Disney XD is an American digital cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is also a sister channel division of The Disney Channel, Disney XD mostly airs action-oriented children's animated television series, with some live-action programming and movies aimed at male viewers age 6 to 18.
Disney XD airs original Disney XD content, such as Zeke and Luther, Kickin' It, I'm in the Band, and Pair of Kings and some of Disney Channel's most popular programming, including recent and archived original series, such as The Suite Life on Deck and Phineas and Ferb, as well as some made-for-TV movies.
It is offered with English language audio, either via a separate channel as part of an English language network package sold by cable and satellite providers or a separate audio track with the SAP option, depending on the system. The channel also offers a video-on-demand service to digital cable and IPTV subcribers, offering free programming.The Disney XD Channel was launched in South Africa on 12 May 2011.
Disney XD is a boy-focused, girl inclusive channel for kids 6-14, which runs from 5am to 10pm every day.
Disney XD includes a compelling mix of live-action and animated programming, hyper-targeting boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports, adventure, music and humour.
• The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
• The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody
The network launched on May 12, 2011, [1] [2] Its target market is boys from 9 to 14, [3] [4] though it also airs programming aimed at older audiences.
Like its predecessor Toon Disney, yet unlike sister network Disney Channel, Disney XD is advertiser-supported and runs commercials for mostly non-Disney branded products during breaks, as well as network promos. Despite Disney XD's relationship to Disney Channel and airing some Disney Channel series, there is little cross-promotion of Disney Channel shows on the channel, though Disney Channel cross-promotes Disney XD programming within their promo breaks and has aired some of Disney XD's original programming. However, cross-promotion is more common for networks such as ABC or ESPN.
According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for anything" and was chosen simply because it looked "cool." Marsh notes that "the letter X has many cool associations" and that "the beauty of it is the audience can imbue it with all sorts of positive attributes." Coincidentally though, the name "Disney XD" was previously used as the name for an online media player and interactive web portal on the Disney.com website, which in that case stood for Disney Xtreme Digital. "XD" is also an emoticon for laughter.
Since Disney XD's launch in the U.S., localized versions have launched in other countries, typically replacing international versions of Toon Disney or Jetix, depending on which network was available in the particular market.