Playhouse Disney
| Playhouse Disney | |
|---|---|
Playhouse Disney logo used from 2002–11
|
|
| Launched | October 4, 1998 |
| Closed | February 14, 2011 |
| Network | Disney Channel |
| Owned by |
Disney Channels Worldwide (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Picture format |
720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Slogan |
Where Learning is Powered by Imagination (1998-2002) Imagine and Learn (2002-2011) |
| Country | Worldwide |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Burbank, California |
| Formerly called | Disney Channel Preschool Block (1997-98) |
| Replaced | Jetix Play |
| Replaced by | Disney Junior |
| Sister channel(s) |
Disney Channel Disney XD |
| Timeshift service | Playhouse Disney +1 (Europe) |
Playhouse Disney is a defunct brand for a slate of programming blocks and international cable and satellite television channel that was owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit of the Disney–ABC Television Group, itself a unit of The Walt Disney Company. It originated in the United States as a morning program block on the Disney Channel. Its programming was targeted at children ages 3–8, featuring a mix of live-action and animated series.
The Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel was relaunched as Disney Junior on February 14, 2011. The 22 cable channels and blocks using the Playhouse Disney brand around the world were relaunched under the Disney Junior brand over the next two years, concluding with the rebranding of the Russian channel in September 2013.
Playhouse Disney launched on October 4, 1998 as a daily morning program block for preschoolers on Disney Channel, debuting just over one year after the channel's relaunch that signified the beginning of its full conversion into a commercial-free basic cable channel. Prior to the block's launch, Disney Channel had aired a lineup of preschool-targeted programs (which were mixed alongside animated series aimed at older children) during the morning hours since its debut in April 1983. On April 6, 1997, Disney Channel re-launched its morning program block, which now utilized a similar graphics package for its promotions as that used for the channel's afternoon children's programs. A stylized version of Disney Channel's "Mickey Mouse TV" logo of the time period for the block (featuring a green paint-style background overlaid by a multicolored "playhouse" titling) was introduced on October 4, 1998 with the introduction of new graphics for the block.
One of the Playhouse Disney block's most popular series was Bear in the Big Blue House, an educational live-action series from Jim Henson Productions that debuted in October 1997, focusing on the adventures of Bear (voice by Noel MacNeal); the series was named by TV Guide as one of the "top 10 new shows for kids" that year. For the first three years of its run, the Playhouse Disney block originally aired each weekday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and weekends from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Following each program, which usually ran 23 minutes (most of which, with the exception of movies, aired without promotional interruption), the remainder of the time period was filled by blocks of either short segments or music videos (the latter of which were originally aired under the banner "Feet Beat").
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