TV Home Forum

Will Disney close all the UK linear kids channels?

Mirroring other international channels (October 2019)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
JO
Josh
Channel numbers have changed on Sky and Disney has been removed off the platform.
KU
Kunst
I wish the "now closed" slides for all 5 channels had information about it and animation like when Disney Cinemagic UK closed down in 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqm3fTmcKc4


Well technically Cinemagic UK didn't close down, it was just rebranded and relaunched as part of Sky Movies. Smile

But what's in place of what channel number it was originally on?

Can't remember the EPG number (if I'm correct 623), but on kids section , for sure
KU
Kunst
Final Disney Channel UK closedown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdV1UUUJNTU

Not much fanfare really
Which is a shame as like they could've played the WWOD intro for one last time.

That would be "romantic"but too far removed for a channel which hasn't been showing that block for a long time

I think the closest thing to a goodbye they have shown is the "Best of Disney Channel" promo

DC Australia had this, meanwhile : https://youtu.be/gKgxlwGxYso

I believe for the most part the UK team (and the Italian team too), didn't see it much as a goodbye, more like a move to Disney+
.
ST
Stuart
CBBC/Cbeebies have now shuffled up the Sky EPG to 607/608. I'm surprised CITV isn't also classed as a PSB channel and similarly moved into one of the slots vacated by Disney.
NJ
Neil Jones Founding member
CBBC/Cbeebies have now shuffled up the Sky EPG to 607/608. I'm surprised CITV isn't also classed as a PSB channel and similarly moved into one of the slots vacated by Disney.


Ofcom says "The public service broadcasters are those providing Channel 3 services, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C and the BBC. While all BBC public service television channels are PSB channels, only the main channels of each of the other public service broadcasters have this status" - https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/information-for-industry/public-service-broadcasting
AndrewPSSP, Inspector Sands and Stuart gave kudos
KU
Kunst
CITV is a purely commercial operation, with no public service remit, unlike CBBC and Cbeebies
ST
Stuart
Ofcom says "The public service broadcasters are those providing Channel 3 services, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C and the BBC. While all BBC public service television channels are PSB channels, only the main channels of each of the other public service broadcasters have this status" - https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/information-for-industry/public-service-broadcasting

Well, I never knew that. "Every day is a school day" Very Happy

Thanks, Neil.
FA
fanoftv
Are the closures based on viewing figures for the channels or will they soon be culling the US Disney Channel too?
MI
TheMike
Are the closures based on viewing figures for the channels or will they soon be culling the US Disney Channel too?


Disney is putting all of its eggs in the basket that is Disney+, which it sees as the future in the same way it saw launching own-branded channels as the future back in the 1990s.

How long Disney Channel USA lasts will depend on what they get from carriage fees, terms of existing contracts, etc. Disney UK's termination date was linked to carriage deals ending.

One channel that may last longer than others is Germany's Disney Channel, but that channel is very different to other Disney Channel's around the world, and is a result in there being no clearly defined EPG on platforms that segregate children and general entertainment, so children's content gives way to family and grown-up comedy, like "The Connors" and "The Nanny" in the evening.
KU
Kunst
Do not forget about DC Spain, Turkey and Russia, which are strong as FTA channels
PF
PFML84
I wonder if ITV ever considered doing some sort of quick deal / turnaround disposable channel in association with Disney for an EPG slot of theirs, so they could get CITV up higher, potentially on 609 so it wouldn't be so low down on 621 in comparison to the BBC's kids channels.
NJ
Neil Jones Founding member
I wonder if ITV ever considered doing some sort of quick deal / turnaround disposable channel in association with Disney for an EPG slot of theirs, so they could get CITV up higher, potentially on 609 so it wouldn't be so low down on 621 in comparison to the BBC's kids channels.


Realistically if ITV had pulled their finger out years ago CITV would probably be higher up by default by now. But by launching late and years behind everybody else, they go to the back of the queue on the EPG stakes. That's the way the Sky system works for most genres, first come first served, older channels get dibs. I think, though that doesn't explain why Boomerang, which is seven years younger than Nickelodeon, sits above it on the EPG.

However there did use to be a system on Sky where you got, say, channel 121, and then 122 and 123 effectively for free, but that system was abandoned as the number of channels expanded, so the decision was made to bunch them all up, and as Boomerang is a sister channel to Cartoon Network, that's probably why its ended up above Nickelodeon in the rankings today.

Nothing to stop any other channel swapping if they really wanted to through the EPG rules, though I dare say those at the top end of the 600s are relatively happy where they are.

Newer posts