Editing Disney Channel (section)

==== Disney Jr. ====
{{Main|Disney Jr.|Playhouse Disney}}
Disney Jr. is a daily morning program block aimed at preschoolers, spiritually succeeding ''Playhouse Disney'' which launched on April 6, 1997, as part of Disney Channel's morning lineup. On May 26, 2010, Disney General Entertainment Content (at the time known as ''Disney-ABC Television Group'') announced the expansion of the block in to a 24/7 cable and satellite channel which debuted on March 23, 2012<ref name="dgedischan" /> The channel would be commercial-free channel and compete with other preschooler-skewing cable channels such as the [[Nick Jr. Channel]] and [[Universal Kids]] (previously known as ''PBS Kids Sprout'' and then ''Sprout'').<ref name=" PreSchool Programs Replace SOAPnet">{{cite news|date=27 May 2010|title=PreSchool Programs Replace SOAPnet|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/business/media/27disney.html?src=busln|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=24 June 2012|archive-date=25 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625221708/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/business/media/27disney.html?src=busln|url-status=live}}</ref> The channel features programs from Disney Channel's existing preschool programming library and films/movies from the Walt Disney Pictures film library. On its launch, Disney Junior took over the channel space held by [[Soapnet]] – a Disney-owned cable channel featuring [[soap opera]]s – due to that genre's decline in popularity on broadcast television and the growth of [[video on demand]], [[streaming media|online streaming]], and [[digital video recorder]]s negating the need for a linear channel devoted to the soap opera genre. After a period during which cable providers unwilling to drop the network immediately retained it to prevent subscriber cancellations, Soapnet ceased all operations on December 31, 2013.<ref name="soapnetdrain">{{cite web|last=James|first=Meg|date=9 November 2013|title=Disney's SOAPnet channel headed for the drain|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-disney-soapnet-20131109,0,3311291.story|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=November 10, 2013|archive-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306063407/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-disney-soapnet-20131109,0,3311291.story|url-status=live}}</ref> The former [[Playhouse Disney]] block on Disney Channel rebranded as Disney Junior on February 14, 2011, along with the existing international channels; they had their names shortened to "Disney Jr." since June 1, 2024, although spelt/pronounced the same as before. Disney-ABC Television Group once planned to launch a ''Playhouse Disney''-branded channel in the [[United States]] in 2001, however it never happened despite launching internationally.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-76166895.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624034312/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-76166895.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 24, 2011|title=Play nice now; Walt Disney Co. plans to introduce Playhouse Disney Channel|date=June 25, 2001|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]}}</ref>