Disney Channel (Spanish TV channel)

Disney Channel
Country	Spain
Broadcast area	Spain; Andorra; Equatorial Guinea
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom (formerly); Calle de José Bardasano Baos, Madrid, Spain (current);
Programming
Language(s)	Spanish (dubbing/subtitles); English
Picture format	1080i HDTV
Ownership
Owner	The Walt Disney Company Iberia S.L.; Disney Branded Television (Disney Entertainment)
Sister channels	Disney Channel (Portugal); Disney Junior (Spain); Disney Junior (Portugal);
History
Launched	17 April 1998; 26 years ago (pay television); 1 July 2008; 16 years ago (terrestrial television);
Replaced	Fly Music (on DTT)
Closed	9 March 2017; 7 years ago (Disney Channel +1); 14 February 2024; 9 months ago (Disney Channel SD); 7 January 2025; 39 days' time ;
Links
Website	tv.disney.es
Availability
Terrestrial
Digital terrestrial television	Channel 23 (Madrid, HD)

Disney Channel is a Spanish terrestrial television channel owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company Iberia (Spain & Portugal) and was localized version of the original United States channel of the same name.

It was launched on 17 April 1998 as a pay television channel, aimed for children to teenagers. In 2001, Disney launched a timeshift channel, 'Disney Channel +1', broadcasts the same programming one hour late. And on 1 July 2008, it was launched and replaced Fly Music on Spanish digital terrestrial television, thus becoming the Disney Channel that broadcasts in free TV,^[2] a practice that would be replicated in other markets in the following years.

An HD feed of the channel is available and exclusive to pay TV operators, while on DTT it only broadcasts at a standard definition of 576i.

History

Disney Channel Spain was launched in 1998, when The Walt Disney Company and Sogecable (now Prisa TV) made an agreement to distribute a Spanish version of the Disney Channel on the satellite platform Canal Satélite Digital. The channel began broadcasting on 17 April 1998. The channel carried local-made shows and Disney's animation library. A Spanish version of the British show Art Attack, hosted by Jordi Cruz, was also produced and broadcast, among others.^{[citation needed]}

In September 1999, Disney Channel Spain adopted Disney Channel UK's "Circles" logo and ident set created by GÉDÉON. On 16 November 2001, Disney started to offer three more channels: a timeshift channel, called Disney Channel +1, Toon Disney and Playhouse Disney (later Disney Junior). Toon Disney's schedule was meant to air exclusively Disney animation, while Playhouse was a channel for a preschool audience.^{[citation needed]}

In February 2008, the Walt Disney Company Iberia (TWDCI) decided to buy 20% stake in digital terrestrial television multiplex operator Sociedad Gestora de Televisión Net TV.^[3] After the purchase, Net TV was owned by Vocento (55%), Intereconomía Group (25%) and TWDCI (20%). Finally, the company announced in late May 2008 the launch of Disney Channel replacing Net TV's Fly Music as a digital over-the-air channel on 1 July 2008.^[4]^[5] In the same day, Toon Disney became Disney Cinemagic, like the British and French versions did two years before.

On 1 May 2010, Disney Channel Spain started broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen. Disney Channel has launched its new App logo on 20 June 2011. The website was also revamped. In 2012 a service called Disney Replay was introduced. It airs full episodes of series. The Phineas and Ferb episode "Knot My Problem" first premiered on this service on 10 June 2013. In November 2013 the site was changed again as per the other European Disney Channels.^{[citation needed]}

Disney Channel+1 was gradually discontinued over the course of the 2010s, being mostly replaced with Disney Channel HD. The channel was permanently discontinued on 9 March 2017, after being removed from Vodafone TV, in favor of rewind features built into the Cable Boxes.^{[citation needed]}

By the end of 2014, Disney Cinemagic closed its doors in Spain. Eventually a spiritual successor would be launched in the form of Movistar Disney, a channel exclusive to the pay-TV operator Movistar Plus. The channel was launched on 22 December 2017, and closed by the end of March 2020, due to the launch of Disney+ in Spain, alongside Disney XD.^{[citation needed]}

On 23 December 2021, it was announced that Disney had sold its 20% on Net TV to Squirrel Media, who acquired Vocento's 55% a few weeks prior.^[6] This has led to speculation about Disney Channel in Spain potentially closing, or at least leaving terrestrial television in Spain, just like what has happened with other versions of the channel worldwide since the launch of Disney+, despite the channel continuing to broadcast on Spanish DTT.^{[citation needed]}

On 19 January 2024, it was announced that the DTT signal of Disney Channel Spain would upgrade from its 576i resolution to 1080p on 14 February 2024, due to the shutdown of SD signals on terrestrial television in Spain on that same day.^[7]

VerTele reported that the channel would be removed from terrestrial platforms on 7 January 2025 as an result of wider adoption of Disney+ in the country. It is expected that its sister channel Disney Junior will continue broadcasting on pay TV, similar to the Turkish version.^[8]