Disney Junior

Disney Junior is an American pay television network that is owned by the Walt Disney Company through Disney Channels Worldwide. Aimed mainly at children 8 years and under, its programming consists of original first-run television series, theatrically-released and home media-exclusive moviesand select other third-party programming.

From February 2011 until January 2017, Disney Junior also lent its name to a morning and early afternoon program block seen on sister network Disney Channel, branded as "Disney Junior on Disney Channel", airing weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (6:00 to 10:00 a.m. during the summer months and designated school break periods) and weekends from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time.

Until January 2017, Disney Junior also lent its name to a morning and early afternoon program block seen on sister network Disney Channel, branded as "Disney Junior on Disney Channel", airing weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (6:00 to 10:00 a.m. during the summer months and designated school break periods) and weekends from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time.

As of January 2016, the channel is available to 74.0 million households in the U.S.

Origins
Main article: Playhouse Disney

The Walt Disney Company first attempted to launch a 24-hour subscription channel for preschoolers in the United States, when the company announced plans to launch the Playhouse Disney Channel, a television offshoot of Disney Channel's daytime programming block Playhouse Disney, which debuted on the channel on May 8, 1997 (airing during the morning hours seven days a week, with the Monday through Friday blocks lasting until the early afternoon). Plans for the United States network were ultimately shelved, however dedicated Playhouse Disney Channels were launched in other countries internationally.

The development of Disney Junior began on May 26, 2010, when Disney-ABC Television Group announced the launch of the channel as a pay television service, which would compete with other subscription channels targeted primarily at preschool-aged children such as Nick Jr., Qubo, and Universal Kids; in addition, the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel would also be renamed under the Disney Junior banner, prior to the launch of the channel of the same name. The announcement also called for the 22 existing programming blocks and pay channels outside of the United States bearing the Playhouse Disney name being rebranded as Disney Junior.

The flagship channel in the United States intended to replace Soapnet, a Disney-owned channel featuring daytime soap operas seen on the major broadcast networks (including sister network ABC) and reruns of former primetime drama series, due to the continued decline in popularity and quantity of soap operas on broadcast television, along the growth of video on demand services (including the online streaming availability for soap operas) and digital video recorders that negated the need for a linear channel devoted to the genre.

Disney Junior first launched as a programming block on February 14, 2011, replacing Playhouse Disney. On the day before the launch, Playhouse Disney's Ooh and Aah mascots and programs were retired completely during the process of the transition from Playhouse Disney to Disney Junior. The first program was Jake and the Never Land Pirates. In its first week since its debut, Disney Junior delivered Disney Channel’s best ratings ever in the daypart among Kids 2-5 (474,000/2.8 rating)

Cable and satellite channel
A 24-hour basic cable and satellite channel for Disney Junior launched on March 23, 2012, replacing the soap opera channel, SOAPnet.

The channel was originally set to debut in January 2012, but on July 28, 2011, soap opera-focused websites listed the launch date as moving from January to a more non-specific date in late-spring 2012, and later in 2011, to February 2012. Soapnet's definite closing date (March 23, 2012) was announced by Disney-ABC on January 9, 2012. However, like the transitions from Nick GAS to TeenNick and Fox Reality to Nat Geo Wild, an automated version of Soapnet's program schedule will continue on some cable and satellite services, as deals for Disney Junior are finalized.

The channel is expecting its original series (Jake and the Never Land Pirates, 3rd & Bird, etc.), shows from the Playhouse Disney library (that are currently airing on the block) (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, etc.), a programming block titled The Magical World of Disney Junior and short-form series in its lineup. On June 17, 2011, it has been confirmed that the Disney Junior channel will include previously discontinued Playhouse Disney series, in reruns, in its lineup when the channel launches. Five such Playhouse Disney series were confirmed on January 9, 2012: Stanley, JoJo's Circus, Rolie Polie Olie, The Koala Brothers, and Higglytown Heroes.

It also provides video on demand, a high-definition version (Disney Junior HD) and a Spanish language SAP audio track.

