channel's reliance on live-action sitcoms and animated series.

One month later on October 7, 2002, Disney Channel introduced a new on-air logo designed by CA Square (using an outline of Mickey Mouse's head as its centerpiece) that would later be adopted by its international sister channels in May 2003, and unveiled a new graphics design to fit the network's new look. Moreover, Disney Channel began using a series of bumpers that are still see around, primarily featuring actors and animated characters from its original programs (and occasionally from Disney's theatrical releases), drawing the Disney Channel logo using a glowstick. Playhouse Disney became the only program block introduced in 1997 to remain by this point (it was later relaunched as Disney Junior in February 2011). Around this time, Disney Channel's original series began airing as part of corporate sister ABC's Saturday morning children's program block.

Veteran cable executive Anne Sweeney became president of Disney-ABC Television Group in 2004, ultimately helping to remake Disney Channel into "the major profit driver in the company" by the middle of the decade^[32] as the channel made major inroads in increasing its overall viewership, while in turn using a strategy – that proved successful – to discover, nurture and aggressively cross-promote teen music stars whose style and image were carefully targeted to the pre-teen and teenage demographic.^[32] Around that time as Disney Channel's intended target audience began ranging from preschoolers to young adolescents, the channel began to quickly gain in popularity, and added viewers outside this target demographic, creating increased competition with Viacom-owned Nickelodeon.

In 2003, Disney Channel premiered its first ever made-for-cable movie musical, The Cheetah Girls, which received a worldwide audience of 84 million viewers. In 2005, That's So Raven (which debuted in 2003) became the channel's highest-rated series since its transition to basic cable as well as being the first original series to run longer than 65 episodes – breaking a highly controversial rule that was implemented in 1998, aimed at limiting increases in production costs for its original programming (the 65-episode rule is no longer enforced, although most series are now usually discontinued after their fourth season at maximum) – Raven eventually became the channel's longest-running original series at 100 episodes (until it was surpassed by Wizards of Waverly Place in October 2011) and became the first to spawn a spin-off series (Cory in the House). The Suite Life of Zack & Cody also debuted in 2005, becoming a hit for the channel. The earlier success of The Cheetah Girls led to the creation of other music-themed original programming as 2006 saw the debut of the hit original movie High School Musical and the series Hannah Montana, the latter of which launched the career of its star Miley Cyrus (who starred opposite her father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, 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 (which involved That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana).

Disney Channel today (2007–present)

In 2007, the channel began dropping most of its syndicated programs, and also began to incorporate rotating hour-long blocks of its original series and other programs during the daytime hours. It also moved first-run episodes of its original series on weekends from late afternoon to primetime. Two new series also premiered: the That's So Raven spin-off Cory in the House (which ended after two seasons) and the more successful Wizards of Waverly Place (which by the time it ended its run in January 2012 had beat the record previously held by That's So Raven to become Disney Channel's longest-running original series, with 106 episodes). High School Musical 2 premiered on August 17 of that year, becoming the highest-rated non-sports program in the history of basic cable and the highest-rated made-for-cable movie premiere on record (as well as the highest-rated television program – broadcast or cable – of Summer 2007) with 17.2 million viewers.^[33] 2008 saw the debut of Phineas and Ferb, the first original animated series to be broadcast in HD, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody spin-off, The Suite Life on Deck, along with two more music-based original made-for-TV movies: Camp Rock and The Cheetah Girls: One World. The Suite Life on Deck became the number one series among children between ages of 6- and 12-years-old in 2008.^[34]

Capitalizing on the rising star status of the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato following Camp Rock, 2009 saw the premieres of two series respectively starring both acts: JONAS and Sonny with a Chance (Lovato also starred in the original movie Princess Protection Program, which premiered that June). The August debut of the original film Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie became the highest-rated cable program of 2009 (excluding sporting events), premiering to 11.4 million viewers and becoming the second highest-rated original movie premiere in Disney Channel's history. The July 17 premiere of the Wizards/Suite Life on Deck/Hannah Montana crossover special Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana also beat out its cable and broadcast competition that night with 9.1 million viewers (effectively making the Wizards and On Deck episodes featured in the special the highest-rated episodes of all three series at that point).

