Disney XD is a US digital cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney–ABC Television Group division of the Walt Disney Company. It is also the sister channel division of the Disney Channel, Disney XD mostly airs action-oriented children's animated television series, with some live-action programming and movies aimed at ages 2 to 14 and ages 6 to 14.
Disney XD airs original content, such as Zeke and Luther, Kickin' It, I'm in the Band, and Pair of Kings and some of Disney Channel's most popular programming, including recent and archived original series, such as The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Phineas and Ferb, as well as some made-for-TV movies.
It is offered with the Spanish language audio, either via a separate channel as part of a Spanish language network package sold by cable and satellite providers or a separate audio track with the SAP option, depending on the system. The channel also offers a video-on-demand service to digital cable and IPTV subscribers, offering free programming.
Overview[]
The network launched on February 13, 2009 at 24:00 (EST) on (technically, it started replacing Toon Disney on February 12, 2009 it premiered at Midnight on EST), replacing Toon Disney and its evening programming block Jetix, the latter of which targeted a similar audience as Disney XD. Its target market is from 2 to 15, though it also airs programming aimed at older audiences.
Like its predecessor Toon Disney, yet unlike it's sister network Disney Channel, Disney XD is advertiser-supported and sometimes runs commercials for mostly non-Disney branded products during the ad breaks, as well as some network promos. Despite Disney XD's relationship to Disney Channel and airing some Disney Channel series, there is little cross-promotion of Disney Channel shows on the channel, though Disney Channel cross-promotes Disney XD programming within their promo breaks and has aired some of Disney XD's original programming. However, cross-promotion is more common for networks such as ABC or ESPN.
Disney XD currently runs from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily, though the sign-off time varies with holidays and special programming. Since July 11, 2021, Disney XD has been time-sharing with the adult-oriented programming block XYZ, which initially airs in the prime time and late night hours.
According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not even "stand for anything" and was chosen simply because it looked "cool." Marsh notes that "the letter X has many cool associations" and that "the beauty of it is the audience can imbue it with all sorts of positive attributes." Coincidentally though, the name "Disney XD" was previously used as the name for an online media player and interactive web portal on the Disney.com website, which in that case stood for Disney Xtreme Digital. "XD" is also an emoticon for laughter.
Since Disney XD's launch in the U.S., localized versions have launched in other countries, typically replacing international versions of Toon Disney or Jetix, depending on which network was available in the particular market.
Programming[]
- Main article: List of programs broadcast by Disney XD
Disney XD broadcasts original series such as Aaron Stone and Zeke and Luther, as well as some reruns of older Disney Channel and Jetix shows, such as American Dragon: Jake Long and Recess, as well as some from other channels. A large amount of the channel's schedule consists of action-oriented animated series, like The Spectacular Spider-Man, and several others. These Are Miramax Pokémon Movies 4-7 January 5-8 2015 7:00am And 12:00pm Pokémon 4Ever Monday January 5th 2015 Pokémon Heroes Tuesday January 6th 2015 Pokémon Jirachi-Wish Maker Wednesday January 7th 2015 Pokémon Destiny Deoxys Thursday January 8th These Years. The channel airs a limited amount of Disney Channel series, particularly Phineas and Ferb (for which Disney XD had aired premieres of first-run episodes before Disney Channel, though Disney Channel Original Productions still produces the series, however, as of the episode "Wizard of Odd", first-run episodes went back to Disney Channel, and later became on XD in 2014 for most of the eps), Cory in the House, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and its spinoff The Suite Life on Deck had also been run. Original series include the Marvel Comics-produced animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes or Crash & Bernstein, and later Season 2 eps of Gravity Falls and episodes of Wander Over Yonder (despite them starting as a DCOS).
A notable aspect of Disney XD's original series is that they tend to feature predominately male casts, and as such, its original programs feature very few females as main characters (with most live-action originals typically featuring only one female in its main cast) in comparison to Disney Channel's original programs, which tend to feature an equal or nearly equal amount of main characters of either gender. New episodes of live-action original series are usually aired on Monday nights, while new episodes of animated original series air on Saturday mornings. Also, Disney XD sometimes airs movies, but unlike Disney Channel, movies are typically not aired in primetime; instead, films generally air at 5 pm ET with double features airing a few times a week. The channel's first made-for-TV movie, Skyrunners, premiered on November 27, 2009. The second wasn't made until November 9, 2014 with Pants on Fire - nearly five years later.
In addition to the full-length live-action and animated original series, the channel also debuts short-series similar to those seen on Disney Channel during the commercial breaks, such as Moises Rules, The Next X, and its spinoff The Next Winter X. These shows often follow other network shows and last about two to three minutes or sometimes fifteen minutes, except for a few short-form series. Often, these shows are televised in the last two minutes of the program, except for the Disney XD Shortstop, or following the ending of a movie. ESPN's SportsCenter provides youth-oriented sports updates periodically between shows. Edited segments of ABC's Wipeout are also broadcast.
When Disney XD was originally launched, re-runs of archival content that were shown on predecessor Toon Disney (such as Gargoyles, Kim Possible, and Recess) were carried over and continued to air in the network's graveyard timeslots until 2011, with some shows continuing to air until 2013.
Programming blocks[]
Anime Block[]
On February 18, 2017, Disney XD launched the Anime Block which showcased the various anime programs that were featured on the channel. Series include Pokémon, Beyblade Burst, and Yo-kai Watch. Anime Block airs on Saturdays.
