Disney Jr.

{{main|Playhouse Disney}}

The Walt Disney Company first attempted to launch a 24-hour subscription channel for preschoolers in the United States,[https://web.archive.org/web/20110624034312/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-76166895.html Play nice now; Walt Disney Co. plans to introduce Playhouse Disney Channel], Broadcasting & Cable, June 25, 2001.Retrieved on December 21, 2016, when the company announced plans to launch Playhouse Disney, a television offshoot of Disney Channel's daytime programming block of the same name, which launched on the channel on February 1, 1999 (airing during the morning hours seven days a week, with the weekday blocks lasting until the early afternoon). Plans for the United States network were ultimately shelved. However, channels using the Playhouse Disney moniker were launched in other countries internationally.[https://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/05/26/soapnet-will-go-dark-to-make-way-for-disney-junior SOAPnet Will Go Dark to Make Way for Disney Junior] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527032646/https://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/05/26/soapnet-will-go-dark-to-make-way-for-disney-junior/|date=May 27, 2010}}, Entertainment Weekly, May 26, 2010

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 in addition to the Playhouse Disney branded blocks and channels being rebranded under Disney Junior.[https://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/05/26/disney-abc-television-group-announces-disney-junior-a-new-24-hour-channel-for-preschoolers-and-their-families-35879/20100526abc03 Disney/ABC Television Group Announces Disney Junior, a New 24-Hour Channel for Preschoolers and Their Families], The Futon Critic, May 26, 2010,

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 with 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 Disney Channel on February 14, 2011.{{cite news |last=Dickson |first=Jeremy |date=January 10, 2012 |title=Disney Junior launches in March, Marvel gets block on XD |url=https://kidscreen.com/2012/01/10/disney-junior-launches-in-march-marvel-gets-block-on-xd/ |access-date=February 17, 2014 |newspaper=Kids Screen}} The Disney Junior channel was originally scheduled to launch in January 2012, but on July 28, 2011, the Disney-ABC Television Group pushed back the channel's launch date to an unspecified date in early 2012,[https://michaelfairmansoaps.com/news/soapnet-to-stay-on-the-air-longer-into-the-new-year/2011/07/28 Soapnet to stay on the air long into the New Year!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008154633/https://michaelfairmansoaps.com/news/soapnet-to-stay-on-the-air-longer-into-the-new-year/2011/07/28/|date=October 8, 2016}}, Michael Fairman On-Air On-Soaps, July 28, 2011. then on January 9, 2012, the Disney-ABC Television Group announced that Soapnet's closing date for most cable providers was scheduled for March 22, 2012. Disney Junior's 24-hour subscription channel counterpart officially launched the following day on March 23,{{cite web|url=https://tvguide.com/News/Disney-Junior-SoapNet-March-1041380.aspx|title=Disney Junior to replace Soapnet in March|last=Schneider|first=Michael|work=TV Guide|date=January 9, 2012|access-date=January 9, 2012|archive-date=January 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112025924/http://www.tvguide.com/News/Disney-Junior-SoapNet-March-1041380.aspx|url-status=dead}} at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} Programming featured on the channel's initial lineup included Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and freshman original series Doc McStuffins; the channel also had new episodes of the short-form series A Poem Is. as well as the weekend movie block, the Magical World of Disney Junior.

Though it in effect took over the channel space held by Soapnet, an automated feed of that channel continued to exist for providers that had not yet reached agreements to carry Disney Junior, or held out to not lose subscribers due to the immediate loss of that network. These included some providers such as Cox Communications, Optimum, DirecTV, Verizon FiOS, and Time Warner Cable, which continued to carry Soapnet while having added the Disney Junior channel onto their channel lineups in turn.Villarreal, Yvonne. "Show Tracker: What You're Watching — [https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/03/disney-junior-247-channel-launches-friday.html Disney Junior 24/7 channel launches Friday]." Los Angeles Times Blog 22 March 2012. Web. 19 April 2012. Soapnet's operations continued sixteen months later than had been originally planned, until the network finally ceased operations on December 31, 2013, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.{{cite web|url=https://latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-disney-soapnet-20131109,0,3311291.story|title=Disney's SOAPnet channel headed for the drain|last=James|first=Meg|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 9, 2013|access-date=November 10, 2013}}

In 2012, Disney Junior launched a movie night anthology as the Magical World of Disney Junior. The channel also premiered its first Disney Junior Original Movie, Lucky Duck during Magical World on June 20, 2014.{{cite news |last1=Milligan |first1=Mercedes |date=May 12, 2014 |title=First Disney Junior Movie 'Lucky Duck' Names Lead Quackers |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/first-disney-junior-movie-lucky-duck-names-lead-quackers/ |access-date=August 19, 2018 |work=Animation Magazine}} The morning block of Disney Junior programming on Disney Channel itself is currently known as Mickey Mornings.

