A new rumor has the internet worried that the Disney Channel is ending in the United States.
The internet is in a tizzy because of a rumor that the Disney Channel is shutting down in the United States. However, at the time of writing this article, Disney has not made any announcements about shutting down the Disney Channels stateside.
That being said, Disney has already shut down channels in several countries. There is even a timetable showing which channels were shut down and when. So far, they have been shut down in Australia, Southeast Asia, Italy, the UK, South Korea, and more. Disney XD has been shut down in even more countries as Disney tries to push viewers to Disney+.
In France, Disney XD has already been shut down, and Disney Jr. and the Disney Channel will terminate on January 1, 2025. In Spain, Disney Channel will cease operations on January 7, 2025.
Are the United States Disney Channels safe?
So far, yes, but it is likely that sometime down the road, we could see the Disney Channels shut down if they keep declining as they are.
The decline of Disney’s once-booming channel has been well-documented in the media.
In 2014, the Disney Channel was in the top 10 networks, and in 2023, it was getting about 132k views a day!
A chart circulating on the internet shows the massive decline from viewership in 2010 till 2024.
Younger viewers prefer to watch YouTube or TikTok over channels like Disney. The under-12 audience has gone to YouTube and even hit #1 with kids and families this year.
While Disney still puts content on Disney Jr., Disney XD, and the Disney Channel, a lot of new shows and focus have been shifted to Disney+ as the company pushes more into streaming and the advertising money shifts more to streaming. Disney is also trying to shift more toward the online gaming space as well.
Disney+ also has more adult subscribers without children than they do family subscribers. 60% of subscribers identify as “childless.” Disney may want to bring more families to the platform. To do that, Disney could shutter its channels to lure new subscribers to Disney+. While they would lose some money with carriage agreements, they also have agreements with providers to offer Disney+ with their cable bundles. Meaning that they would likely still keep the ad-supported families that are already subscribed through cable deals.
So, while the channels are currently safe in the United States, there is a good chance this could change in the future.
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