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 Das Vierte (English: The Fourth) was a German entertainment channel replaced in January 2014 by Disney Channel. History Das Vierte was launched by NBC Universal Global Networks (NUGN) in 2005 as an all-drama programming channel. The channel rea ...

. The network competes with other channels primarily aimed at children, such as

Super RTL Super RTL is a German free-to-air television network owned by RTL Deutschland. The channel originally launched in 1995 as a joint venture between RTL Group predecessor company CLT-UFA and Disney's Buena Vista International Television Investment ...

(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

(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. Disney Channel Germany Logo 2014

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

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 ...