Disney Junior (formerly Playhouse Disney) was a Southeast Asian

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

preschool channel owned by The Walt Disney Company Asia-Pacific. Aimed mainly at children between ages 2 to 7 years old, its programming consisted of original first-run

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

and theatrically released and made-for-DVD movies, as well as other select third-party programming, some of which originally having aired on PBS Kids in the United States. Disney Junior also lent its name to an early morning program block seen on sister network Disney Channel, branded as Disney Junior on Disney Channel until it discontinued since July 31, 2018, using the Disney Channel moniker. The preschool channel ceased operations at the end of 2021.

History

Negotiations for an Asian version of Playhouse Disney started in January 2001 as a block on Disney Channel. It was first broadcast in Hong Kong and Indonesia as Playhouse Disney on April 2, 2004. From 2004 to 2005, Disney launched

Playhouse Disney Playhouse Disney was a brand of programming blocks and international cable and satellite television channels that were owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit (now Disney Branded Television) of The Walt Disney Company's Disney–ABC Televi ...

in several countries in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. In the Philippines, the channel was broadcast in English language without the usage of native Tagalog. On 30 June 2011, Laura Wendt, announced that Playhouse Disney will be rebranded as Disney Junior in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong on 11 July 2011. Laura said that Disney Junior will feature the hallmarks of the Disney brand, story, and character. They will take classic Disney characters, beloved, through generations, and bring them to life on TV with elements that encourage early childhood learning. Due to increasing localization of the Indian feeds of Disney Channel and Disney XD, they were banned from broadcasting in Bangladesh in 2013. Later, in 2016, the Southeast Asian feeds of the Disney channels, including Disney Junior Asia, became available on certain cable operators in Bangladesh. On March 1, 2016, Disney Junior changed to its

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

format in some countries, while launching its high-definition channel. On 31 July 2018, the Disney Junior on Disney Channel block was discontinued with no explanation given.

Closure

On 1 June 2020, Disney Channel,

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven yea ...

and Disney Junior ceased transmission in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

on both Singtel and

StarHub StarHub Limited, most commonly known as just Starhub, is a Singaporean multinational telecommunications conglomerate and one of the major telcos operating in the country. Founded in 1998, it is listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). History ...

after failing the contract renewal with both service providers in the country. Select programs from these 3 channels were moved to, replaced by and made it available via

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

on 23 February 2021. On 5 August 2020, Disney Junior upgraded to HD on Astro alongside Disney Channel. On 1 January 2021, the channels ceased operations across Astro and Astro-owned TV providers (including NJOI and Kristal-Astro) in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

due to the launch of Astro's Refreshed Kids Pack, while airing

PJ Masks ''PJ Masks'' (French: Pyjamasques) is a computer-animated superhero children's television series based on the '' Les Pyjamasques'' book series by Romuald Racioppo. Produced by Frog Box, Entertainment One UK Limited, Walt Disney EMEA Production ...

, that announced back on 14 December 2020. While its shows moved to Disney+ Hotstar in the said country on 1 June 2021. After 17 years of broadcasting, Disney Junior Asia, Disney Junior Hong Kong,

Disney Channel Asia Disney Channel was a pan-Asian pay television kids channel owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia; part of The Walt Disney Company Asia-Pacific. It began broadcasting in Taiwan on 29 March 1995, until its main launch on Ja ...

, Disney Channel Hong Kong along with Fox channels in Southeast Asia have closed on 1 October 2021,Multiple sources: * * * at exactly 1:00 am ( UTC+08:00)/12:00 am ( UTC+07:00), concluding with '' Mira, Royal Detective''. Most of Disney Junior shows will be shown instead on Disney+ Hotstar and

depends on its countries. Nevertheless, Disney Junior Taiwan block on Disney Channel, along with the Nat Geo channels, will continue to operate after this date. But the block ended at New Year's Eve (31 December 2021).

Final Feeds

* ''Main'': Available in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. It was formerly provided in Singapore and Malaysia. It ceased operations on October 1, 2021. * ''Hong Kong'': Available in Hong Kong with its own schedule differing from the main pan-Asian feed. It broadcast in both Cantonese and English language. Along with the pan-Asian feed, it ceased operations on October 1, 2021. * ''Taiwan'': Available in Taiwan with its own TV block on Disney Channel, runs from 6 am to 1 pm (UTC+08:00). It broadcast in

Taiwanese Mandarin Taiwanese Mandarin, ''Guoyu'' ( zh, s=, t=國語, p=Guóyǔ, l=National Language, first=t) or ''Huayu'' ( zh, s=, t=華語, p=Huáyǔ, first=t, l=Mandarin Language, labels=no) refers to Mandarin Chinese spoken in Taiwan. A large majority of the T ...

and English, and it also aired continuities and promos. It ceased operations on December 31, 2021, due to the launch of Disney+ on November 12 of that year.

Programming

''Disney Junior Magazine Philippines''

''Disney Junior Magazine Philippines'' (known as ''Disney Junior Magazine'' and formerly known as ''Playhouse Disney Magazine Philippines'') was an educational magazine published in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Summit Media Summit Publishing Co., Inc., trading as Summit Media, is a Filipino digital lifestyle network in the Philippines. It has 15 media brands attracting around 20 million monthly unique visitors and approximately 33 million social media follower ...

in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia.

References

{{Disney Channel

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Children's television channels in the Asia Pacific Commercial-free television networks Television programming blocks in Asia Television channels and stations established in 2004 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2021 Mass media in Southeast Asia English-language television stations Television channel articles with incorrect naming style