DBSTalk Forum banner

Disney Junior debuts on DirecTV Saturday July 14

23K views 115 replies 50 participants last post by  tonyd79 
#1 ·
Here's some good news for some in the midst of the Viacom dispute. Disney Junior is coming to DirecTV. Hopefully Disney Junior will add more classic Playhouse Disney shows like Bear in the Big Blue House in the near future.

It will be interesting to see what DirecTV packages get Disney Junior. Hopefully grandfathered Choice Xtra Classic customers will see the addition as well.


Disney Junior will Launch Saturday, July 14 to Millions of DIRECTV Customers Nationwide


BURBANK and EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 13, 2012 - DIRECTV and Disney have reached a new agreement to add Disney Junior, a 24-hour channel expressly for kids age 2-7 and their parents/caregivers, to DIRECTV's programming lineup beginning tomorrow on channel 289. Disney Junior launched in 2011 as a daytime programming block on Disney Channel and expanded to a 24/7 channel in 2012. It is one of the most sought after channels by DIRECTV customers and will be permanently added to their programming options as a basic channel.

Disney Junior's animated and live action programming blends Disney's unparalleled storytelling and beloved characters with learning components, including early math and language skills, as well as healthy eating and lifestyles, with an emphasis on social and emotional development. The original series include "Jake and the Never Land Pirates," "Doc McStuffins," "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," "A Poem Is…," "Handy Manny," "Little Einsteins" and "Special Agent Oso." Disney Junior also airs Walt Disney Studios' and Pixar's classic and contemporary animated films, as well as Disney's many non-theatrical sequels so popular with children and parents.

"When it comes to children and families, nobody has the tremendous programming to compare with Disney," said Derek Chang, executive vice president of Content Strategy and Development for DIRECTV. "Our customers have been clamoring for us to add Disney Junior since they first heard about the concept, and DIRECTV is happy to place our trust in Disney as a partner in building this exciting new family service."

"We are pleased to reach this agreement with DIRECTV to provide Disney Junior's high quality, valuable and family-friendly programming to their customers," said David Preschlack, executive vice president, Disney & ESPN Affiliate Sales and Marketing. "We know parents are passionate about having top quality television options for their families, and now millions will be able to watch outstanding preschool programming on a 24/7 channel unlike any other on television. With the addition of DIRECTV, the 24-hour Disney Junior channel has distribution agreements that cover approximately 55 million U.S. households." Disney Media Networks' flagship Disney Channel is fast becoming the most popular programming service among DIRECTV homes. The number of children viewers aged 2 through 11 has surged more than 19 percent in the past year alone, and total viewership has increased 15 percent during those same 12 months. Disney Junior will now take a place in the DIRECTV channel guide directly adjacent to Disney Channel at channel 289.

http://news.directv.com/2012/07/13/...-to-millions-of-directv-customers-nationwide/
 
See less See more
#105 ·
Shades228 said:
It's amazing we all survived before HD. However I'm not quick to dismiss science so I'd be interested to see what causes a 3 year olds visual development to be critical at that stage when watching TV.
It is amazing we don't all wear glasses given how CRTs were horrible for our eyes.

Never the less....3 is an incredibly visual time for children:

http://www.childrensvision.com/development.htm

Children's vision continues to develop throughout their preschool years. As toddlers, it is important for them to continue development of eye/hand/body coordination, eye teaming, and depth perception. Stacking building blocks, rolling a ball back and forth, coloring, drawing, cutting, or assembling lock-together toys all help improve these important skills. Also, reading to young children is also important. They develop strong visualization skills as they "picture" the story in their minds.

john262 said:
Perhaps this could be a good lesson for kids that in life you don't always get everything you want. Yes the channel would be nice in HD, but SD is better than nothing and perhaps they should be thankful that they have it at all. Or are we raising up a bunch of spoiled brats who have to have everything all the time? If my kids were young enough to enjoy that channel I'd tell them either watch it in SD or don't watch it at all. It's their choice.
Did I suggest my kid watches TV all the time? No. I simply stated the facts about whether or not a child at the age of 3 can tell the difference between a clear and fuzzy picture. If you actually had kids, you'd understand vs. launching into some diatribe about how someone should raise their kids.

adkinsjm said:
When a 3-year-old says it's fuzzy, I'm guessing the aspect ratio is stretched. Also, the parent needs to turn off the TV.
Wrong again.
 
#106 ·
lparsons21 said:
No, the adults aren't spoiled brats since they are paying for the service. When was the last time your children paid the satellite bill? :)
So, it's OK if I want something, because I paid for it? One on level, I tend to agree. Of course, in the Viacom thread, if you want back the Viacom channels you're still paying for (while DirecTV isn't), you're wrong and--just like the "wisdom" shared in this thread RE: kids and HD--"should just go outside or read a book or something, geez, because we didn't even have Nick/cable/color sets (pick your fav) when I was a kid."

