countries see disney channels worldwide . disney channel launched april 18 1983 ; 33 years ago 1983 04 18 owned by disney channels worldwide disney abc television group the walt disney company picture format 480i sdtv 720p hdtv country united states language english broadcast area nationwide international headquarters burbank california u.s. formerly called the disney channel 1983 1997 sister channel s disney junior disney xd disney cinemagic dlife espn freeform abc timeshift service disney channel east disney channel west website disneychannel.disney.com availability satellite directv 290 east ; hd sd 291 west ; sd only 1290 vod dish network 172 east ; hd sd 173 west ; sd only c band galaxy 14 channel 107 h2h 4dtv galaxy 15 channel 7 4dtv digital cable available on most other u.s. cable systems consult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability time warner cable 102 sd 1102 hd iptv verizon fios 780 hd 250 sd at & t u verse 1303 hd 302 east ; sd 303 west ; sd only google fiber 427 sd hd xfinity 50 sd 384 hd streaming media sling tv internet protocol television playstation vue internet protocol television disney channel originally called the disney channel from 1983 to 1997 and commonly shortened to disney from 1997 to 2002 is an american basic cable and satellite television network that serves as the flagship property of owner disney channels television group itself a unit of the disney media networks division of the walt disney company . the channel s programming consists of original first run television series theatrically released and original made for cable movies and select other third party programming . disney channel which formerly operated as a premium service originally marketed its programs towards families and then at younger children by the late 1990s . most of its original programming is aimed at kids ages 8 16 while its disney junior programs are targeted at younger children under 8 years of age . as of february 2015 disney channel is available to approximately 96.2 million pay television households 82.7 % of households with at least one television set in the united states . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 1977 83 origins 1.2 1983 90 as a premium channel and early years 1.3 1990 97 as a hybrid premium basic channel 1.4 1997 2002 relaunch and popularity beginnings 1.5 2002 07 peak 1.6 2007 13 focus on original series and big ratings 1.7 2014 15 lack of animated series and ratings decline 1.8 2016 present return to animation single camera programming acquired series . 2 programming 2.1 movie library 2.2 programming blocks 2.2.1 current 2.2.2 seasonal 2.2.3 special weekends 2.2.4 former 3 related services 3.1 current sister channels 3.1.1 disney xd 3.1.2 disney junior 3.2 former sister channels 3.2.1 toon disney 4 other services 5 criticism and controversies 6 video games 7 international 8 see also 9 references 10 bibliography 11 external links history edit 1977 83 origins edit 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 . 2 since the company was focusing on the development of the epcot center at walt disney world disney chairman card walker turned down the proposal . 3 4 disney revived the idea 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 that september 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 . 4 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 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 . 4 the concept of a premium service aimed at a family audience which walt disney productions would choose to develop the disney channel as had first been attempted by hbo which launched take 2 in 1979 the service which was hbo s first attempt at a spin off niche service predating cinemax s launch in august 1980 would shut down after only a few months on the air and was followed by the 1981 launch of the group w owned home theater network which was the only premium channel that strictly competed with the disney channel for that demographic for much of the 1980s until the 1987 launch of festival . 1983 90 as a premium channel and early years edit the disney channel launched nationally as a premium channel on april 18 1983 at 7 00 a.m. eastern time . 5 the first program ever aired on the channel was also its first original series good morning mickey which showcased classic disney animated shorts . 6 at the time of its launch the disney channel s programming aired for 16 hours each day 7 from 7 00 a.m. to 11 00 p.m. eastern and pacific time 5 comparatively its competitors hbo cinemax showtime the movie channel and spotlight all had been operating on 24 hour programming schedules for a few years at the time . by the fall of 1983 the channel was available to more than 532 000 subscribers in the united states ; 8 this total would increase to 611 000 subscribers in december of that year . 9 original logo used from april 18 1983 to april 5 1997 ; the wordmark at bottom based on the walt disney company s 1986 2010 corporate logo replaced a generic all capital text logo in 1986 . the mickey mouse tv served as the de facto primary logo with the wordmark being used intermittently on air . for its subscribers the channel provided a monthly and later bi monthly program guide magazine called the disney channel magazine which in addition to carrying listings for the channel s programming had also carried feature stories on upcoming programs the magazine also lent its name to a series of interstitials seen during promotional breaks on the channel that provided behind the scenes looks at the disney channel s programming . 5 the disney channel magazine ceased publication in early 1997 and was replaced by behind the ears a print magazine which also shared its name with another series of behind the scenes interstitials that aired on the channel from 1997 to 2000 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 cable and satellite customers who were not subscribers to the channel ; 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 had run during that timeframe . in april 1984 the channel extended its daily programming to 18 hours from 7 00 a.m. to 1 00 a.m. eastern and pacific time 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 by september 1983 the disney channel was available on cable providers in all 50 u.s. states . in october 1983 the channel debuted its first made for cable movie tiger town which earned the channel a cableace award . 9 the first classic disney animated film to be broadcast on the channel alice in wonderland premiered on the network in january 1984 . by january 1985 the channel s programming reached 1.75 million subscribers at which time the channel had reached profitability . in august 1989 the channel launched a series of interstitial segments called the disney channel salutes the american teacher ; the channel subsequently began telecasting the american teacher awards in november 1991 . 9 by january 1990 the disney channel had about five million subscribers nationwide . in may of that year the disney channel won its first daytime emmy awards for the original made for cable film looking for miracles the documentary calgary 88 16 days of glory and the special a conversation with ... george burns as well as its first peabody award for the television film mother goose rock n rhyme . 9 1990 97 as a hybrid premium basic channel edit on september 1 1990 tci s montgomery alabama system became the first cable provider to carry the channel as a basic cable service . 9 in 1991 eight additional cable providers volunteered to move the channel to their expanded basic cable tiers with the first to make the transition as a test run being jones intercable s systems in fort myers and broward county florida . 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 that the channel had plans to convert 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 hbo cinemax 17 and showtime also launched their own multiplex services that same year however the disney channel would not make its own multiplex service permanent unlike the others . by 1992 a third of the channel s subscriber base were estimated by nielsen media research to be adults that did not have children ; 18 and by 1995 its subscriber base expanded to 15 million cable homes 19 eight million of which paid an additional monthly fee to receive the channel . 20 in march 1992 the channel debuted the original children s program adventures in wonderland a contemporary live action adaption of alice in wonderland which in turn was based on the novel alice through the looking glass . in september 1992 the channel began carrying the disney s young musicians symphony orchestra series of specials which aired annually until 1998 . in honor of its 10th anniversary the channel embarked on a 14 city nationwide bus tour starting in april 1993 . 9 by january 1995 the disney channel was available to 12.6 million subscribers ; the period from 1994 to 1995 saw the largest yearly subscriber increase with 4.87 million households with cable television adding the channel . in march 1995 the first international disney channel service was launched in taiwan . that year the documentary anne frank remembered premiered on the channel ; that film would earn an academy award for best documentary in 1996 . 9 in 1996 veteran cable executive anne sweeney was appointed to oversee the disney channel as its president ; that september as the launch of disney channel service in southeast asia the channel began offering a film in primetime each night starting at 7 00 p.m. eastern time with the expansion of the sunday magical world of disney film block to monday through saturday nights ; the new primetime schedule launched in september with the pay cable premiere of the lion king . 9 21