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| Headquarters: | 1 Fusionopolis View, #06-01 Sandcrawler Building, Singapore 138577 |
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Disney Channel is a former pan-Asian pay television kids channel owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia.
It began broadcasting in Taiwan on 29 March 1995, until its main launch in January 2000, when it first broadcast in Malaysia, Singapore,[1] Brunei, and the Philippines.[2] [3] [4] [5] It later expanded to most Southeast Asian countries in the months following. The channel was closed on 1 October 2021, while Taiwan's branch ended on 1 January 2022, as part of a wider switch to streaming services Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar.
Disney Channel Asia's programming consised of original first-run television series, theatrically released and original made-for-cable movies, selected other third-party programming, and Malaysian-based originals. Some programming were not aired due to government restrictions.
The Walt Disney Company set up an office in Hong Kong in December 1994 to manage its television interests in the Asia-Pacific region, with the aim of starting a television channel in Taiwan with a 20-hour schedule. The channel's distributor was Po-Hsin Entertainment,[6] a company partly-owned by the then-ruling Kuomintang and was in hot water during the legalization of cable TV in Taiwan.[7]
For this end, the company announced plans in January 1995 to set up a satellite earth station in Singapore, with its Singaporean television subsidiary running the facility. The facility was not "designed for a Singapore Disney Channel, pursuing the goal of launching the network in Singapore in order to explore business opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.[8] The license was awarded by the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore on 1 March 1995, the first to be used entirely for and by a single company.[9]
The facilities were formally open on 26 March 1995, three days before the launch of the Taiwanese channel, with a speech by Minister of the Arts Brigadier-General George Yeo, who delivered a speech mainly centered on the American cultural industry and the contrasts between the wholesomeness of Mickey Mouse and the cynicism of Beavis and Butt-Head, and how the rest of the world felt unsure about American culture as a whole. About 150 people attended the ceremony. Yeo affirmed that the resurgence of interest in Disney and similar products reflected a "deeper renewal of human society" and that even in a conservative country like Singapore, a country still dominated by "old-fashioned" values, products and progams from Disney were seen as "very comfortable" with consumers. Moreover, Singapore was the world's largest consumer of Disney products per capita at the time.[10] The satellite station alone cost S$14 million with the possibility of Singapore being the second country in Asia to receive Disney Channel, pending negotiations with Singapore Cable Vision, which was set to start its regular cable service in June. In addition, the facility was also used for dubbing content in other languages, as well as moving more of the facilities done in Hong Kong to the new ones in Singapore.[11]
Disney Channel began broadcasting in Taiwan on 29 March 1995 at 2:00 pm (Taipei), marking its first Disney Channel overseas, with Po-Hsin Entertainment as its distributor.[12] [13] [14] The ceremony took place at Grand Hyatt Taipei in Taiwan. The channel was beamed from Walt Disney Television's facilities in Loyang, Singapore using the Apstar-1 satellite; negotiations with Singapore Cable Vision to include the channel on its package were underway.[15]
Between January to February 2000, Disney Television International Asia-Pacific launched Disney Channel in more countries and was made available for Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines;[16] [17] [18] broadcasting with an English audio track with Mandarin subtitles.
During the launch, the channel featured premiere movies, , Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, Hercules, George of the Jungle, The Parent Trap and the live action version of 101 Dalmatians, including the series The Wonderful World of Disney. It was also featured American television series Hercules The Series, Timon and Pumbaa, Bear in the Big Blue House, and The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, as well as kids drama series series Crash Zone and Flash Forward. It also had local content, with Disney Buzz, later renamed Studio Disney;[19] and its morning block Playhouse Disney.
On 1 June 2002, the channel was launched in the South Korean market,[20] [21] with additional Korean subtitles under English language, in July 2002, Disney Channel expands to Indonesia,[22] [23] which later aired programs in Indonesian dub.
In December 2002, Disney Channel Asia moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore,[24] seven years after launching its satellite broadcasting center back in 1995.[25]
On 2 April 2004, Disney Channel along with Playhouse Disney launched in Hong Kong.[26] [27] The standalone Playhouse Disney channel launched in Indonesia as well.[28] [29] [30]
Over the first six months of 2005, Disney Channel Asia, along with sister channel Playhouse Disney (now Disney Junior) were launched in Vietnam, at a time where the country's under-14 population stood at 24 million,[31] [32] Palau and Thailand.[33] [34] It finished off with a launch of both in Cambodia, its 11th market on 20 June 2005, with Cambodia Entertainment Production Co. Ltd. as distributor.[35] It later launches Playhouse Disney in some markets since 2004 in the Philippines,[36] [37] Singapore,[38] Malaysia,[39] Brunei,[40] and South Korea.[41]
In December 2006, Disney Channel expanded to Papua New Guinea on the HiTron cable service.[42]
On 1 July 2011, Disney Channel launched its Korean feed separating the pan-Asian feed, which is the first Disney channel to be broadcasting with Korean dubbing.[43] [44] Later on 11 July 2011, its sister channel Playhouse Disney relaunched as Disney Junior,[45] coinciding the premiere of Jake and the Neverland Pirates.
