At the time of its launch in 1988, Family Channel, owned by DHX Media, held Canadian rights to Disney Channel's programming library. As such, it operated licensed Canadian versions of Disney Channel's spinoff brands, Disney XD and Disney Junior as sister networks.
Launch and development (2015–2017)
On April 16, 2015, Corus Entertainment announced that it had reached a "landmark" agreement with the Disney–ABC Television Group to acquire long-term, Canadian multi-platform rights to Disney Channel's programming library; the cost and duration of the licensing deal were not disclosed. Corus also announced that it would launch a Canadian version of Disney Channel on September 1, 2015; the service consists of a linear television channel, along with TV Everywhere apps, and video-on-demand services for television platforms. This marks Corus' second Disney/ABC-licensed service behind ABC Spark – a localized version of ABC Family. At launch, Corus stated that Disney Channel was available in 10 million households, with carriage across most major Canadian cable providers, IPTV providers Bell Fibe TV, Telus Optik TV, and SaskTel, and national satellite providers Bell TV and Shaw Direct. Corus stated that it would transition "select Disney branded kids linear television offerings" to new properties under its ownership in the future; new Corus-run Disney Junior and Disney XD services launched on December 1, 2015. In the meantime, Disney Channel aired blocks featuring selected Disney Junior and XD programs. Before the Disney XD and Junior blocks ended on this channel and for the 2015–16 television season, DHX consequently re-branded its Disney XD and Junior networks as Family Chrgd and Family Jr. respectively, and began phasing out Disney programming from the two channels and Family; DHX Media's licensing agreement with Disney formally ended in January 2016.
Present day
Disney Channel originally operated as an "exempted" Category B service: under new policies implemented in 2012, channels with less than 200,000 subscribers that would otherwise meet the definition of a Category B service are exempted from licensing by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. On September 1, 2017, the channel became a regularly licensed discretionary service.
Programming
Disney Channel primarily airs animated and live-action series from its United States counterpart, movies, and third-party content from other distributors. It also airs programming from sister channels Disney XD and Disney Junior, interstitial programs such as Movie Surfers, a look at the latest movies from The Walt Disney Company, and special previews of new shows.
Programming blocks
Current blocks
Disney XD on Disney Channel – a late Friday night/early Saturday morning programming block featuring programs from Disney XD; the block was put on hiatus after November 29, 2015 due to the launch of the new Corus-operated Disney XD channel. The Disney XD on Disney Channel block also airs occasionally on weekends to show special episodes such as the premiere episode. The block returned on November 3, 2016 after an 11-month hiatus and began airing on Thursday evenings from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST/PST. The block was put on hiatus again after May 25, 2017, but then returned on September 2, 2017 with Spider-Man, Milo Murphy's Law: Missing Milo, and Walk the Prank.
Disney Junior on Disney Channel – a weekend morning programming block featuring programming from Disney Junior. The block was discontinued after December 18, 2015 due to the launch of the new Corus-operated Disney Junior channel. However, the 2-day special preview of the new Disney Junior show, Mickey and the Roadster Racers, premiered on January 21, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. EST across all English-language Disney channels in Canada as a simulcast and aired the preview on Disney Channel and Disney XD until January 22, 2017. The block returned in April 2018.
Former blocks
Famalama DingDong – a four-day block with sister channels YTV and Teletoon. It showed the world premiere of Disney Channel's newest show Stuck in the Middle along with movies like Invisible Sister and new episodes of Girl Meets World on February 12, 2016. It was the last channel to air on February 15, 2016 after YTV and Teletoon. It returned as a YTV-exclusive in 2019.