In 2010, Good Luck Charlie debuted as Disney Channel's first original sitcom targeted at family audiences, while Fish Hooks and Shake It Up also made their premieres. That year also saw the premiere of Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam among the four original movies premiering that year, along with two made-for-TV movies that were co-produced with Canadian specialty channels (Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars, in conjunction with Movie Central and The Movie Network; and 16 Wishes, with Family Channel). On November 19, 2010, Disney Channel began offering an alternate Spanish-language audio feed (carried either as a separate second audio program track or sold by cable and satellite providers in the form of a separate channel that is part of a Spanish-language programming package). Hannah Montana and The Suite Life on Deck both ended in 2011; Sonny with a Chance, meanwhile, was retooled as So Random! – focusing on the show within the show – after Demi Lovato decided not to return to the series to focus on her music career, following her treatment for bulimia and bipolar disorder (the So Random! spin-off series was canceled after one season in May 2012).^[35] Four other series (A.N.T. Farm, PrankStars, Jessie and Austin & Ally) also debuted that year, along with six made for-TV movies (including The Suite Life Movie, Lemonade Mouth and Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension).

2012 saw Disney Channel end Nickelodeon's 17-year run as the highest-rated cable channel in the United States, with its first ever win in total day cable network viewership as measured by ACNielsen.^[36] In June of that year, The Walt Disney Company announced that it would stop advertising or promoting food or beverage products that do not meet strict nutritional guidelines on Disney Channel or its other media properties aimed at children by 2015, purportedly becoming the first media company to take such a stance on stopping the marketing of junk food products to kids.^[37]

On July 1, 2012, Disney Channel began providing Descriptive Video Service audio as part of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 that required stations in the 25 largest media markets aligned with the major broadcast networks as well as the five highest-rated cable and satellite channels (including Disney Channel) to offer audio descriptions for the blindt.^[38][39] On July 14, 2012, Disney Channel announced its first television collaboration with Marvel Entertainment (which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2009), in the form of a crossover special that aired on August 23, 2013 called Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel featuring characters from Phineas and Ferb and the Marvel Universe.^[40] In January 2013, Disney launched the Disney Shows channel on YouTube, featuring free episodes of Disney Channel and Disney XD series past and present, as well as original shorts seen on both channels.^[41]

On 9 August, 2013, the original movie Teen Beach Movie premiered, with no other films preceding it or succeeding it that year, making it the first time that Disney Channel has premiered only one film during a calendar year (although the last time the channel premiered only one made-for-cable film during a calendar year was in 1992, when its original films were branded under the "Disney Channel Premiere Films" banner, with the premiere of Still Not Quite Human).

Programming

Disney Channel's schedule currently consists largely of original series aimed at pre-teens and young teenagers (including animated series such as Phineas and Ferb, Fish Hooks, Gravity Falls, and Wander Over Yonder, to live-action series such as Good Luck Charlie, Shake It Up, Dog With a Blog, A.N.T. Farm, Liv and Maddie, Jessie and Austin & Ally) The channel also airs repeats of former Disney Channel original series (such as The Suite Life on Deck and Wizards of Waverly Place), occasional reruns of Disney XD original series (such as Kickin' It, Lab Rats and Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil), original made-for-TV movies, feature films, short-form programs known as "short shows" (which air more commonly on the Disney Junior block) and music videos from artists signed to sister companies Hollywood Records and Walt Disney Records as well as songs featured in recent and upcoming Disney feature film releases (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 operates as an essentially commercial-free channel, opting not to feature traditional commercial advertisements during its in-show breaks due to concerns that younger viewers may be unable to separate the difference between programs and advertisements, and in order to pay a lower license fee rate to broadcast feature films distributed by major movie studios than ad-supported channels would pay – in lieu of running commercials, Disney Channel maintains underwriter sponsorships with major companies such as Best Western and Mattel, in addition to in-house promotions for Disney Channel's programs (and occasionally, programs seen on other Disney-owned channels) and releases for Disney entertainment products.^[24]

Atypical of most Australian cable channels, since 2006, Disney Channel's scripted programs feature additional scenes played over the closing credits. It also has an unwritten requirement that its original live-action series no more than six regular cast members (So Weird was the last series prior to 2003 to have more than six series regulars within its cast, only Shake It Up has featured more than that since that point with its second season having seven cast members on contract with the show). The channel's series tend to have smaller writing staffs compared to scripted series seen on other broadcast and cable networks (usually featuring around 4 and 8 credited staff writers, instead of the 8 to 11 writers commonly found on most scripted shows). Its live-action multi-camera series also commonly utilize a simulated film look (the FilmLook processing for such shows debuting between 2003 and 2008; the HD-compatible 'filmizing' technique for all newer and returning original series produced after 2009, which reduce the video frame rate to 24 frames per second). During the 1980s and 1990s, Disney Channel ran classic Disney animated shorts released between the 1930s and 1960s, which were removed from the lineup in 2000; since 2009, repackaged versions of these shorts are seen as part of the short series ReMicks and have a laugh!. The channel later debuted Mickey Mouse, a series of original shorts featuring the classic Disney animated characters including the animated character of the same name on June 28, 2013.