Since its launch, Disney Junior became initially available to subscribers of Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Bright House Networks, and Verizon FiOS;[https://hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/disney-junior-replaces-soapnet-friday-303366 Disney Junior Launches on Friday; SOAPnet to Continue on Some Carriers], Hollywood Reporter, March 22, 2012. other providers would sign carriage agreements to run the network following its launch.

Disney–ABC Television Group announced that it had reached a distribution agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative to carry Disney Junior, which negotiates carriage deals on behalf of many of America's smaller cable providers.{{cite web |title=NCTC to distribute Disney Junior |url=https://kidscreen.com/2012/04/03/nctc-to-distribute-disney-junior/ |work=kidscreen.com}}

In December 2012, Cox signed a distribution deal with Disney adding Disney Junior to its cable plans.{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=Kristie |date=2012-12-13 |title=The Walt Disney Company and Cox Communications Announce Comprehensive Distribution Agreement |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2012/12/the-walt-disney-company-and-cox-communications-announce-comprehensive-distribution-agreement/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}

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.[http://news.directv.com/2012/07/13/disney-junior-will-launch-saturday-july-14-to-millions-of-directv-customers-nationwide Disney Junior will Launch Saturday, July 14 to Millions of DIRECTV Customers Nationwide] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715083959/http://news.directv.com/2012/07/13/disney-junior-will-launch-saturday-july-14-to-millions-of-directv-customers-nationwide |date=July 15, 2012 }} 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 the Nick Jr. Channel four days previously as a result of the dispute.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2012/07/disney-junior-directv-viacom-300328/|title=A Challenge To Viacom? DirecTV Adds Disney Junior To Programming Lineup|last=Liebermann|first=David|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 13, 2012|access-date=July 14, 2012}}

On December 31, 2012, Charter Communications (later purchasing Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks and becoming Spectrum) 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2012/12/31/the-walt-disney-company-and-charter-communications-announce-new-distribution-agreement-898304/20121231disney01/|title=The Walt Disney Company and Charter Communications Announce New Distribution Agreement|date=31 December 2012|publisher=The Futon Critic|access-date=1 January 2013}} The channel ended carriage on August 31, 2023 as Disney and Spectrum were in dispute for several days, before coming to agreement on September 11 to restore Disney's networks to their service while removing several others, including Disney Junior.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/disney-charter-settle-cable-dispute-espn-monday-night-football-1235719696/|title=Disney, Charter Settle Cable Dispute Hours Before Debut of ESPN's 'Monday Night Football'|work=Variety|date=September 11, 2023|access-date=September 12, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://whatsondisneyplus.com/are-some-disney-channels-days-numbered/|title=Are Some Disney Channel Day's Numbered?|work=What's on Disney Plus|date=September 11, 2023|access-date=September 12, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://whatsondisneyplus.com/disney-executives-assure-staff-of-their-commitment-to-fxx-freeform-other-channels/|title=Disney Executives Assure Staff Of Their Commitment To FXX, Freeform & Other Channels|work=What's on Disney Plus|date=September 12, 2023|access-date=September 12, 2023}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/491363-Disney_Strikes_U_Verse_Carriage_Deal.php|title=Disney Strikes U-Verse Carriage Deal|last=Farrell|first=Mike|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=January 15, 2013|access-date=January 15, 2013}}

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.{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2014/03/did-dish-network-or-disney-just-blink-in-the-hopper-dvr-ad-zapping-dispute-693033/|title=Dish And Disney Finalize Output Deal That Ends Their Ad-Hopper Dispute|last=Liebermann|first=David|date=3 March 2014|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=4 March 2014}}