On another level, that's silly, because I don't know a single (good) parent on earth who doesn't want better for their kids than for themselves. And, in that same vein, most parents regularly give up things they want to afford better things for their children. Is this directly applicable to HD? Sure, at least in the same way I don't make steak for my husband and I--cause we "pay the bills"--and serve my son a hamburger. I want the same quality (or better) for him in everything, including TV that I pay for.

But, really, if it makes you feel better ... I want Disney Jr. in HD. Just like I want BBC America in HD. And, yes, I pay the bills. I mean--here's a crazy thought--some parents actually watch TV with their child(ren) from time to time (or, in our case, for most of his TV viewing), and do not just plop them mindlessly in front of it in their own wing of the house that has all the, "not good enough for grown-ups stuff." :roll eyes:

Disney Jr. has a classic Disney movie night that was one of the main reasons I thought the channel would be great to have in the first place. Those would be movies that are rarely shown elsewhere, that I would watch with my son, just like I watched Disney's Sunday night show with my parents as a kid, and still remember it fondly. Television can be a shared experience, not just a mindless idiot box.

Yes, my five-year-old can tell the difference between SD and HD. I don't think it's hurting his development, or his vision, to view this or anything else in SD, and I also don't plan on allowing him to watch TV 24-hours a day. And, yes, he plays outside, and we read lots of books. None of those truths take away from the fact that I still want Disney Jr. in HD because, if it's not, I won't watch it, since the picture quality looks like total crap and I don't want to record or view anything that looks like crap. And, since I, as the parent say what he can and can't watch, that means he won't watch it either. Which, again, is a shame, since Disney Jr., unlike Disney XD HD, is commercial-free (other than promoting their own programming), and while I do allow my son to watch one show in the morning (when he first wakes up and we're getting ready for the day) and one show at night (usually while we're making dinner, cleaning house, etc.) on his own, I only allow him to so via commercial-free channels, because if you don't have kids, you have no idea how easily influenced children are by advertising. They haven't developed the critical thinking or cynicism we adults have to ignore that stuff, resulting in conversations with your three-year-old, like: "Mom I need Sketchers. They have to be Sketchers because the TV said Sketchers make you fast and you get to do skateboarding and other cool stuff if you have them."

As I said RE: the Viacom dispute, never once have I ever, or will ever, suggest that we "need" Disney Jr. in HD--or even to have TV at all--but I "want" (different thing) the service provider I pay money to each month to NOT be adding new channels in SD-only. I want all channels available in HD, shown in HD, especially new additions, because HD in 2012 should be the default of a company that claims they pride themselves on their HD offerings. (This does not preclude them from adding SD and HD, which covers all those SD-only customers DirecTV has.)

And, yes, long before 2007, DirecTV boasted about their HD content. (Trust me, they did NOT in any advertising claim it was nascent, or didn't even count.) Nope, instead they told customers that they were the "first" to add many HD channels and had every major HD channel any customer could possibly want. (That same argument was made here, again by many of the same names that now claim the reverse: that they already have the most-viewed HD channels, when people began to chaff at the limited channel count that lasted for years.) Revisionist history to prove a point (e.g. "that's crazy, DirecTV didn't even really have HD until 2007"), seems to be a DirecTV (the company that can do no wrong) fanboy specialty.
 
#107 ·
Since D* is offering discounts of varying lengths and amounts while this is going on, I'm paying less than I was, and by an amount much greater than the Viacom portion of my bill. So D* has stepped up to the bar for those willing to take a very few minutes to call. For those that don't, they got free Encore and a few other channels, some in HD, some not. But still channels with more dollar value than Viacom's portion.

And yeah, like you I would like all new channels to come up in HD, but that isn't going to happen for a bit. And it would be nice if the SD on D* was a much better, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards either. That said, if a show is good, it is good in SD and HD doesn't make a bad show good. I prefer to watch in HD, but I do watch some in SD if the program is good enough. And on my 54" Panny plasma it is tolerable.

If you choose to not watch a show with your child that is in SD, that is solely for your convenience, the child while able to tell the difference, won't make a big deal out of it unless you do. I've been around enough young children watching TV that I feel confident in that statement.

And as for the fanbois, well yeah, there are a bunch around here that find no fault with D*. I'm not one of them. I have and will castigate D* for those things I think they do a poor job of. Like their atrocious charging of credit cards with autopay before the bill is even viewable and well before the bill is actually due, and their incessant use of modifiers in their ads that imply some things that aren't really true. And don't get me started on my past complaints about the HRs!

I think D* would have brought Disney Jr. in HD if they thought that Viacom channels would be a thing of the past. But I think that since both sides seem to think they'll come to some deal at some point in time, they don't want to give up an HD slot. As time goes on and Viacom is a no show on D*, there might be some rethinking of that on D*'s part. Since Viacoms channels are far from 'must see' TV, absence does not necessarily make the heart grow fonder.
 
