Disney Channel: Difference between revisions

Established in 1983 -- a1983—a time when the Walt Disney Company seemed to be on its last legs, just before the arrival of Michael Eisner and company -- itcompany—it initially served as an outlet for the company's old theatrical shorts, movies, and television shows, a source of documentary shows about [[Disney Theme Parks]] and films, and a dumping ground for productions Disney had little faith in. Similar to Nickelodeon's early years, it [[wikipedia:Disney channel#Disney Channel: The Beginning .281983-1997.29|didn't air around the clock]] until the "Disney After Dark" block, with PG programming for adults (including ''Going Home'', a series of concert specials featuring mostly baby boomer-era acts, and ''[[A Prairie Home Companion]]''), was added. The channel also featured a colorful variety of family-oriented movies and series from other companies and countries, especially Canada (the ''Anne of Green Gables'' films were popular enough that they led to the successful spinoff series ''Avonlea'' in [[The Nineties]]). Many [[The Eighties|Eighties kids]] feel very nostalgic for these early days, which included ''[[Dot and The Kangaroo]]'' and its sequels, the ''Unico'' anime films, and the later seasons of ''[[Kids Incorporated]]'', all accompanied by colorful, often stop-motion [[Ad Bumpers]] (but without the ads).

In the early '90's, when the company and the channel started getting treated with more respect, shows such as ''The New Mickey Mouse Club'', the aforementioned ''Avonlea'', ''Flash Forward'' (a launching pad for [[Ben Foster]] and [[Jewel Staite]]), ''In A Heartbeat'' and ''[[The Famous Jett Jackson]]'' helped the channel improve. However, it eternally lagged behind the wildly popular [[Nickelodeon]], in part because it was a pay cable service like HBO. It subsequently moved to basic cable and developed a unique format -- insteadformat—instead of commecial breaks, pauses in programming are filled with promotions for other shows, Disney films and other Disney products like CDs and their sister radio network, Radio Disney, which are often their own promotional mini-shows. In addition, the adult-oriented lineup was replaced with "Vault Disney", a programming block that featured the vintage Disney shows that had been the channel's lifeblood for so long.

The Playhouse Disney preschool-oriented morning block was a staple of the network for many years and underwent a number of shifts. On Valentine's Day, 2011 it was rebranded as Disney Junior (a website and a [[YouTube]] channel have been created) and in March 2012 it became a full 24-hour-network in the U.S., replacing SOAPNet -- aSOAPNet—a very controversial move among [[Soap Opera]] fans. Some carriers are continued to provide an automated version of SOAPNet alongside Disney Junior until carriage agreements have been workedout. Playhouse Disney already existed as an independent network in many non-U.S. markets and have been rebranded as Disney Junior as well.

=== Also, at least six [[The Disney Afternoon]] series which were made for syndication were "previewed" on The [[Disney Channel]] ===

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