The Disney Channel is a cable TV network run by The Walt Disney Company in the United States that went on the air on April 18, 1983. Disney Channel features family-oriented programming, much of it aimed at pre-teens and younger adolescents. Most Disney Channel programming, surprisingly, does not feature the "classic" Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy, but they are not completely absent, either. For several years, the vintage Disney television shows and movies were the main staple of the channel, but they have gradually been phased out.
For several years, the channel also showcased programs for adults, such as concerts, classic movies, and original series such as the US-Canadian co-production Road to Avonlea.
The only actual spinoff of Disney Channel is Toon Disney, which features cartoons either created or distributed by Disney. The ABC Family Channel (originally CBN and later The Family Channel and later FOX Family, founded in 1976 by Pat Robertson), is now owned by Disney and also features some programming similar to the Disney Channel.
Today's Disney Channel includes such shows as Lizzie McGuire, Boy Meets World, The Proud Family, Sister, Sister, The Famous Jett Jackson, Even Stevens, and Kim Possible.
The channel received a special citation from US President Ronald Reagan in 1984, who, coincidentally, was present at the opening of Disneyland.
| Table of contents |
A British version of the Disney Channel was originally scheduled to launch in 1989 as part of the Sky Television package, but due to an apparent dispute the launch was cancelled, and it was not until the 1990s that it finally went on air.
During the same decade the Disney Channel expanded its operations to Africa and by 2000 to much of Asia.
The Disney Channel has been broadcast in Australia by OptusVision, Foxtel and Austar since the late 1990s.
In 2003 the Disney Channel started broadcasting in Scandinavia via Viasat. The Scandinavian edition broadcasts three different soundtracks with Swedish, Danish and Norwegian dubbing. At first the Disney Channel was exlusively provided by Viasat, but after som month other companys startad distributing the channel. In Sweden, the Disney Channel can be watched trough cable via com hem, through satellite via Viasat and in the terrestrial network via Boxer.