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On March 23 Disney will debut a brand new channel: Disney Junior. The announcement, in this case pulled from Disney fan magazine website DisZine, doesn’t come as that much of a surprise. In some of its marketing for new shows Disney has mentioned Disney Junior, though before this notice on the new channel I’m sure many, like me, just assumed that any relevant shows would air during Disney Junior (formerly known as Playhouse Disney) hours on its parent channel.
Up until this point, Disney Junior has just existed as a scheduling block on the Disney Channel, one meant to indicate to parents that the programming appearing during that time is suitable for younger viewers. Not that much on the Disney Channel is inappropriate for any age, but some of the content for teens might have moments frightening to younger kids, or just not hold their interest as well.
The intriguing thing about the debut of Disney Junior as its own channel is that it will also continue to run during its regular time on the Disney Channel. This leads me to believe that Disney Junior, which will be available with most cable companies, might come at a higher subscription price and not be available at the same package level as the Disney Channel.
It’s a decent move by Disney Television executives, to continue broadcasting the relevant programs on the Disney Channel instead of forcing interested parties to suddenly pay more for it. In fact, that makes me wonder what the draw of Disney Junior just as a channel would be; if you can continue getting that content for the same price, why pay extra for more of it? I don’t know many parents that would want to plop their kids in front of a channel meant just for them all day long; a few hours, which is the length of Disney Junior’s current run on the Disney Channel, is usually enough.
Business executives don’t make these kinds of decisions without significant marketing research first, to make sure they’re not risking too much, so I’m sure they believe there is enough demand for their supply. It helps that popular shows such as “Jake and the Never Land Pirates” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” will appear on Disney Junior.
What I’m the most interested in, however, is the new content planned. One show stands out to me in particular: “Doc McStuffins.” It’s about a little girl who runs a clinic in her backyard for injured and sick stuffed animals. After the Princess Sofia disappointment, I’m thrilled to hear about a new show featuring a young girl as a doctor, or who at least centers her playtime on being a doctor. It’s definitely a great step up in a role model for children.
Other programming that’ll be new to Disney in the States (some of it is based on content from other countries, some is entirely original) includes “A Poem Is,” featuring celebrities reading poetry for kids, “Guess How Much I Love You,” about father Big Nutbrown Hare’s relationship with his son Little Nutbrown Hare,” and “The Magical World of Disney Junior.” The latter is just the latest incarnation of ABC’s old “The Magical World of Disney,” and it’s basically a platform for airing both animated and live action Disney films.
Do you think you’d be interested in purchasing a whole new channel in the form of Disney Junior or is its content on the Disney Channel enough for you?
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*(This image by RubyGoes is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