On 15 September 2012, Disney Channel's third sister channel Disney XD launches in Malaysia.[46] [47] It was later launched in Singapore on 16 March 2013,[48] Indonesia and Thailand on 19 October 2013,[49] and concluding in the Philippines on 31 May 2014.[50]
After the ban of Disney Channel India and Disney XD India in Bangladesh as the networks were constantly broadcasting content in the Hindi language and its heavy localization back in 2013,[51] Disney Channel Asia was made available on several digital cable platforms, such as Bengal Digital, in the country in approximately 2016.[52] Due to the closure of the channel, India-based Disney International HD started broadcasting in Bangladesh as a replacement.
Most of its programming was available via DisneyLife when it was launched in the Philippines on 25 May 2018.[53] [54] It was later discontinued on 1 April 2020.[55]
On 1 September 2020, Disney Channel in Indonesia was separated from the main feed, following of the launch of Disney+ Hotstar on 5 September 2020. It also has a live stream on the website, and airs some idents as well.
Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior ceased transmissions in Singapore on 1 June 2020 after failing to renew their contracts, on both Singtel and StarHub.[56] Its content was moved to and replaced with Disney+, since it was launched in the country on 23 February 2021.
On 1 January 2021, Disney Channel and Disney Junior ceased transmission in Malaysia on Astro due to the TV provider's Refreshed Kids Pack,[57] and the preparation of the launch of Disney+ Hotstar in the country. It ceases transmission while airing Bolt at midnight. Disney's content was moved to the streaming service, since its launch on 1 June 2021. Also on 1 January that year due to the review of Disney's business in the region, (particularly Singapore), its sister channel Disney XD was closed in the said region.
After 21 years on the air, Disney Channel, including Disney Junior and most of its Fox channels officially closed in the rest of Asia; and Hong Kong on 1 October 2021.[58] [59] It ceased its operations at midnight (JKT/THAI), concluding with Star vs. the Forces of Evil (pan-Asian feed)[60] and Bao (Hong Kong feed).[61]
After the closure, Disney Channel in Taiwan will continue to operate,[62] until its cessation on New Year's Day (1 January 2022),[63] [64] concluding with a Big Hero 6 short also at midnight (In Taipei's Time), with Nickelodeon serving as its replacement in some cable providers,[65] [66] while most of its content (including third-party programs) will be replaced on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar depends on their countries' versions.[67]
With the launch of the channel in 2000, Disney Channel Asia began to use the "Circles" presentation package, until the end of April 2003, when the US logo (and design package by CA Square) as the "Bounce" graphics, it became the channel's on-air presentation format, then later rebranded using the "Ribbon" graphics from 2007 until 2011. Two more redesigns were made in 2012, then on 1 August 2014, with the current wordmark logo.
Disney Channel Asia started using parts of the US "Social Media" rebrand from 1 December 2017 and rebranded fully on 1 January 2018 at 6 am. As of 2020, it has also used elements of the US "Item Age" graphics, while Hong Kong & Taiwan keep its old branding before the closure.
The pan-Asian feed was available in Thailand, Fiji, Palau, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.[68] This feed stopped airing movies and started sharing the same schedule with the Indonesian feed on 1 February 2021. This feed officially ceased all operations on 1 October 2021.
The schedule was similar to the main feed, plus local advertisements. Some programming was replaced by sitcoms. This feed was ceased operations on 1 June 2020, after failing to renew their contracts on both StarHub & Singtel; due to the launch of Disney+ on 23 February 2021.
Same schedule as the Asia feed, plus local advertisements; began early on January 15, 2000. It was available in four languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. This channel was only available on Astro in Malaysia and Kristal-Astro in Brunei. Because of Astro's Refreshed Kids Pack on 14 December 2020 and the arrival of Disney+ Hotstar, Disney Channel, along with Disney Junior, they will not be available on Astro and Astro-owned TV providers (including NJOI and Kristal-Astro).
