Disney’s streaming service Disney Plus launched in November giving fans a new outlet for their favorite Disney content, but it also left many wondering what the future of the long-running Disney Channel and its subsidiaries, Disney Junior and DisneyXD would be.
With Disney+ rolling out around the globe, it’s having an impact on the delivery of Disney content and in some countries a number of Disney Channels have closed down.
According to What’s on Disney Plus, over the past few days several Disney Channels have had to close down due to the success of Disney+:
- Disney Channel (Italy)
- Disney Junior (Italy)
- Disney Channel (Australia)
- Disney Junior (Australia)
- Disney XD (Germany)
- Disney XD (France)
- Disney XD (Spain)
- Disney XD+ (UK)
Disney has been closing down multiple Disney themed channels in different countries, including New Zealand, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Australia and the UK. Content was also slowly being removed from many video on demand platforms such as Sky and Foxtel, ahead of the Disney+ launch.
This is one of the big reasons why Disney+ is being offered through set top boxes like Sky Q, to allow traditional satellite and cable viewers to continue to get access to Disney content.
Children’s TV has been suffering from a massive shift as viewers embracing video on demand, with viewing figures dropping drastically, year on year. Which is why Disney+ has become so important to the Walt Disney Company.
As Disney+ continues to pull in more subscribers, its likely more Disney Channels are likely to close.