History Creator / DisneyChannel

Established in 1983 -- a time when [[Creator/{{Disney}} The Walt Disney Company]][[note]]then known as Walt Disney Productions[[/note]] seemed to be on its last legs, just before the arrival of Michael Eisner and company -- The Disney Channel initially served as an outlet for the company's old theatrical shorts, movies, television shows, and documentaries. Despite being a premium service at the time (a la Creator/{{HBO}}), the channel didn't even air full-time; at least not until the "Disney After Dark" [[UsefulNotes/BlockProgramming programming block]], with PG programming for adults (including ''Going Home'', a series of concert specials featuring mostly baby boomer-era acts, and ''Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion''), was added[[note]]Similar to Nickelodeon's early years, when [[Creator/AAndE A&E]] was carried in primetime. By contrast, Disney Channel ''never'' aired around the clock in the UK--with the midnight to 6 am block relegated to "previews"--though the local version of Disney XD did air 24/7 (it should be noted that said UK counterpart started as Creator/FoxKids UK and time-shared with other channels--first a failed spin-off of Creator/{{Sky}} 1 called Sky 2, then with the National Geographic Channel, before going 24/7 with the shutdown of Sky's analog service and the rise of Sky Digital {at the time, many channels time-shared due to lack of transponders}; after Disney bought Fox Family Worldwide, Fox Kids UK was first rebranded as Jetix, then Disney XD)[[/note]].

Beyond its namesake, Disney Channel featured a colorful variety of family-oriented movies and series from other companies and countries, all accompanied by colorful, often stop-motion AdBumpers. The ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'' films were popular enough that they led to the successful spinoff series called ''Series/RoadToAvonlea''. Other popular shows from this era included ''WesternAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' and its sequels, the ''Manga/{{Unico}}'' [[Anime/TheFantasticAdventuresOfUnico anime]] [[Anime/UnicoInTheIslandOfMagic adaptations]], the Film/TalesForAll films, the later seasons of ''Series/KidsIncorporated'', ''The New Mickey Mouse Club'', ''Series/FlashForward1996'' (a launching pad for Creator/BenFoster and Creator/JewelStaite), ''In A Heartbeat'' and ''Series/TheFamousJettJackson''.

* ''Series/EvenStevens''

* ''WesternAnimation/SadieSparks''[[note]]Acquired TV series[[/note]]

* ''Can of Worms''

* ''3rd & Bird''

* ''WesternAnimation/JakeAndTheNeverlandPirates'' (based on the characters of ''Franchise/PeterPan'')

* ''WesternAnimation/Superkitties''

* ''[[Series/TheFamousJettJackson Jett Jackson]]: TheMovie''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid''

* ''Alley Cats Strike''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dclogo2014-_5002.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Slogans}} The best place to be.]]]]

->''"Hi! We're TV Tropes, and you're viewing Disney Channel's TV Tropes page."''

-> ''[[ThemeTune Ba-Bah]] [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=b_rjBWmc1iQ Ba-Bum]]''

Thanks in part to being a paid service, Disney Channel eternally lagged behind the wildly popular {{Creator/Nickelodeon}} in the ratings before the former subsequently moved to basic cable in the summer of 2001.[[note]]Though the transition had been underway before then, at least to 1997 and the three-block approach to programming[[/note]] The channel then developed a unique format -- instead of commercial breaks, pauses in programming are filled with promotions for other shows, Disney films and other Disney products like [=CDs=] and their sister radio network, Radio/RadioDisney, which are often their own promotional mini-shows. [[note]]There was some outside sponsorship in the form of {{Public Service Announcement}}s using footage from whatever ad campaign a given sponsor is running on conventional television, not unlike Creator/{{PBS}}.[[/note]] Also, the adult-oriented lineup was replaced with "Vault Disney", a block that featured vintage Disney shows.

By 2006, Disney Channel was targeting teenage girls as their primary audience. With the ginormous success of the ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' film franchise and shows like ''Series/HannahMontana'', the channel would gravitate to what would become [[Franchise/DisneyChannelLiveActionUniverse a whole shared universe]] [[FollowTheLeader of similar tween comedies]]. Except for preschool-oriented programming, Disney Channel would cut back on everything else. It worked spectacularly, with the ratings constantly being neck and neck with Nick's offerings, and both children ''and'' teenagers eating it up. Chances are if you grew up in [[TheNoughties the late 2000s]], these shows practically shaped your entire childhood. General audience animated shows were banished to Creator/ToonDisney, [[NetworkDecay which would undergo a similar transformation]] and become Creator/DisneyXD in 2009. The channel's programming was now segregated between the female-skewing Disney Channel [[DistaffCounterpart and the boy-targeting Disney XD]].

* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' {outside North America)

* ''WesternAnimation/{{DTV}}''

* ''Series/{{Bunnytown}}''

* ''Series/O11CE'', better known in English-speaking countries as Disney 11, part of the Disney Channel Latinoamerica universe along with Series/{{Violetta}}, Series/SoyLuna, Series/BIA and Disney Channel Brazil's ''Juacas''.

* ''Manga/NinjaHattori'' in Asia

* ''Manga/{{Perman}}'' in Asia
* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' outside North America

* ''Film/DenBrother''