Movie library

Disney Channel often broadcasts a movie most nights during the week and occasionally airs films during the daytime hours, but these may not necessarily be a theatrically released film. The channel produces original made-for-cable movies called Disney Channel Original Movies (or DCOMs), which are frequently broadcast during prime time hours; family-oriented made-for-television movies began airing on the Disney Channel in October 1983 under the brand Disney Channel Premiere Films with the premiere of Tiger Town, the DCOM slate began with the August 1997 premiere of Northern Lights. After that point, the number of DCOMs that debuted each year began to increase – from two in 1997 to a high of twelve in 2000, when the network premiered a new original movie each month during that year, before decreasing the current rate of roughly four to six premieres each year. Disney Channel previously ran double airings of its original movies on the night of their premiere (until the January 2006 premiere of High School Musical), though encore presentations of said films occasionally still air on the Saturday or Sunday of the initial debut weekend with few exceptions (Camp Rock was the first film not to be encored in this manner). "Special edition" airings of its higher-profile original movies are also sometimes aired, including sing-along versions of music-based films (featuring lyrics displayed on-screen for viewers to sing along with the film's songs) and "What's What" editions (styled similarly to Pop-Up Video, featuring on-screen pop up facts about the movie and its stars).

High School Musical 2 is currently the most successful DCOM in terms of popularity and accolades, setting a basic cable record for the single most-viewed television program, as its August 2007 debut was watched by 17.2 million (counting sports, this record stood until a December 3, 2007 New England Patriots-Baltimore Ravens game telecast on corporate sibling ESPN's Monday Night Football was watched by 17.5 million viewers). The Cheetah Girls films were also notably successful in terms of merchandise, and sales for its concert tour and soundtrack albums. The first film was the first TV movie musical in Disney Channel's history, and had a worldwide audience of over 84 million viewers. The second movie was the most successful of the series, bringing in 8.1 million viewers in the U.S. An 86-date concert tour featuring the group was ranked as one of the top 10 concert tours of 2006; the tour broke a record at the Houston Rodeo that was set by Elvis Presley in 1973, selling out with 73,500 tickets sold in three minutes.

In addition to its made-for-cable films, Disney Channel has rights to theatrically released feature films, with some film rights shared with sister network ABC Family. Along with films released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the channel also has rights to films from other studios including Warner Bros. Entertainment, Universal Pictures, The Weinstein Company, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lions Gate Entertainment, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures. Some films released by Bagdasarian Productions (such as The Chipmunk Adventure and Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein) have also aired on Disney Channel, although most of them are not presently owned by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Films made up roughly half of Disney Channel's daily schedule between 1986 and 1998; the number of movies broadcast on the channel have steadily eroded since then, to the point that films now only air Monday through Thursdays in primetime on an inconsistent basis (with episodes of its original series airing on nights when a film is not scheduled), and regularly on weekend late nights. Except for some holiday-themed movies, many Disney Channel Original Movies made from 1997 to 2005 have seldom aired on the channel in recent years; these older original movies began airing again in January 2009, as part of a late night block on Fridays and Saturdays (a Sunday block was later added in June 2010, with these late movie presentations being moved from 3 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. ET/PT – and sometimes airing without breaks – the following month). Cadet Kelly, Camp Rock and Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior are currently the only Disney Channel Original Movies to have aired on a network outside of the Disney Channel brand domestically (the latter two have aired on sister channel ABC Family, while Cadet Kelly and Camp Rock have also been broadcast on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney).

