verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . june 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message radio disney type radio network country united states availability national through broadcast stations satellite radio and iheartradio slogan your music your way headquarters burbank california united states parent disney channels worldwide disney abc television group disney media networks the walt disney company launch date november 18 1996 ; 19 years ago 1996 11 18 affiliates see list official website radio.disney.com radio disney also known as radio disney networks 1 corporate name radio disney inc. 2 is an american radio network that is owned by disney channels worldwide inc. a subsidiary of disney abc television group a primary component of the walt disney company s disney media networks segment . radio disney networks broadcasts three separated digital channels radio disney radio disney country and radio disney junior via radio station s hd channel or by online stream sites . the original radio disney network play music and other content aimed at preteens and young teenagers ; it can be described as a youth targeted contemporary hit radio format with heavy emphasis on teen idols . recently radio disney has become a mainstream top 40 indicator reporter on nielsen bds eventually being upgraded to monitored status with nielsen bds . radio disney is also a monitored reporter on the mediabase 24 7 top 40 panel . citation needed the network is headquartered in burbank california . radio disney is formatted like a traditional radio station featuring prize giveaways in which listeners can enter via telephone the internet and since 2008 text messaging and occasional in studio interviews called takeovers which usually occur during the weekday late afternoon timeslot . for many years radio disney affiliated with stations in markets of varying size mainly large and mid sized markets ; however since the early 2010s it has started to withdraw from areas located outside of the 25 largest radio markets owing to those listeners tuning in via either their website or mobile phone tablet applications along with the low adoption rate of hd radio which many radio disney stations have on their am signals to match fm audio quality . on august 13 2014 disney announced that it would sell its remaining radio disney stations with the exception of kdis in los angeles . disney announced that it would begin to syndicate radio disney through affiliations with hd radio subchannels . 3 contents 1 background 2 history 2.1 abc radio networks 2.2 disney channels worldwide 2.3 digital networks 3 programming 3.1 list of programs broadcast by radio disney 3.1.1 current programs 3.1.2 former programs 3.2 serial radio 3.3 features and contests 3.3.1 current features 3.3.2 former features 4 radio disney music awards 5 djs 6 radio disney world tours 7 stations 8 albums 9 international 9.1 latin america 9.2 europe 10 see also 11 references 12 external links background edit disney had for a long time be involved in the music business building off its success in movies and tv shows which later became disney music group . however with radio disney was not committed to the medium only doing a few shows . radio disney is disney s third foray into radio . in late 1955 walt disney started the magic kingdom radio show running monday through fridays and which was heard on abc radio . 4 even before the 1996 disney cc abc merger disney and abc radio considered as early as 1992 planned for a children s radio network but dropped the idea . 5 starting on july 31 1994 disney started a weekend radio show live from walt disney world that originated from both disney world and disneyland on radio aahs . 5 6 in november 1995 abc radio networks and children s broadcast corp. reached an agreement for abc radio to provide marketing and sales to radio aahs . after disney s acquisition of cc abc disney had abc radio cancel the agreement in august 1996 plus announced the start of its own children s network and ended aahs s disney world broadcasting rights . 7 history edit abc radio networks edit radio disney was test launched in november 1996 in four markets minneapolis atlanta salt lake city and birmingham ala. by abc radio networks . on august 26 1997 radio disney was launched in los angeles on ktzn am 710 . 8 a nationwide roll out occurred in 1998 with 28 stations affiliating by august 1998 with an expected 63 stations by the end of 1999 . radio disney purchased kaam am plano texas for 12 million and switched the station to the network in july . 9 in 1998 the network was based out of its dallas station . 10 radio disney family pledge because my family matters i promise to spend at least one hour each week with my family participating in fun things that draw us together and celebrate what makes us unique . radio world 11 other than music the network in 1998 had mickey & minnie s tune time a 2 hour weekday toddler program and two 60 second features per hour which included contests abc news for kids gross me out a gross facts . 9 the network ran its radio disney project family initiative from july 1 to september 15 2003 with family themed programming and events to get family to sign on to the radio disney family pledge . 11 former radio disney logo used from 2001 2007 . radio disney began being carried by siriusxm in 2002 . 3 disney entered a joint venture to launch capital disney digital radio channel in britain and operated from 2002 until june 29 2007 . 12 in 2004 disney paid the former children s broadcasting corporation which operated fellow children s radio network radio aahs 12.4 million in a lawsuit settlement . 