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 subscripti ...
television channel
A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...
owned by The Walt Disney Company Germany. The channel is based in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
and 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
U.S. 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 sub ...
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 reac ...
.
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 the RTL Group. The channel originally launched in 1995 as a joint venture between RTL Group predecessor company CLT-UFA and Disney's Buena Vista International Television Investments ...
(50% owned by
Disney Television
This is a list of assets currently or formerly owned by the Walt Disney Company, unless otherwise indicated.
Corporate
Walt Disney Studios
Live-action production
Animated production
Disney Studio Services
Disney Theatrica ...
until March 2000),
KiKa
KiKA (contraction of ''Der KinderKAnal von ARD und ZDF'' ARD and ZDF">ARD_(broadcaster).html" ;"title="he Children's Channel of ARD (broadcaster)">ARD and ZDF]) is a German free-to-air television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is man ...
and
Nickelodeon (Germany), 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
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 reac ...
(lit. The Fourth), a free-to-air TV station, in December 2012 from Dmitry Lesnevsky
Dmitry Anatolyevich Lesnevskiy (b. February 2, 1970) is a Russian-British-Israeli entrepreneur and producer in television, film, publishing and online media.
Early life
Dmitry Lesnevskiy was born in a Jewish family. He graduated from Moscow State ...
, a Russian media mogul, and former owner of Russia's REN-TV
REN TV (russian: РЕН ТВ) is a Russian free-to-air television network, was founded on 1 January 1997 by Irena Lesnevskaya and her son, Dmitry Lesnevsky, who had been running REN TV as a production house for other national Russian television ...
. 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 Jessie, Austin & Ally, Phineas and Ferb
''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated musical-comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was originally broadcast as ...
and Gravity Falls
''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery 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 twin sister Mabel ( Kristen Schaal) ...
while prime time saw Pixar films and older drawing shows like ABC Family shows plus Hallmark Channel'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.[Disney: A Date, a marketer and a little program (English Translation)]
The channel will also be offered on two online platforms: live-stream and a catch-up service.[ The channel launched over the air on 17 January 2014][ at 6 AM with the classic animated ]short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
''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 Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon ...
''. 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.[
]
See also
*Super RTL
Super RTL is a German free-to-air television network owned by the RTL Group. The channel originally launched in 1995 as a joint venture between RTL Group predecessor company CLT-UFA and Disney's Buena Vista International Television Investments ...
References
External links
*
Disney Channel
on YouTube
Disney Channel
on Twitter
{{Television in Germany
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
Television stations in Germany
Television stations in Austria
Television stations in Switzerland
German-language television stations
Television channels and stations established in 1999
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2013
Television channels and stations established in 2014
Re-established companies
Disney acquisitions
Children's television networks
1999 establishments in Germany