Disney Junior (UK and Ireland)
Disney Junior | |
---|---|
Launched |
As Playhouse Disney: 28 September 1999 (Block) 29 September 2000 (Channel) As Disney Junior: 7 May 2011 |
Owned by | Disney–ABC Television Group |
Picture format |
576i (16:9 SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
Audience share |
0.24% 0.11% (+) (April 2017 , BARB) |
Country |
United Kingdom Ireland |
Headquarters | Chiswick, London |
Formerly called |
Playhouse Disney (29 September 2000 – 7 May 2011) |
Replaced |
Playhouse Disney + / Disney Junior + ABC1 Disney Junior HD Disney Cinemagic HD |
Sister channel(s) |
Disney Channel Disney XD |
Timeshift service | Disney Junior + |
Website | Disney Junior |
Availability | |
Satellite | |
Sky |
Channel 611 (SD/HD) Channel 612 (+) Channel 628 (SD) |
Cable | |
Virgin Media (UK) | Channel 727 |
Virgin Media Ireland | Channel 616 |
WightFibre | Channel 107 |
IPTV | |
TalkTalk Plus TV | Channel 481 |
BT | Channel 481 |
Plusnet | Channel 481 |
Streaming media | |
Virgin TV Anywhere | Watch live (United Kingdom) |
Sky Go |
Watch live (UK and Ireland only) |
Horizon GO | Watch live (Ireland) |
Disney Junior is a British television channel owned by Disney–ABC Television Group.
History
The channel launched on 29 September 2000 as Playhouse Disney, on the same day as the now defunct sister channel, Toon Disney. The channel originally had live presenters Dave Benson Phillips and Alex Lovell, referred to as 'Big Dave' and 'Little Alex'. In addition to presenting the 'Playhouse', both Dave and Alex presented 'Music Time', where they sung popular Disney songs. Dave also presented the children's cookery show, 'Bite Size' alongside Sophie Aldred and Karl Wooley. In addition, there was the 'Circle Time' segment, presented by Jason Canning, where children made up stories from animated drawings, to help them deal with social issues. There was also 'Art Play', where Sara-Louise Harper helped children create a piece of artwork based on a popular Disney movie. In April 2004, the format of the channel changed. 'Circle Time' was removed, and Sara-Louise Harper was replaced by Olivia Bonnici. From 6am to 6pm, a dedicated nighttime block was introduced called 'PJ's Bedtime', presented by Olivia and Big Dave. Dave and Alex eventually left in August 2006, and during the same month, Art Play and Music Time were also removed. In November 2006, Bite Size was axed and PJ's Bedtime was disposed of in September 2007.
New presenters were added to the channel in September 2009; they appear on air between 6pm and 8pm.
The Playhouse Disney brand, which existed as 22 channels or blocks in 156 countries and territories, rebranded as Disney Junior in 2011.[1] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Disney Junior began on 7 May 2011,[2] with its first show as Handy Manny. At the same time the channel started broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen.
A high-definition simulcast of Disney Junior was made available to Sky+ HD subscribers on 9 April 2013.[3]
On 30 May 2017, the channel went 24/7.
Presentation
When Playhouse Disney was launched, it had the same logo style as Disney Channel, with some of the 2D idents from Disney Channel being used as idents, except the "Disney Channel" text was replaced with a "Playhouse Disney" text.
In September 2007, the channel logo in the external promotionals (programme press releases, promos for terrestrial television) were changed to include the inscription "Channel" as in all Playhouse Disney Europe channels, but on the channel itself the logo was not changed. This move probably is to differentiate the channel from the "Playhouse Disney" block, shown all mornings on the American Disney Channel.
Disney Junior +
A one-hour timeshift service of the channel, Disney Junior +, launched on 30 October 2007 as Playhouse Disney +, replacing the now defunct channel ABC1. It launched on the same day that the Disney Channels were reshuffled on Sky, involving Disney Cinemagic and Disney Cinemagic +1 moving down the EPG, to enable Playhouse Disney to move up the EPG to allow Playhouse Disney + to launch next to it on Sky 611 and 612 respectively. Playhouse Disney + was initially a 25-minute timeshift service until 11 April 2011 when it became a 1-hour timeshift service.
Playhouse Disney Live Tour
A live tour took place in 2008. It was shown in several cities, across the United States and Europe. In the United Kingdom, the tour included Bristol, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Brighton.
