Launched April 17, 1998 Website disneychannel.es Owned by The Walt Disney Company | Broadcast area National Founded 1998 | |
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Picture format 576i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV) (December 1, 2011) Formerly called Fly Music (only on DTT) Sister channel(s) Intereconomía TV
Disney Cinemagic
Disney Junior
Disney XD Profiles | ||
Disney Channel Spain is a free-to-air television channel and is an edition of The Walt Disney Company-owned Disney Channel, broadcasting in Spain. It is marketed to mostly children; however, in recent years the diversity of viewers has increased with an older audience. It is owned by Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group. which is owned by The Walt Disney Company and by Spanish group Vocento which includes the conservative Spanish newspaper ABC (unrelated to Disney's American TV network also named ABC). It began broadcasting in 1998 as a satellite television channel. On July 1, 2008, it replaced the channel Fly Music on the Spanish digital terrestrial television, thus becoming the first Disney Channel available on free television.
A 1-hour timeshift channel called Disney Channel +1 is available on some satellite television services. It has three sister channels, Disney Junior, Disney XD and Disney Cinemagic.
History
Disney Channel Spain was launched in 1998, when The Walt Disney Company and Sogecable came to an agreement to distribute a Spanish version of the American Disney Channel on the satellite platform Canal Satellite Digital. The channel began broadcasting on April 17, 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.
In September 1999, Disney Channel Spain adopted Disney Channel UK's Circles logo and ident set created by GÉDÉON. 3 years later, Disney started to offer three more channels: a timeshift channel, called Disney Channel +1, Toon Disney and Playhouse Disney. Toon Disney's schedule was meant to air exclusively Disney animation, while Playhouse was a channel for a preschool audience. In 2008, Toon Disney became Disney Cinemagic, like the British, German and French versions did two years before.
In February 2008 the Walt Disney Company Iberia (TWDCI) decided to buy 20% stake in the group of digital terrestrial television Management Company Television Net TV SA (or Net TV). NET TV share holding ended up, after the purchase, 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 an digital over the air channel on July 1, 2008.
Starting on May 1, 2010 Disney Channel Spain started broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen. Disney Channel has launched its new App logo on June 20, 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 June 10, 2013. In November 2013 the site was changed again as per the other European Disney Channels.