Disney Channel (Wa)
The Wanian feed of Disney Channel is one of the three channels owned by The Walt Disney Company Wa, the others being pre-school channel Disney Junior and sports channel ESPN. Although it targets kids, it also targets families and screens shows that aren't kid-friendly like Revenge, High School of the Dead and sports overflow from ESPN (under ESPN branding). Like its sister channels, it operates as an FTA terrestrial service.
History[edit | edit source]
The royal houses abolished the WBC Television monopoly in 2007, and Wa Media, a commercial radio and print company, launched its own channels in 2010. In 2013, the second stage of the Wanian digital terrestrial/commercial media license auction was put into place. One of the companies interested in a license was The Walt Disney Company Wa, founded in 2005 as means to legally release Disney productions in theatres. Coupled by the lack of cable television under royal legislation, Disney decided to divide its licenses between two kids channels (Disney Channel and Disney Junior) and a sports channel (ESPN).
The three channels launched simultaneously at 7pm on March 1, 2015. In a symbolic act, the first program seen on the channel was Toy Story. The channel was built upon a massive back catalog that was now in Disney's hands, from television series to feature-length films, with nearly 90% of the content coming from its companies. It also screened series from Flarland, Hopeland and Northulia.
In 2017, Disney had outbid Wa Media over the rights of Neighbours and Home and Away. These series are still being shown.
Programming[edit | edit source]
Animated[edit | edit source]
- Big City Greens
- Fish Hooks
- Phineas and Ferb
Live-action[edit | edit source]
- Hannah Montana
- Home and Away
- Neighbours
Former[edit | edit source]
- Get Ace! (2014)
- Recess (2014)
- Suddenly a Mermaid (2014)
- Teacher's Pet (2014)
Sports[edit | edit source]
Until 2016, Disney Channel Wa "timeshared" with ESPN (for legal reasons, it wasn't allowed to broadcast sporting events under the Disney Channel brand under potential mix-ups) until the dedicated license for it arrived. The last sporting event shown were the 2016 Olympics (overflow) shared with the WBC.