Blocks
Current
- Magical Mondays - Magical Mondays was introduced in 2013 and runs on Monday afternoons. It shows programs with more magical themes, such as Sofia the First or Doc McStuffins.
Former
- Disney Juniorville - Disney Juniorville was a weekend morning block introduced in 2013. Its initial lineup of shows were Henry Hugglemonster, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First and Calimero (2013 series). Sheriff Callie's Wild West and Miles from Tomorrowland were also added to the block when they were introduced. Disney Juniorville was discontinued in 2015.
- Snuggle Time - Snuggle Time was a nighttime block which mainly showed Henry Hugglemonster. It was introduced in 2014 and discontinued in 2016.
Programming
Original series
- Art Attack (6 June 2011–present)[4]
- Handy Manny (7 May 2011-present)
- Henry Hugglemonster (8 February 2013–present)[5]
- Jungle Junction (7 May 2011–present)[6]
Acquired from Disney Junior (US)
- Doc McStuffins (23 October 2012–present)[7]
- Goldie & Bear (4 January 2016–present)
- Jake and the Never Land Pirates (7 May 2011-present)[8]
- The Lion Guard (Spring 2016–present)
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (7 May 2011–present)[8]
- Mickey and the Roadster Racers (19 April 2017-present)[8]
- Miles from Tomorrowland (11 May 2015–present)[9]
- PJ Masks (Spring 2016–present)
- Sheriff Callie's Wild West (24 February 2014–present)[10]
- Sofia the First (8 March 2013–present)[11]
Shorts
- The Doc Files[10]
- Jake's Buccaneer Blast[10]
- Minnie's Bow-Toons[10]
- Tales of Friendship with Winnie the Pooh[10]
- Whisker Haven Tales with the Palace Pets[10]
- Nina Needs to Go!
Other acquired series
- Calimero (2013–present)[10]
- Curious George (7 May 2011–present)[10]
- The Hive (7 May 2011–present)[12]
- Mouk (19 September 2011–present)[13]
- Wildlife Jack[14]
- Zou (May 2012–present)[15]
Former Programming
- Muppet Babies
- Play With Me Sesame[16]
- Connie the Cow
- Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears
- Rolie Polie Olie
- Out of the Box
- Higglytown Heroes
- Hercules (1998 TV series)
- Harry and his Bucket Full of Dinosaurs
- JoJo's Circus
- Bear in the Big Blue House
- PB&J Otter
- Johnny and the Sprites
- Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
- Jungle Cubs
- 101 Dalmatians: The Series
- The Book of Pooh
- Timon & Pumbaa (TV series)
- Stanley
- Bunnytown
- Poppets Town
- Sing Me a Story with Belle
- The Doodlebops
- Fun With Claude
References
- ↑ "Disney Junior to replace SoapNet, Playhouse". C21Media. 2010-05-26.
- ↑ "Disney to launch new Disney Junior brand". Digital Spy. 28 January 2011.
- ↑ "Disney, Sky bow co-branded movie net". C21Media. 21 February 2013.
- ↑ Waller, Ed (5 May 2011). "Disney takes Art Attack global". C21 Media. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ Zahed, Ramin (24 January 2013). "Henry Hugglemonster' Arrives on Disney Jr. in Feb.". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ Rushton, Katherine (14 December 2009). "Jungle Junction to air in 70 countries". Broadcast. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ Wolfe, Jennifer (3 January 2013). "'Doc Mcstuffins' Reaps High UK Ratings". Animation World Magazine. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Disney Junior sets U.K. launch". Variety. London. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ Cath, Nicky (23 April 2015). "Disney May Highlights". Baby World. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Disney Junior TV Listings". TV Guide UK. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ Methven, Nicola (1 March 2013). "Fairy good for mouth of Minnie Mouse: Legendary Disney actress Russi Taylor to voice fairy godmother for Sofia the First". Mirror. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ Callan, Patrick (23 September 2015). "The Hive returns for second season". Kidscreen. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (8 January 2015). "Millimages’ ‘Mouk’ Gets New Euro Licensees". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ White, Peter (1 July 2014). "Disney hunts out Wildlife Jack". Broadcast. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ Zahed, Ramin (25 July 2013). "Sprout Adopts Cyber Group’s ‘Zou’". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DMmi61plMI