13 2006 marked the network s 10th anniversary ; radio disney rebroadcast its first hour of programming from november 18 1996 on june 6 2006 at around 4 58 p.m. et on stations in select markets such as wqew . citation needed also as part of the 10th anniversary radio disney held the totally 10 birthday concert on july 22 2006 at the arrowhead pond in anaheim california . 14 it also included a simultaneous live webcast on the radio disney website . a second concert was held in dallas texas on november 18 2006 at the dallas convention center . 15 disney spun off and merged on june 12 2007 its abc radio networks with citadel broadcasting into citadel communications while retaining its espn radio and radio disney networks and stations . 16 17 disney channels worldwide edit former radio disney logo used from 2008 2010 . operational duties of radio disney were transferred to the company s disney abc cable networks group currently d.b.a. disney channels worldwide which otherwise operates disney s cable television properties except for espn . citation needed in march 2008 radio disney and gracenotes signed a licensing agreement starting immediately that allow the lyrics be seen along with the song online on radio disney internet radio player . 18 the channel began streaming live on itunes radio tuner in august 2008 . 19 in november 2008 radio disney relocated its main operations from dallas to los angeles . 10 the network launched on october 8 2008 the next big thing feature which allows listeners vote on young unsigned artists songs to be played . 20 in 2013 the radio disney music awards began airing on the disney channel . 21 on february 14 2011 a radio disney junior block launched in tandem with disney junior on disney block . the hour long block focus on music for the preschool age plus fun audio theater with disney junior characters . 22 radio disney started to reduce it station footprint to the larger markets to make the network more profitable . in january 2010 radio disney requested permission from the fcc to silence five of its owned and operated stations along with a sixth station operating under a local marketing agreement with another company while the stations were being sold . 23 disney sold six am stations and one fm station that year . 3 in june 2013 disney announced the sale of seven owned and operated stations in medium sized markets in order to refocus radio disney s broadcast distribution on the top 25 radio markets . 24 digital networks edit on april 10 2014 it was announced that radio disney s top 30 countdown would become a syndicated radio show distributed by rick dees dees entertainment . 25 aha radio slacker and showmobile signed online carriage agreements with the network in mid 2014 . 3 on august 13 2014 radio disney s general manager phil guerini announced plans to sell all but one of its remaining owned and operated stations on or before september 26 2014 in order to focus more on the network s programming co branded events and digital outlets . listenership reports indicated that the majority of radio disney s audience listened to the network via satellite radio and other digital platforms and only 18 % via terrestrial am fm radio . kdis remains operational to serve as the originating station for the radio disney network . 3 26 while the remaining stations would continue carrying radio disney programming until their respective sales were completed . 27 the last five radio disney owned and operated stations for sale were sold on september 15 2015 to salem media group who was the largest purchaser of the stations for 2.225 million . 28 29 on april 13 2015 disney announced that the radio disney network would become syndicated through affiliations with hd radio subchannels ; the network will be distributed by ibiquity with ad sales handled by its hd radio digital network unit . a network representative that the move was intended to target families as in car listeners . 30 on august 6 2015 radio disney was made available for listening on iheartradio platform . 31 32 radio disney launched a digital also spin off channel known as radio disney country on november 4 2015 . the channel primarily airs country music with a wide focus on new and old material from popular artists pop songs featuring country acts and newer material . guerini explained that the format of the channel was meant to allow it to draw from a wider range of songs than traditional country radio stations owing to the format s embrace of rock and pop oriented songs . 33 by november 2015 radio disney networks launched radio disney junior channel digitally via the watch disney junior app slacker radio curated playlist and on iheartradio . radio disney jr. consists only of eight hours of programming . on iheartradio the alli simpson show was also given its own stream on november 11 . 34 programming edit radio disney plays a large selection of songs from stars and programs on disney channel along with popular songs from mainstream pop and r & b artists that are found on conventional radio stations . the network airs edited versions of some top 40 songs which remove profanity and any other suggestive content to make them appropriate for younger listeners . the specialized radio format favors music which often takes on a sound reminiscent of bubblegum pop of the 1960s and 70s . list of programs broadcast by radio disney edit current programs edit maddy and chase s summer break hosted by maddy coghlan and chase rosenberg . saturday night party airing on saturday nights and hosted by alex angelo the program features dance music including remixes of popular songs . the radio disney top 3 the radio disney top 3 airs nightly at 8 30 p.m. eastern time as of 2013 the countdown had originally been broadcast at