Disney Channel (European, Middle Eastern, and African TV channel)
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Country | Arab world Sub-Saharan Africa Greece Cyprus ex-Yugoslav countries Albania (formerly) |
---|---|
Headquarters | Chiswick, London Johannesburg, South Africa |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English Greek Arabic (animated series dubbed, live-action programming subtitled in HD feed only) Serbo-Croatian (subtitles only) Slovene (subtitles only) Albanian (formerly) (subtitles only) |
Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Disney Branded Television (Disney International Operations) The Walt Disney Company Africa |
Sister channels | Disney Junior Disney XD (closed) |
History | |
Launched | 1 September 1996 (as the original Disney Channel Asia) 2 April 1997 (current) |
Replaced | Disney Channel Asia (carriage in the Middle East) |
Links | |
Website | tv tv |
Availability | |
Satellite | |
DStv (Sub-Saharan Africa) | Channel 303 |
OSN (Middle East and North Africa) | Channel 350 (HD) |
Disney Channel is a European-managed pay television channel owned by Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney International Operations division of The Walt Disney Company. It currently broadcasts in the Middle East (excluding Turkey, Israel and Iran), Africa, Greece, Cyprus, and all ex-Yugoslav countries (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo).
It originally launched on 2 April 1997 as a MENA-only channel and the replacement of the Asian version of Disney Channel, but began to roll out in other countries beginning in 2005. It previously used to cover Poland and Turkey with their respective audio tracks until 2010 and 2012 respectively, when two localized feeds were launched for those countries. The channel was also previously available in Albania between 2012 and 2018, with Albanian subtitles available for programs.
History[]
The Asian version of Disney Channel (broadcast from Singapore) made available to the viewers in the Middle East on 1 September 1996. The channel was launched on 2 April 1997 on satellite provider Orbit in the MENA region, after being separated from the Asian signal. At first, it was available only in English, but on 1 April 1998, a separate Arabic feed was added. Cartoons were dubbed in Arabic, while the live-action shows and most of live-action movies were subtitled. Disney Channel Middle East was then picked up by satellite provider Showtime in fall 2001. The channel featured the logos (resembling Mickey Mouse head) in two versions (the one with the channel's name written in English and the other in Arabic for each feed) until June 2003 when it adopted the 2002 US Disney Channel logo.
The channel was managed by Disney Channel Asia in Singapore until December 2004, when due to a new marketing strategy, it started to be managed from the United Kingdom. Somewhere at that time, both the Arabic and the English feed of the channel were merged. In consequence, on 3 January 2005 Disney Channel Middle East started to simulcast Disney Channel Scandinavia, including its schedule and the prints of the series and movies for this feed (modified to feature also Arabic dub credits). Then on November/December 2005 Disney Channel Scandinavia and Middle East started to add dub credits to the series and movies through subtitles.
Disney Channel Scandinavia and Middle East started gradually becoming individual feeds in 2006 starting with different rotation of films (that gets more different as the time goes by), though this did not stop Arab satellite provider Orbit from adding a Swedish audio track to the Middle Eastern feed on 16 April 2007 (which was subsequently removed years later). The Middle Eastern feed became a pan-European network, as the channel was launched in Sub-Saharan Africa on 25 September 2006, in Poland on 2 December 2006, in Turkey on 29 April 2007, and in ex-Yugoslav countries, Greece and Cyprus on 7 November 2009.
In fall 2009, when the feed separation from Disney Channel Scandinavia was complete, the Middle East feed (now broadcasting in most of the EMEA region) started to share promotions and events with Disney Channel Central and Eastern Europe.
On 1 August 2010, the channel stopped broadcasting in Poland due to the launch of a localized Polish feed of Disney Channel.
On 12 January 2012, Disney Channel EMEA stopped broadcasting in Turkey with the launch of a localized Turkish feed of the network. Later that year, Disney Channel EMEA was launched in Albania with Albanian-language subtitles available.
The channel adopted a new logo and underwent a brand design on 21 July 2014.[1] In 2015, Disney Channel EMEA switched its aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9.
In 2017, a high-definition feed of the channel was launched. An Arabic subtitle track was added for the broadcast of English-language live-action series, including credits, which is not available on the SD feed. Also in that year, Disney Channel EMEA rebranded using the 2017 European branding package.
In 2018, the channel was shut down in Albania.
In late 2023 or early 2024, all the channels will possibly cease transmission to focus on Disney+.[2]
Programming[]
Current programming[]
- Alex & Co.
- Amphibia
- Big City Greens
- Binny and the Ghost
- Bunk'd
- Disney 11
- DuckTales
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- The Ghost and Molly McGee
- Ghostforce
- Gabby Duran & the Unsittables
- Jessie
- LoliRock
- Marvel's Spider-Man
- Mickey Mouse
- Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir
- Raven's Home
- Rolling with the Ronks!
- Shake It Up
- Star Wars Forces of Destiny
- Sydney to the Max
- The Evermoor Chronicles
- The Owl House
- Violetta
- Wizards of Waverly Place
Former programming[]
- A.N.T. Farm
- Bizaardvark
- Cookabout
- Coop & Cami Ask the World
- Descendants: Wicked World
- Disney Fam Jam
- Disney Tsum Tsum
- Fish Hooks
- Go Away, Unicorn!
- Good Luck Charlie
- Gravity Falls
- Hannah Montana
- Jonas
- Just Roll with It
- K.C. Undercover
- Kim Possible
- Lab Rats
- Legend of the Three Caballeros
- Phineas and Ferb
- Sabrina: The Animated Series
- Sadie Sparks
- Soy Luna
- Supa Strikas
- Sonny with a Chance
- So Random!
- That's So Raven
- The Suite Life on Deck
- The ZhuZhus
- Totally Spies!
Upcoming programming[]
Disney Channel Original Movie premieres[]
2015[]
- Teen Beach Movie (June 26, 2015)
- Descendants (September 18, 2015)
2016[]
- Adventures in Babysitting (September 23, 2016)
2017[]
- Descendants 2 (October 6, 2017)
2018[]
- Zombies (May 12, 2018)
- Freaky Friday (November 9, 2018)
2019[]
- Kim Possible (May 3, 2019)
- Descendants 3 (October 11, 2019)
2020[]
- Zombies 2 (May 8, 2020)
2021[]
- Upside-Down Magic (29 January 2021)
- Under Wraps (29 October 2021)
- Spin (12 November 2021)
References[]
- ^ "Disney Channel unveils its new logo and on-air branding across Africa". mediaupdate.co.za. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ "Disney To Close 100 TV Channels". What's on Disney Plus. 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
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External links[]
- The Walt Disney Company
- Europe, the Middle East and Africa
- Disney Channel
- 2004 establishments in Europe
- Television channels and stations established in 1997
- Television channels in North Macedonia
- Television stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Television channels in Croatia
- Television stations in Serbia
- Television channels in Slovenia
- Television stations in Montenegro
- Television stations in Kosovo
- Television stations in the United Arab Emirates
- Television stations in Saudi Arabia
- Television stations in Egypt
- Television channels in Jordan
- Television stations in Morocco
- Television stations in Libya
- Television stations in Lebanon
- Television stations in Iraq
- Television stations in Algeria
- Television stations in Tunisia
- Television stations in Kuwait
- Television stations in the State of Palestine
- Television stations in Yemen
- Television channels in Syria
- Television stations in South Africa
- Television stations in Africa