Disney Channel around the world

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Contents

[edit] Africa and Asia Pacific

Main article: Disney Channel Asia

During the same decade the Disney Channel expanded its operations to Africa and by 2000 to much of Asia.

The first Disney Channel outside the US was in Taiwan and it was also the first Disney Channel that allowed commercials in their breaks at that time. (The American counterpart started airing advertisements in 2006.) In 1997, the Company hired British TV veteran Robin Paxton to be in charge of the expansion of its channels in Asia. Robin subsequently a series of strong television executives in the Asian and European broadcast industry including Eddy Tan (launched Cartoon Network and CNBC Asia), James Gilbey (Creative Producer from Nick UK) and Nigel Haunch (Pearson Group UK) to involve in the launches of various channels in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.

After the success of the launch, Eddy Tan and James Gilbey were assigned to re-structure the creative team in Disney's Singapore broadcast centre. Both guys took three months to reshape the team as well as introduce promo sharing idea to the company for the first time. In the first year of their take over, the team won the first ever 'Best Children Promo' at the International Promax Award, an honour for promo production in the television industry worldwide.

[edit] Australia & New Zealand

Main article: Disney Channel Australia

Disney Channel Australia has been broadcast in Australia by Optus Television, Foxtel and Austar since the early 1990s, and in New Zealand by SKY Network Television since December 2003. Since 2001 TransACT (which is in the Australian Capital Territory) television service which is TransTV Digital has been broadcasting the channel. In December 2005, Disney Channel launched Playhouse Disney Channel in Australia and New Zealand on the Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television and SKY Network Television digital services. The Australia/New Zealand version of Disney Channel also features many of the shows the U.S. version broadcasts. This version of the channel shows it programs and movies a few months after they are shown in America e.g. Buffalo Dreams a DCOM is to be shown in August 2006 in Australia, and was shown in March 2005 in America. Disney Channel in Australia also has its own Website on http://www.disney.com.au/DisneyChannel/ . In Australia/New Zealand the channel is broadcasted in a 4x3 Letterbox Format.

[edit] Middle East, North Africa, and the Levant territories

The Middle East's variant is a-la-carte. It is broadcast over Showtime Arabia.

[edit] Europe

[edit] United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland

Main article: Disney Channel (UK)

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 1 October 1995 that it finally went on air (Sky TV was renamed BSkyB in 1990). Like its American counterpart, the Disney Channel in the UK is not aired with advertisements, relying on a subscription from the viewer. It also sometimes would show segments of Disneys own consumer messages sometimes used in the states (like the Movie Surfers for example) along with its own produced consumer segments.

In the UK, Disney Channel runs a live program between shows known as Studio Disney, which viewers had the chance to call in, or play games. The programme usually had guests, who were usually popular music artists in the UK. It ran Monday through Friday, from 15:45 to 19:00 GMT. As of July 4, 2005, there has been no further airing of this program.

Around 2000 Disney made two new channels for its premium package. Playhouse Disney, based on the preschool segment shown on the US Disney Channel but with some UK produced shows and Toon Disney. Then on March 14, 2006 Disney Channel made a big change. Due to a new deal made between Disney and BSkyB, both Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney have become channels viewable as part of the normal Sky Digital package and those of the two dominant cable providers. Toon Disney has been axed, though its basic premise has been used for the new premium channel Disney Cinemagic and Cinemagic + 1 which still charges a subscription fee, although this is slightly lower than before the shake-up. Disney Channel + 1 was dropped from Sky at the end of March 2006, but at the end of June 2006, Disney Channel + 1 was returned to the platform. It now sits next to its namesake on the EPG. On 27th October the Disney Channel was added to TopUp Tv Anytime a new service that downloads programming from 19 channels to the TopUp Tv Anytime Digital Tv recorder.

[edit] Scandinavia

Main article: Disney Channel Scandinavia

In 2003 the Disney Channel started broadcasting in Scandinavia exclusive via Viasat. The Scandinavian edition broadcasts four different soundtracks with Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish dubbing. At first the Disney Channel was exclusively provided by Viasat, but after some months other companies started distributing the channel. In Sweden, the Disney Channel can be watched through cable via Com Hem, through satellite via Viasat and in the terrestrial network via Boxer. In Denmark it can also be watched via cable-TV with TDC. Since 1 August 2005 Disney Channel has also been transmitted by Canal Digital through the Thor Satellite.

[edit] Spain

Disney Channel, Disney Channel +1, TOON Disney and Playhouse Disney are available on the Digital+ satellite platform on channels 30, 31, 32 and 33. The channels broadcast in Spanish with an original language option, American and British programmes broadcast in English on the second track while Animes broadcast in Japanese.

[edit] Latin America and the Caribbean

In the 90's Disney Channel started airing in Latin America via DirecTV as a premium channel. Later, around the 2000's it became available in other cable companies like Intercable. In 2003, because of the crisis in Argentina and Venezuela, DirecTV removed the channel from all the subscriptions, and it came back in 2004 as part of the basic channel grid. In Latin America, programming includes "Studio Disney" and "Zapping Zone".

The channel clears all of the same series as the US network, down to the Playhouse Disney block in the morning. Old series like So Weird, Teacher's Pet and Teamo Supremo are broadcasted over Jetix. The shows over Disney Channel Latin America have Spanish and English soundtracks; it takes approximately 2 or 3 months (after the premiere in the US) to translate a season in Spanish.

Brazil have its own version due to different language.

Viewers in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and most of the Caribbean (except for Cuba and the Dominican Republic) receive the US Disney Channel.

[edit] Other versions

The Disney Channel is also available in Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Pakistan, Portugal, Lebanon, India and Japan. Lebanon's may be shut down due to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict at this time.[citation needed]

One country that Disney Channel does not reach is Canada. Instead, Canada has Family Channel.

[edit] Reference

  • Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) (2004) [1]. Retrieved Apr. 9 2006.

[edit] External links

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