{{main|List of programs broadcast by Disney Jr.}}

Disney Junior Night Light is the former name of Disney Junior channel's overnight programming block, running daily from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific. The block, which debuted on September 4, 2012, was sponsored by the Disney-owned parenting site Babble, consisting of short-form programs intended for co-viewing among parents and their children. Features seen as part of the block included Picture This (a drawing segment), Sesh Tales (a segment featuring costumed finger puppets with twists on traditional fairy tales) and That's Fresh (a segment featuring cooking tips aimed at parents, presented by celebrity chef Helen Cavallo). Additional series under development at the block's launch included a photography series, a series that follows parents through the day their new baby comes home after being born, and a show about stay-at-home dads.{{cite web|url=http://kidscreen.com/2012/08/29/first-look-dj-tales-to-bow-on-disney-junior-night-light|last=Dickson|first=Jeremy|title=First look: DJ Tales to bow on Disney Junior Night Light|work=Kidscreen|date=August 29, 2012|access-date=September 24, 2012}} Since 2017, Disney Junior's overnight programming has run unbranded and without the Night Light continuity.

{{main|Disney Jr. (international)}}

Disney Jr. is currently broadcast globally, but since some were closed or shut down from 2020 onwards to prioritize Disney+, which features its current and library programming.

In 2013, since its launch, Disney Junior has experienced significant growth, while Nick Jr. saw a decline in ratings of over 50% by 2013. Despite being available in 75 million homes, Nick Jr. was surpassed by Disney Junior in several areas, including having the top three preschool cable programs. Merchandise tied to Disney Junior shows also saw growth, with sales expected to surpass $1.5 billion for the fiscal year, a 50% increase from the previous year.{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Brooks |last2=Chozick |first2=Amy |date=2013-03-31 |title=New Disney Characters Make It Big in TV’s Preschool Playground |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/business/media/disney-junior-challenges-nick-jr-in-preschool-tv.html |access-date=2025-02-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

In the summer of 2014, Disney Junior became the No. 1 preschool-dedicated TV network for the second consecutive year, averaging 498,000 total viewers. The channel saw growth compared to the previous year, surpassing Nick Jr., which had 301,000 viewers, and nearly tripling Sprout, which had 133,000 viewers. Disney Junior also ranked first among preschool networks in key demographics, including 238,000 viewers for kids aged 2-5, 117,000 viewers for girls 2-5, and 121,000 viewers for boys 2-5.{{Cite web |last=Kissell |first=Rick |date=2014-09-04 |title=Disney Channel Top-Rated Network Among Kids for Third Straight Summer |url=https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/disney-channel-ratings-top-rated-network-kids-summer-1201297747/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

In 2024, Disney Jr. had four shows in the top 10 most-watched among preschoolers across both linear and streaming platforms: Bluey (No. 1), Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends (No. 3), Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (No. 6), and SuperKitties (No. 10). Furthermore, Disney Jr. ranked as the No. 1 cable network for kids aged 2-5 for the third consecutive year. The network also achieved significant success on YouTube, reaching 21 million subscribers and over 21 billion views, surpassing both Nick Jr. and Netflix Jr.{{Cite web |last=Seitz |first=Loree |date=2024-12-18 |title=Disney Jr. Closes Year With 4 of Top 10 Most-Watched Series for Preschoolers Across Linear and Streaming {{!}} Exclusive |url=https://www.thewrap.com/disney-jr-bluey-2024-ratings-preschoolers/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=TheWrap |language=en-US}}

{{reflist}}

{{commons}}

• {{official website|https://disneyjunior.disney.com}}
• [https://www.disneyabcpress.com/disneyjunior/ Disney Junior Press] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104143203/https://www.disneyabcpress.com/disneyjunior/ |date=January 4, 2018 }}

{{DisneyConsumer}}

{{Disney Channel}}

{{Disney Junior}}

{{Disney–ABC TV Group}}

{{KidsTVBlocksUSA}}

{{U.S. family-oriented television channels}}

Category:2012 establishments in California

Category:American companies established in 2012

Category:Preschool education television networks

Category:Children's television networks in the United States

Category:Disney Channel

Category:Disney television networks

Category:Commercial-free television networks

Category:Television programming blocks in the United States

Category:Television channels and stations established in 2012

Category:English-language television stations in the United States