On September 13, 2010, Disney Channel began airing theatrical film releases in a 4:3 letterbox format on the channel's primary standard definition feed, airing them in the widescreen-style format as they are broadcast on the HD feed; although theatrical movies shot with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 or 2.40:1 are panned and scanned to fit high-definition sets to eliminate screen burn-in on plasma displays. Partly due to the network advertising mainly its own programs in lieu of traditional advertising, films featured on Disney Channel often run short of their allotted time slot with interstitial programming airing to pad out the remainer of the time period (usually an episode of an original series if a film runs approximately 90 to 100 minutes, an 11-minute-long episode of an original animated series for films running 105 minutes or a mix of music videos, network promotions and short segments for films running longer than 105 minutes).

Programming blocks

Current

• Disney XD on Disney Channel – "Disney XD on Disney Channel" is a block showcasing original programs from sister network Disney XD.

Seasonal programming blocks

• Disney Channel Summer – The network runs summer programming blocks every year with differing themes. Since 2011, Disney Channel has branded its summer programming lineup as "Disney Channel Summer". 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.
• October/Halloween – In October, Disney Channel airs Halloween-themed programming in an annual event, titled "Monstober", a brand used in 2011, 2012 and 2013.^[42] Halloween films such as the Halloweentown series have premiered in this month, along with Twitches, Twitches Too, The Scream Team, Mostly Ghostly, Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, Avalon High, and Girl vs. Monster, along with Halloween episodes of the network's original series.
• December/Christmas – The network's December schedule usually focuses on Christmas programming, with the title of the branding changing every year. Since 2011, Disney Channel has branded its holiday season programming lineup as "Fa-la-la-lidays". Christmas films such as the The Christmas Visitor, The Ultimate Christmas Present, 'Twas the Night, Beethoven's Christmas Adventure, and Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! have premiered in this month, along with Christmas episodes of the network's original series such as Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation. A Christmas in July week with encores of Christmas-themed programming is featured in that summer month.
• New Year's Eve – A New Year's Eve tradition going back to the Zoog Disney days in 2000, the network airs a marathon into the early morning of New Year's Day featuring programs, films and moments selected by viewer vote on disneychannel.com, followed by an original series marathon on New Year's Day (no such event occurred in 2011, due to New Year's Eve falling on a Saturday that year). This sometimes leads into a month-long lineup of new episodes of the channel's original programs that air each weekend during that month.

Former

• Disney Nighttime – As a premium channel from 1983 to 1997, The Disney Channel featured programming aimed at adult audiences during the evening and overnight hours under the banner title "Disney Nighttime". Unlike the nighttime content aired on the channel's then-competitors (such as HBO and Showtime) at the time of its launch, the "adult" programming featured on The Disney Channel was largely devoid of any overt sexual and violent content. Programming seen during Disney Nighttime included older feature films (similar to those seen at the time on American Movie Classics, and eventually Turner Classic Movies, with both Disney film titles and movies from other film studios mixed in), along with original concert specials (featuring artists ranging from Rick Springfield to Jon Secada to Elton John), variety specials and documentaries.
• Disney Channel Discovery – "Disney Channel Discovery", which aired on certain Saturdays at 7 p.m. ET from 1988 to 1993, showcased family-oriented feature films not previously seen on television or in wide theatrical release.
• Mystery Night – "Mystery Night", which ran from 1988 to 1993, focused on mystery films from the 1930s to the 1960s.
• The Best of Hollywood – "The Best of Hollywood", which ran from 1988 to 1995, showcased feature film classics from the 1930s to the 1960s.
• Sunday Night Showcase – "Sunday Night Showcase", which ran each from 1988 to 1995, featured various music, variety, comedy and documentary specials.
• The Magical World of Disney – The Magical World of Disney was used as a Sunday night umbrella for movies and specials on The Disney Channel starting in 1990, originally airing exclusively on Sunday evenings. From the channel's first major on-air rebrand in 1997 until 1999, The Magical World of Disney became the de facto branding for Disney Channel's nightly films.
• Toonin' Tuesday – From 1992 to 1997, The Disney Channel ran a weekly program block called "Toonin' Tuesday", which featured various animated programs. Toonin' Tuesday primarily featured animated films and specials (though reruns of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show sometimes aired as part of the block).
• Totally Kids Only – "Totally Kids Only" (or "TKO" for short) was a weekday morning program lineup of live-action and animated series, which became the brand for the channel's block aimed at children 2 to 8 years old from 1993 to 1997.
• Triple Feature Friday – "Triple Feature Friday", which ran each Friday starting from 1994 to 1997, featured three different films – sometimes regardless of each film's genre – that were tied to a specific subject.
• Block Party – From October 2, 1995 to late-August of 1996, four animated series that previously aired in syndication on The Disney Afternoon (Darkwing Duck, TaleSpin, DuckTales and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers) were rerun on The Disney Channel together as a two-hour programming block called "Block Party" which aired on weekdays.^[43] The "Block Party" branding was removed from the block on September 3, 1996, when Darkwing Duck was dropped as the lineup's lead-in and Goof Troop was added to end the lineup.^[44][45] This unnamed block continued to air into 1997.
• Playhouse Disney – "Playhouse Disney" was a morning program block aimed at preschoolers that debuted on May 8, 1997, replacing the mixture of shows targeted at preschoolers and shows aimed at older children that aired as part of Disney Channel's morning lineup. The block was discontinued on February 13, 2011 and replaced by Disney Junior.
• Disney Distractions – "Disney Distractions" was the banner name for Disney Channel's weekend afternoon movie block from 1997 to 2000, which ran Saturdays and Sundays which aired as a double feature of family-oriented films.
• Vault Disney – Disney Nighttime was replaced by "Vault Disney" in September 1997, five months after 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. The classic programming changed to feature only Disney-produced television series and specials (such as Zorro, Spin and Marty, The Mickey Mouse Club and the Walt Disney anthology television series),^[25] 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 classic 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. This block was discontinued in September 2002, in favor of running reruns of the channel's original and acquired series during the late evening and overnight hours.
• 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 were given human voices (some of whom acted 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, however the ticker has been all but completely dropped as of May 2010).^[26] The Zoogs were redesigned with cel shading and given mature voices in 2001, though the remade Zoog characters were discontinued after less than a year; the entire Zoog Disney block was phased out by September 2002. From September 2001 to August 2002, the afternoon and primetime lineups on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays were branded under the umbrella title "Zoog Weekendz".
• Toon Disney Summer Sundays – "Toon Disney Summer Sundays", which ran on Sunday evenings during the summers of 1998 and 1999, was a hosted sneak preview block of animated series (generally featuring defunct 1990s animated series previously seen in syndication and/or on Disney Channel) carried on Disney Channel's then-recently launched sister digital cable and satellite network, Toon Disney.