Marvel Universe[]
On April 1, 2012, Disney XD launched a block called the Marvel Universe, with the premiere of Ultimate Spider-Man, followed by the returning The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The block is a result of Disney's 2009 acquisition of Marvel. The block also includes new short-form animation series and live-action interstitials.
Marvel Animation announced in May 2013, that its new shows, Avengers Assemble and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., would be shown on Disney XD as part of the Marvel Universe block and would be a part of the same fictional universe.
Shows[]
| Season(s) | Show | First-Run | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes | April 1, 2012 - November 11, 2012 | Ended in 2012 (replaced by Avengers Assemble) |
| 4 | Ultimate Spider-Man | April 1, 2012 - January 7, 2017 | Ended in 2017 (replaced by Marvel's Spider-Man) |
| 3 | Avengers Assemble | July 7, 2013 - February 24, 2019 | |
| 1 | Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. | August 11, 2013 - June 28, 2015 | |
| 3 | Guardians of the Galaxy | September 26, 2015 - June 9, 2019 | |
| 2 | Marvel's Spider-Man | August 19, 2017 – present |
Sitcoms
| Season(s) | Show | First-Run |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Aaron Stone | February 13, 2009 - July 30, 2010 |
| 3 | Zeke and Luther | June 15, 2009 - April 2, 2012 |
| 2 | I'm in the Band | November 27, 2009 - December 9, 2011 |
| 3 | Pair of Kings | September 10, 2010 - February 18, 2013 |
| 4 | Kickin' It | June 13, 2011 - March 25, 2015 |
| 4 | Lab Rats | February 27, 2012 - February 3, 2016 |
| 2 | Crash & Bernstein | October 8, 2012 - August 11, 2014 |
| 2 | Mighty Med | October 7, 2013 - September 9, 2015 |
| 3 | Kirby Buckets | October 20, 2014 - February 2, 2017 |
| 2 | Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything | July 22, 2015 - January 2, 2017 |
| 1 | Lab Rats: Elite Force | March 2 - October 22, 2016 |
D|XP[]
Main article: D|XP
Launched on July 15, 2017, D|XP is a programming block dedicated to video game-related shows aimed at teenagers. Running in the late prime-time and into the late-night hours, D|XP showcases content from Disney's sister properties such as Maker Studios, ESPN, and Vice Media as well as content from outside producers and companies such as IGN. Programs on the channel include the weekly Polaris Primetime, Waypoint, and e-sports coverage. On July 16, D|XP covered the finals of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Street Fighter V tournaments from Evo 2017. D|XP was discontinued in 2018.
XYZ[]
Main article: XYZ
XYZ launched on July 11, 2021, airing original and acquired adult-oriented programming produced by Disney and it's divisions as a competitor to other blocks such as Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. September 4, 2021 also saw the relaunch of Jetix, a brand formerly used as a children's action-oriented programming block on Toon Disney (which relaunched on September 17, 2018) and channels worldwide. Jetix now airs anime and action-animated programming aimed at more mature audiences.
XD in HD[]
Disney XD HD is the branding used for the high-definition feed of the network. It is offered on some cable providers, as well as both satellite providers and telco IPTV providers in the Disney/ABC television networks preferred HD picture format of 720p. The high-definition feed airs a limited amount of programming in High Definition, mainly Disney XD's original programming as well as certain films and some episodes of Disney Channel series made after 2009. A high-definition simulcast of an international version of Disney XD HD in The Netherlands launched on April 15, 2010. Disney XD UK released Disney XD HD on October 18, 2010. Dish Network and Charter Spectrum currently do not carry the HD version of Disney XD due to disputes with Disney/ABC.
International[]
- Main article: Disney Channels Worldwide Disney XD, similarly born of a merger between Jetix and Toon Disney, is also available on cable systems in France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latin America, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, and United Kingdom. A Canadian channel has launched on June 1, 2011~September 2013, and returned in December 2015.
Trivia[]
- According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for anything" and was chosen simply because it looked "cool".
- Allegedly multiple shows have been pulled from this network and will air on the Disney Channel. Examples: Star vs. the Forces of Evil, DuckTales (even though the latter it was was pulled back to Disney XD after the end of its second season.)
- In November of 2009, Disney XD aired its first anime acquisition 10 months after the channel itself launched titled Naruto Shippuden serving as a continuation of the anime series Naruto which previously aired on Cartoon Network (2005-2009). The show was heavily edited to remove any references to blood, alcohol, smoking, sexual innuendos, heavy violence, & the use of the word "kill" (replaced with "destroy") despite airing with a TV-14 rating. Naruto Shippuden aired on Disney XD from November 2009 - October 2011 airing up to its cancellation 98 episodes & 1 animated movie (Naruto Shippuden: The Movie). The reason for its cancellation remains unknown however since January 2014, Naruto Shippuden has been airing on Adult Swim's Toonami block.
Logos[]
2009-2015[]
2015-2016[]
2017-present[]
Halloween[]
2010-2013[]
2017[]
Christmas[]
2010-2013[]
2014[]
External links[]
Disney XD on Wikipedia- Official Website Disney XD
- Disney XD on Facebook
- Disney XD on Instagram
- Disney XD on Twitter
- Disney XD on YouTube
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