Television carriage
Since its launch, Disney Junior became initially available to subscribers of Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Bright House Networks and Verizon FiOS;[12] Other providers would sign carriage agreements to run the network following its launch:


 * On March 26, 2012, Cox Communications announced that it would carry Disney Junior, as part of the provider's "Variety Pak" package.
 * On April 3, 2012, Disney–ABC Television Group announced that it had reached a distribution agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative to carry Disney Junior, which was expected to be carried on more than 950 independent cable companies in the 90 days following the agreement.
 * Cable One added the network to the digital tier of its systems around May 26, 2012.
 * On June 21, 2012, RCN began carrying the network on its systems.
 * On July 13, 2012, DirecTV announced that the Disney Junior network would be added to its lineup the following day on the 14th, a Saturday. Industry observers questioned both the unexpected announcement and untraditional weekend launch of the network as being timed to a nine-day carriage dispute between DirecTV and Viacom and the loss of Nick Jr. four days previously as a result of the dispute.
 * On December 31, 2012, Charter Communications came to terms with Disney–ABC Television Group on a new wide-ranging multiple year carriage agreement for ABC, all of the U.S.-based Disney Channels Worldwide and ESPN networks and ABC Family, which included the addition of Disney Junior to Charter systems throughout the first quarter of 2013.
 * On January 15, 2013, AT&T U-verse also reached a deal with The Walt Disney Company on a new wide-ranging multi-year agreement to carry the Disney–ABC Television Group family of networks and ESPN, which included the addition of Disney Junior.
 * Dish Network, the last major television provider to have not signed a carriage deal for Disney Junior, added the channel on April 10, 2014; after a long period of acrimony and a six-month extension of their past carriage agreement with The Walt Disney Company for a few select networks (some of which were not available in HD, partly as a result of a 2011 dispute with the company), Dish and Disney came to full terms on carrying all of Disney-ABC's networks in both standard and high definition on March 3, 2014 with the resolution of legal issues involving Dish's Hopper DVR system, which also included streaming rights for the networks as part of Dish's IPTV streaming service Sling TV.

Programming

 * Main article: List of programs broadcast by Disney Junior (United States)

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Chuggington, Imagination Movers, Jungle Junction, Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, Special Agent Oso, and Timmy Time, all popular Playhouse Disney series, were moved to the block and continue to broadcast.

Programming on the Disney Junior channel includes original series (such as Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, Goldie & Bear, Vampirina, and The Lion Guard), shows formerly seen on the now-defunct Playhouse Disney block (such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny and Little Einsteins), plus re-runs of former original shows (such as Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Sheriff Callie's Wild West) - including some that also air on the companion Disney Channel morning block and short-form series, as well as reruns of some older animated series that had previously been seen on sister network ABC, CBS (made prior to 1996) and programs from Disney Channel and Toon Disney, which are aired by the channel by popular demand (especially during the overnight graveyard slot).

Disney Junior broadcasts from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm ET/PT (6:00 am to 10:30 am ET/PT during the summer months and designated school break periods) on weekdays, and from 6:00 am to 9:00 am ET/PT on weekends, each running a different schedule. They feature 24-minute standard length shows, interspersed with short 3-5 minute shorts and music videos. Amongst these shorts are A Poem Is..., The Bite-Sized Adventures of Sam Sandwich, Choo Choo Soul, Small Potatoes, and several others. Like Disney Channel, Disney Junior is a commercial-free service, but it does short "promotional spots", which runs every so often, such as often seen on PBS. Between 4:00 and 6:00, when Disney Channel animated programs air under the regular Disney Channel branding, there are commercials for Disney properties as there are for other Disney Channel programs. Although Disney Junior does not air standard ads, it utilizes underwriter sponsorship by companies such as ABCmouse.com and Huggies, for its programs.

Former shows on the former Playhouse Disney block, as well as previous Disney shows based on pre-existing franchises, will air reruns by popular demand on the Disney Junior channel in its launch on March 23, 2012, replacing Soapnet.

Disney Junior HD
Disney Junior HD is a high definition simulcast feed that broadcasts a moderate amount of Disney Junior's programming in 720p HD. It began broadcasting on March 23, 2012. Many cable providers carry the HD simulcast feed, along with DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, and Verizon FIOS. Currently, Dish Network doesn't carry Disney Junior HD, but does carry other Disney-owned HD channels.

HD versions of Disney Junior have also launched in Canada, Asia, France and the Netherlands. Currently, Disney Junior HD appears to be a block on the HD feed version on Disney Channel.

Disney Junior On Demand
Disney Junior On Demand is the video-on-demand service, which offers select episodes of Disney Junior's original series. It is available to most digital cable and IPTV providers.

Watch Disney Junior
In June 2012, Disney introduced a new set of apps for Apple devices for the three youth-oriented Disney Channels - Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior - similar to their ESPN service. The service is also available online via select providers such as Comcast