Related services

Current sister channels

Disney Junior

On May 26, 2010, Disney-ABC Television Group announced the launch of a new digital cable and satellite channel targeted at preschool-aged children called Disney Junior, which debuted on March 23, 2012. The Disney Junior channel – which like Disney Channel (though unlike Disney XD or the channel Disney Junior replaced, Soapnet), is commercial-free – competes with other preschooler-skewing cable channels such as Nick Jr., qubo and Sprout.^[46] The channel features programs from Disney Channel's existing preschool programming library and films from the Walt Disney Pictures film library. Disney Junior took over the channel space held by Soapnet – a Disney-owned cable channel featuring soap operas – due to the soap opera genre's decline in popularity 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 the genre. An automated Soapnet feed continues to exist, though, for providers that have not yet made carriage agreements for Disney Junior (such as Dish Network) and those that have kept Soapnet as part of their lineups while adding Disney Junior as an additional channel (such as DirecTV and Cox Communications);^[47][48] Soapnet will cease operations completely on December 31, 2013.^[49]

Former sister channels

The former Playhouse Disney was rebranded as Disney Junior on February 14, 2011, with the 22 existing Playhouse Disney-branded cable channels and program blocks outside Australia having since rebranded under the Disney Junior name.^[50] Disney-ABC Television Group previously planned to launch a domestic Playhouse Disney Channel in the U.S. (which would have served the same target audience as Disney Junior) in 2001,^[51]

Other services

• Disney Channel HD – Disney Channel HD is a high definition simulcast feed of Disney Channel that broadcasts in the 720p resolution format; the feed first began broadcasting on March 19, 2008. Most of the channel's original programming since 2009 is produced and broadcast in HD, along with feature films, Disney Channel original movies made after 2005 and select episodes, films and series produced before 2009. Disney XD and Disney Junior also offer their own high-definition simulcast feeds.
• Disney Channel On Demand – Disney Channel On Demand is the channel's video-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.
• Disney Family Movies – Disney Family Movies is a subscription video-on-demand service that launched on December 10, 2008. The service offers a selection of movies and short films from the Walt Disney Pictures film catalog for a fee of about $5–10 per month, making it similar in structure to Disney Channel's original model as a premium service.^[52][53]
• WATCH Disney Channel – WATCH Disney Channel is a website for desktop computers, as well as an application for smartphones and tablet computers that allows subscribers of participating cable and satellite providers (such as Comcast Xfinity and Cox Communications) to watch live streams of Disney Channel's programming on computers and mobile devices via their TV Everywhere login provided by their cable provider; the service is also available through Apple TV. Individual episodes of the channel's series (which are also available to non-Disney Channel subscribers on a limited basis), along with additional content such as behind-the-scenes features also are available.