Therefore, there's the only impact that The Walt Disney Company will be shutting down Disney XD in Southeast Asia on the same date and time by following the review of Disney's business in this region, just before Astro has already confirmed with this statement before Astro shutting down both Disney Channel and Disney Junior on the same date and time. However, The Walt Disney Company didn't announce that Astro will be shutting down Disney Channel and Disney Junior on New Year's Day 2021 at midnight. This feed ceased operations on 1 January 2021,[69] along with Disney Junior and Disney XD, on Astro due to the TV provider's Refreshed Kids Pack and the launch of Disney+ Hotstar on 1 June 2021.[70]
Began in July 2002; the schedule was very similar to the main feed, with the exclusions of movies at launch. It was separated from the main feed from 1 September 2020, during the launch of Disney+ Hotstar on 5 September 2020.
This feed later started sharing the same schedule with the main feed on 1 February 2021. There are also Disney+ Hotstar idents on this feed. The channel completely closed on October 1, 2021, leaving the streaming platform behind.
Began on January 15, 2000. It had the same schedule as the Asia feed, plus local advertisements. The channel ceased operations on 1 October 2021, with Disney+ made available lately since 17 November 2022.[71]
Expanded in May 2005. A one-hour time-shifted version of the main Asia feed with local advertisements, Vietnamese translations in promos, and subtitles. The channel ceased operations on 1 October 2021.
On 2 May 2015, The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia launched a high-definition simulcast feed of Disney Channel in the Philippines, available on Sky Cable and Destiny Cable distributed by ACCION in that country.[72] Just like its SD counterpart, the HD simulcast of the channel airs the same shows shown in the SD feed. The HD feed was also launched on TrueVisions in Thailand on 7 July 2016 as an exclusive for cable subscribers, and on Astro in Malaysia on 15 November 2019 for satellite subscribers.[73] [74] The HD channels also ceased transmission on 1 October 2021.
Launched last 2 April 2004, along with Playhouse Disney. The schedule of this feed was shared with the Taiwan feed and was separated from the main feed on 2 April 2004. It was broadcast in English and Cantonese languages. The channel ceased operations on 1 October 2021, due to the launch of Disney+ on 16 November 2021.
It was the first overseas feed launched by Disney Channels Worldwide. It began operations on 29 March 1995. It had its own schedule with local advertisements and broadcasts in English and Taiwanese Mandarin. The feed ceased operations on 1 January 2022,[75] after 26 years of broadcasting, due to the launch of Disney+ on 12 November 2021.
See main article: Disney Junior (Southeast Asian TV channel). It was a 24-hour television preschool channel, and the sister channel of Disney Channel, amid at kids and preschoolers two to seven (2–7) years old. Originally launched as a morning block on Disney Channel as Playhouse Disney in 2000; and officially launches as a television channel on 2 April 2004 in Hong Kong and Indonesia. It was later expanded in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines; between 2004 and 2005 respectively.
On 11 July 2011, Playhouse Disney was rebranded as Disney Junior, on both the morning block and the television channel itself. The block was discontinued on 31 July 2018 due to their business changes, while the channel was entirely closed in the region on 1 October 2021 along with Disney Channel; excluding Singapore and Malaysia, since it previously ceased transmission in those countries on 1 June 2020 and 1 January 2021 respectively.
See main article: Disney XD (Southeast Asian TV channel). It was a Southeast Asian television channel, amid for big kids and teenagers six to fifteen (6–15) years old, the channels launch on 15 September 2012 in Malaysia, 16 March 2013 in Singapore, 19 October 2013, in Indonesia and Thailand; and 31 May 2014 in the Philippines, concluding its launch. The channel was closed on 1 January 2021,[76] excluding Singapore, since it was taken out back on 1 June 2020.
See main article: List of programmes broadcast by Disney Channel (Southeast Asia).
It was the final programming block on Disney Channel. Aires at 3:00 pm (UTC+08:00), airing random movies; it was halted on 30 September 2021, prior to the closure.
It was a halloween programming block with special marathons every October. It was halted in 2020.
It was the preschool morning block of Disney Channel, began during the 2000 launch as Playhouse Disney. Rebranded as Disney Junior on Disney Channel on 11 July 2011 and was halted on 31 July 2018.
See main article: Studio Disney.
See main article: As the Bell Rings (Singaporean TV series).
See main article: Waktu Rehat.
Club Mickey Mouse was the Malaysian adaptation of Mickey Mouse Club, originally premiere on 15 September 2017.