It’s hard to believe that it’s been just over a year since the launch of Disney Junior, a 24-hour stand-alone channel—a labor of love for so many here at Disney.
From partnering with educational advisors and consultants to leveraging the rich heritage of Disney storytelling, the team behind Disney Junior had a strong vision and high hopes for what they knew to be an extraordinary step in changing the television landscape for preschoolers.
“As with any endeavor of such a magnitude, we all looked eagerly ahead, anxiously anticipating the outcome of our hard-won efforts,” Nancy Kanter, senior vice president, Original Programming and General Manager, Disney Junior Worldwide, says. “Here we are one year later, celebrating phenomenal growth and new series successes; groundbreaking content that has captured the hearts and imagination of kids and adults in millions of homes across the world; and a series of ‘firsts’ for the Disney Junior brand.”
And there have been countless memorable moments and milestones this past year. Doc McStuffins, which launched along with the channel, had a record-breaking 2012 debut as the network’s No. 1 weekday series launch ever in Kids 2–5 and finished the year as cable TV’s No. 1 series of 2012 among Kids 2–5, Girls 2–5 and Boys 2–5, with Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse rounding out the year as the No. 2 and No. 3 cable series for Kids 2–5.
In November, the network introduced Disney’s first little girl princess, Sofia, with the record-breaking Disney Junior TV movie Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess, the No. 1 cable TV telecast of all time in Kids 2–5 and Girls 2–5 and the No. 1 preschool cable TV telecast ever in Total Viewers, Adults 18–49 and Women 18–49. The launch of the Sofia the First series followed and became the No. 1 preschool series launch in cable TV history in Girls 2–5 and currently reigns as cable TV’s No. 1 series for 2013 across preschoolers.
And while Disney Junior certainly had a remarkable year, there’s much more in store for the award-winning channel. As of April 1, 2013, the Disney Junior channel began reporting Nielsen ratings. The team will also continue to debut new programming and extend the brand across multiple platforms, such as the free WATCH apps.
Here’s to another great year at the channel “where the magic begins”!