Disney Channel is a German
free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...
television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company Germany. The channel is based in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
and is for children.
Aimed at all ages, its programming consists of original first-run television series, theatrically released and original made-for-cable movies and select other third-party programming. The original programming is mainly supplied by its
American counterpart.
The channel was originally launched on 16 October 1999
as a subscription television channel on the
Sky Deutschland
Sky Deutschland GmbH, branded as Sky, is a German media company that operates a direct broadcast satellite Pay TV platform in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (through Sky Switzerland). It provides a collection of basic and premium digital su ...
platform. However, it was later closed down on 30 November 2013. It was transformed into a free-TV channel on 17 January 2014, replacing
Das Vierte.
The network competes with other channels primarily aimed at children, such as
Super RTL (50% owned by
Disney Television until March 2021),
KiKa
Kika may refer to:
People
* Kika de la Garza (1927–2017), American politician
* Kika Edgar (born 1985), Mexican actress and singer
* Kika Karadi (born 1975), American contemporary artist
* Kika Markham (born 1940), English actress
* Kika M ...
and
Nickelodeon Germany.
History
Walt Disney Television International opened their German offices near Munich on 1 March 1999. Disney Channel Germany was launched on 16 October 1999 as a subscription channel.
[
Disney purchased Das Vierte (lit. The Fourth), a free-to-air TV station, in December 2012 from Dmitry Lesnevsky, a Russian media mogul, and former owner of Russia's REN-TV. In April 2013, Disney announced that Das Vierte would become Disney Channel in January 2014 as a 24-hour family entertainment network under Disney Channel's German head Lars Wagner.
]
Initial daytime programming included standard Disney Channel fare including '' Jessie'', ''Austin & Ally
''Austin & Ally'' is an American comedy television series created by Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert that aired on Disney Channel from December 2, 2011 to January 10, 2016. The series stars Ross Lynch, Laura Marano, Raini Rodriguez, and Cal ...
'', ''Phineas and Ferb
''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated series, animated Musical film, musical-television comedy, comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series originally aired on t ...
'' and ''Gravity Falls
''Gravity Falls'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery television comedy, comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twi ...
'' while prime time saw Pixar
Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...
films and older drawing shows including those from ABC Family
American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...
as well as Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies.
...
's '' Cedar Cove''. Disney formed an in house ad sales company, Disney Media +, for the channel given that two competitors control most ad sales companies. The channel will also be offered on two online platforms: live-stream and a catch-up service.[ The channel suspended transmission on 30 November 2013 and launched over the air on 17 January 2014][ at 6 AM with the classic animated ]short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
''Steamboat Willie
''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black-and-white by Walt Disney Animation Studios and was released by Pat Powers (producer), Pat Powers, under the name of Cele ...
''. Disney reported that its launch weekend pushed them past Nick in to third place among kid broadcast channels.[
]
Programming
Availability
Via the airwaves, the station had an availability to 93% of German TV households plus on two online platforms: live-stream and a catch-up service, as well as Europe wide on Astra digital satellite service.[
]
Logos
file:Disney Channel UK 1997 logo.jpg, 1999–2002
file:2002 Disney Channel logo.svg, 2002–2011
file:2010 Disney Channel logo.svg, 2011–2013
file:2014 Disney Channel logo.svg, 2014–2017
file:2017 Disney Channel logo.svg, 2017–2023
file: 2022 Disney Channel logo.svg, 2023–present
See also
* Super RTL
References
External links
*
Disney Channel
on YouTube
Disney Channel
on Twitter
{{Television in Germany
1999 establishments in Germany
Children's television networks
Disney acquisitions
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
German-language television stations
Re-established companies
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2013
Television channels and stations established in 1999
Television channels and stations established in 2014
Television stations in Austria
Television stations in Germany
Television stations in Switzerland