Criticism and controversies

Disney Channel has received large criticism for its current programming direction. Critics disapprove of the marketing strategy made by Anne Sweeney, the President of ABC-Disney Television Group,^[54] which results in a slant in the target audience of Disney Channel's programs toward pre-teen and teenage girls.^[55] Sweeney had once stated that Disney Channel, resulting from its multi-platform marketing strategy using television and music, would become "the major profit driver for the (Walt Disney) Company."^[56]

Most viewers who grew up watching Disney Channel's family-targeted shows during its run as a premium/hybrid premium-basic service have also complained about a perceived decline in quality in its programming since the early 2000s, a lack of programming content dedicated to Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, and sexist humor against boys. It has also been criticized contradictorily for a perceived incorporation of some sexual content (in a manner mildly similar to that found on some original scripted programs on competitor Nickelodeon, that still avoids violating the channel's content guidelines), and for being too strict in regards to program content (with its editing and occasional removal of episodes of select acquired programs that ran between 1997 and 2007 due to subject matter and some profanity considered inappropriate for children as well as sporadic edits of minced oaths that are otherwise acceptable under its guidelines and placement of non-Disney products among viewer complaints regarding this).

The channel has also pulled episodes (even once having to reshoot an episode) that featured subject matter either deemed inappropriate due to its humour, the timing of the episode's airing with real-life events or subject matter considered inappropriate for Disney Channel's target audience. In December 2008, the Hannah Montana episode "No Sugar, Sugar" was pulled before its broadcast after complaints from parents who saw the episode through video on demand services due to misconceptions regarding diabetics and sugar intake (the Mitchel Musso character of Oliver Oken is revealed in the episode to have been diagnosed with Type I diabetes). Portions of that episode were subsequently rewritten and re-filmed to become the season three episode "Uptight (Oliver's Alright)", which aired 10 months later in September 2009.^[57] In December 2011, Disney Channel pulled episodes of two of its original series from the network's broadcast cycle – the season one Shake It Up episode "Party It Up", and the So Random! episode "Colbie Caillat" – after Demi Lovato (star of So Random! parent series Sonny with a Chance, who was treated for bulimia in 2010) objected on Twitter to jokes featured in both episodes (the Shake It Up episode, in particular) that made light of eating disorders.^{[58][59][60][61]} On May 17, 2013, the channel pulled a second season episode of Jessie titled "Quitting Cold Koala" prior to its scheduled broadcast, due to parental concerns over a scene in which a character's gluten-free diet leads to him being ridiculed.^[62]

Merchandising

Video games

In 2011, Disney Channel characters were featured in a four-player mascot party game, where the stages resemble board games called Disney Channel All Star Party for the Wii. Several videogames based on the Disney Channel cartoon series Phineas and Ferb were released by Disney Interactive Studios. The Disney Channel website also features various flash games incorporating characters from the channel's various franchises.

International

Disney Channel has established its channels in various countries worldwide including South Africa, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Scandinavia, the Baltic states, United Kingdom, Ireland, Caribbean, the Netherlands, Israel and Flanders. Disney Channel also licenses its programming to air on certain other broadcast and cable channels outside the United States (such as Family Channel in Canada), regardless as to whether an international version of Disney Channel exists in the country.

See also

• DisneyChannel.com
• Disney XD
• Disney Junior
• Disney Cinemagic
• ABC Family
• Jetix
• Jetix Play
• Family Channel

References

Bibliography

• Flower, Joe (1991). Prince of the Magic Kingdom: Michael Eisner and the Re-Making of Disney. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-52465-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Grover, Ron (1991). The Disney Touch: How a Daring Management Team Revived an Entertainment Empire. Business One Irwin. ISBN 1-55623-385-X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Official website
• Disney Channel International
• ABC Cable Networks Group page
• Disney Channel on Facebook
• Disney Channel on Twitter
• Disney Channel's channel on YouTube