Disney Channel is a Spanish children's pay television operated by The Walt Disney Company Spain, a part of The Walt Disney Company Iberia and the Spanish variant of the American television channel of the same name.For 17 years, it was available on Spanish terrestrial television in association with Net TV,[1] until its departure from Spanish DTT on 7 January 2025. It relaunched on 1 April 2026 on Pay TV replacing Disney Jr.
Originally launched as a pay television channel, a timeshift feed of the channel was launched, named Disney Channel +1 in 2001, broadcasting the same but a 1-hour-delay batch of content as the main feed.
A HD feed of Disney Channel was launched in December 2011, but it was restricted to subscription television providers. It only launched on DTT in 2024, after the Spanish government ordered television broadcasters to remove their SD feeds on the platform and exclusively broadcast in HD.
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, as well as acquired content.
In September, it started airing El rincón mágico, a pre-school program.
In November, it premiered La Liga Disney Channel, a football-themed game show.[2] A Spanish version of the British show Art Attack, hosted by Jordi Cruz, was also produced and broadcast, among others.
In February 1999, the channel had 100,000 subscribers.[3] On 16 November 2001, Disney launched three more channels: a timeshift channel called Disney Channel +1, as well as two sister channels called 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.[4] El rincón mágico was replaced by Playhouse Disney in 2001; filming of specialised segments started in June 2001 from the Madrid complex, which was shared between the five European versions available at the time.[5] At the time of its fourth anniversary, the channel had 1,130,000 subscribers and a market share of 34% among the 4-14 demographic.[6] Its local production increased in September with Zona Disney (replacing Zona 7 and merging with Telecinco's Club Disney block) (with the 'a' in Zona rendered with an @ symbol), the fifth season of La Liga Disney and the local version of Art Attack, as well as the acquired series Howdy Gaudi, created for the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Antoni Gaudí.Programming from the United States also premiered on the network including Kim Possible, The Proud Family and acquired series Jackie Chan Adventures.[7]
In 2003, the channel premiered a TV adaptation of Zipi y Zape produced by BRB Internacional, as part of Disney Channel's pledge to support local animation.[8] In September 2003, La Primera ported Zona Disney to compete with Telecinco's Max Clan.The TVE version included a segment called Retro-Zapping, with footage from TVE's own children's productions from its archives, as well as the FTA premiere of Kim Possible.[9] In October, a new game show from the Madrid studios premiered on the channel, Enigma animal, with Jordi Cruz presenting short reports on a given species.The format tested viewers' knowledge about Spanish fauna, and gave the viewers the chance to search on the internet.[10] For Christmas, a contract was signed with the National Reading Plan giving viewers further incentives to read books, in the commercial breaks of Disney's channels.[11]
American Dragon: Jake Long premiered in early 2005 as part of the main Zona Disney block.[12] In December 2005, the channel started airing tips on healthy eating, after a protocol signed with the Ministry of Health.[13] The success of High School Musical prompted Cuatro to buy the FTA rights for the flim, airing in November 2006, two months after its premiere on Disney Channel Spain.[14]
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.[15] After the purchase, Net TV was owned by Vocento (55%), Intereconomía Group (25%) and TWDCI (20%).In late May 2008, TWDCI announced the launch of Disney Channel replacing Net TV's Fly Music as a digital over-the-air channel on 1 July 2008.[16][17] Similarly, on 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 16:9widescreen. Disney Channel updated its logo in Spain on 20 June 2011, the website was also revamped. In 2012, a service called Disney Replay was introduced, it aired full episodes of older series. The Phineas and Ferb episode "Knot My Problem" first premiered on this service on 10 June 2013. In November 2013, the website was changed again as with the other European Disney Channels.
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 favour of 7 days of rewind features built into the TV boxes.
In December 2012, Disney Channel attracted a 31.5% share in the 4-12 demographic. The series finale of Wizards of Waverly Place attracted a 34.7% share in the above demographic in March 2012, at least 1.8 million viewers of all demographics contacted with the episode for at least one second.[18]
By the end of 2014, Disney Cinemagic had closed 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.
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.[19] This has led to speculation about Disney Channel in Spain potentially closing, or at least leaving terrestrial television in Spain, similar to other versions of the channel worldwide since the launch of Disney+, despite the channel continuing to broadcast on Spanish DTT until its closure on 2025.
On 19 January 2024, it was announced that the DTT signal of Disney Channel Spain would upgrade from its 576i resolution to 1080i on 14 February 2024, due to the shutdown of SD signals on terrestrial television in Spain on that same day.[20]
Channel closure
On 27 November 2024, VerTele reported that Disney Channel Spain would stop broadcasting on 7 January 2025 as a result of Disney Iberia not reaching new agreements with Net TV to continue operating the channel in the respective country.Its content can still be seen through Disney+ and its official YouTube channel.[21] Its sister channel Disney Jr. continues to broadcast on pay TV, similar to its Turkish counterpart.[22] The channel's final day on air was marked by a nine-hour special featuring several landmark episodes and some series finales, before ceasing broadcasting at midnight on 7 January 2025, after airing the Hannah Montana finale episode "Wherever I Go".[23] On DTT, its frequencies were then taken over by Squirrel, similar to its Russian counterpart.[24] After its closure on linear television, its YouTube channel remains active with a live stream (limited to Spain) which showed selected programs.[25]
Relaunch
On 5 March 2026, The Walt Disney Company Iberia announced the relaunch of Disney Channel in Spain, scheduled for 1 April 2026.It would return to the country as a pay TV channel as it was in its early days, which occupied the Spanish signal of Disney Jr., whose brand became a morning programming block in Spain.[26][27][28]
