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Disney Jr Network To Roll Out March 23; Disney XD To Launch Marvel Block: TCA

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday January 9, 2012 @ 3:34pm PSTTags: Disney Junior, Disney XD, SOAPnet

During Day 1 of ABC-Disney portion of TCA, the group revealed that its Disney Junior channel now has a launch date: midnight on March 23. The 24-hour channel that will target kids 2-7 and their parents is replacing SoapNet, which is being phased out. Disney Junior started life in 2010 as a programming block on Disney Channel; that block will remain after the launch. “This marks the beginning of a sea change in the ‘preschool plus’ television landscape,” Disney Channels Worldwide president and COO Gary Marsh said in the release announcing the news. “The response to our Disney Junior programming block has been extremely positive from both our affiliate partners and our viewers’ parents. On March 23, when it launches as a stand-alone channel, our audience will have the opportunity to experience an engaging, learning-focused and uniquely Disney destination on a 24-hour basis.” Disney Junior will include runs of existing shows Jake And The Never Land Pirates and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and new show Doc McStuffins, as well as a weekend movie block.

Meanwhile, Disney XD said it will launch a dedicated Marvel programming block, Marvel Universe,on April 1. It will include the new series Ultimate Spider-Man and the return of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes new among animated short-form series and live-action interstitials that target the channel’s boys 6-14 demo.

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‘Carrie’ & ‘Disney Moms’ Among Rejected Ideas For SOAPNet: An Insider’s Perspective On Net’s Evolution & ABC Soaps’ Demise

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday April 19, 2011 @ 12:13am PDTTags: ABC Daytime, All My Children, Disney Jr., One Life to Live, Soap Operas, SOAPnet
Nellie Andreeva

Less than a week after the cancellations of ABC’s daytime dramas All My Children and One Life To Live emotions are still raw, with the frustration of soap fans and people who worked on the two shows often focused on ABC Daytime president Brian Frons and his business strategy lieutenant Kate Nelson. The demise of the sudsers is part of a larger strategy by Disney to get out of the soap business that also claimed cable channel SOAPNet, set to be rebranded as Disney Jr. early next year. But before the Disney Channel team’s concept was chosen by Disney/ABC TV Group president Anne Sweeney, there were several other ideas for the channel that came out of the ABC Daytime division. Here is an insider’s perspective on the events that led to the cancellation of AMC and OLTL, as well as on some of the consequences, by a person who has worked at the company:

I have worked at ABC Daytime for several years and have experienced a lot of the ups and downs especially since Brian Frons and Kate Nelson took over. With the announcement of the cancellation of All My Children and One Life to Life, I feel that they completely failed all of the people that worked for them.

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ABC Daytime Pushing WGA For Waiver (Or Else Network Starts Firing Soap Writers)

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday July 15, 2010 @ 10:21am PDTTags: ABC Daytime, All My Children, Big Media, General Hospital, One Life to Live, SOAPnet, WGA

abc_logo1.thumbnailHere is yet another big test of whether a Hollywood guild will push back against the insurmountable power of Big Media. The website Daytime Confidential.com has learned from multiple sources (and asked me to get the word out) that ABC Daytime has approached … Read More »

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