#108 ·
lparsons21 said:
Since D* is offering discounts of varying lengths and amounts while this is going on, I'm paying less than I was, and by an amount much greater than the Viacom portion of my bill. So D* has stepped up to the bar for those willing to take a very few minutes to call. For those that don't, they got free Encore and a few other channels, some in HD, some not. But still channels with more dollar value than Viacom's portion.

And yeah, like you I would like all new channels to come up in HD, but that isn't going to happen for a bit. And it would be nice if the SD on D* was a much better, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards either. That said, if a show is good, it is good in SD and HD doesn't make a bad show good. I prefer to watch in HD, but I do watch some in SD if the program is good enough. And on my 54" Panny plasma it is tolerable.

If you choose to not watch a show with your child that is in SD, that is solely for your convenience, the child while able to tell the difference, won't make a big deal out of it unless you do. I've been around enough young children watching TV that I feel confident in that statement.

And as for the fanbois, well yeah, there are a bunch around here that find no fault with D*. I'm not one of them. I have and will castigate D* for those things I think they do a poor job of. Like their atrocious charging of credit cards with autopay before the bill is even viewable and well before the bill is actually due, and their incessant use of modifiers in their ads that imply some things that aren't really true. And don't get me started on my past complaints about the HRs!

I think D* would have brought Disney Jr. in HD if they thought that Viacom channels would be a thing of the past. But I think that since both sides seem to think they'll come to some deal at some point in time, they don't want to give up an HD slot. As time goes on and Viacom is a no show on D*, there might be some rethinking of that on D*'s part. Since Viacoms channels are far from 'must see' TV, absence does not necessarily make the heart grow fonder.
Good, fair post.

BTW, it is odd that if a system offers Disney Jr in HD is kind of hit and miss. Maybe the deal for it was more of a replacement type deal for Soapnet (even though that is not really gone) and the HD deal is apart from that.
 
#109 ·
tonyd79 said:
Good, fair post.

BTW, it is odd that if a system offers Disney Jr in HD is kind of hit and miss. Maybe the deal for it was more of a replacement type deal for Soapnet (even though that is not really gone) and the HD deal is apart from that.
Since Disney has shown in the past that they expect to get paid for both HD and SD as different channels, even though they are not, I think D* took the lower road.

From my own personal perspective, I can think of a bunch of other channels that I would rather have in HD than Disney Jr, or for that matter any of the Viacom channels.
 
#110 ·
I think there are still so many posters that fail or refuse to look at this from DirecTV's point of view.

With knowledge obtained from this board regarding bandwidth and financial limitations, suppose DirecTV only has the means to launch 15 HD channels before the end of 2012 and understanding whom the business model caters to which is mainly sports fanatics and a vast majority of the sports bar business, would one really think Disney Jr. would be launched in HD before any of the new sports channels that are due to arrive in the coming months?

As one that vividly remembers Disney as an ala carte premium channel, I am hard pressed to have sympathy toward those that throw a fit over a third Disney-Centric channel in HD.
 
#111 ·
espnjason said:
I think there are still so many posters that fail or refuse to look at this from DirecTV's point of view.

With knowledge obtained from this board regarding bandwidth and financial limitations, suppose DirecTV only has the means to launch 15 HD channels before the end of 2012 and understanding whom the business model caters to which is mainly sports fanatics and a vast majority of the sports bar business, would one really think Disney Jr. would be launched in HD before any of the new sports channels that are due to arrive in the coming months?
If DirecTV launches "15 HD channels before the end of 2012" I'll eat your hat.
 
#112 ·
susanandmark said:
If DirecTV launches "15 HD channels before the end of 2012" I'll eat your hat.
Well you might want to find out just exactly what kind of hat he has! :)

I think that D* will launch 15 HD channels before the end of the year, unfortunately I don't think it will be any I care a whit about! :(
 
#113 ·
"susanandmark" said:
If DirecTV launches "15 HD channels before the end of 2012" I'll eat your hat.
Careful. You may wind up with 7 in one swoop if the PAC 12 gets its way.
 
#114 ·
susanandmark said:
I want all channels available in HD, shown in HD, especially new additions, because HD in 2012 should be the default of a company that claims they pride themselves on their HD offerings. (This does not preclude them from adding SD and HD, which covers all those SD-only customers DirecTV has.)
Since it is not possible for all channels that are available in HD to be offered in HD until 2014, when the new satellite is online, then are you saying that you would rather not have the channel at all until then? If so, you can easily hide it in your guide.

While I, too, want all channels to be available in HD, and that will happen eventually; however, I am realistic enough to understand that it is not going to happen before 2014. In the mean time, I am happy for any addition, even if it has to be SD only for a couple of more years.

There will be more HD channels added prior to 2014, but my guess is that most of them will be sports channels or premium channels. That seems to be what makes the most business sense to DirecTV.
 
#115 ·
mitchflorida said:
I have a four-year old daughter who likes Disney Jr. very much but is angry that it is in SD and is now refusing to watch it unless it is upgraded by Directv to HD. What can I do to make her happy? This started on Saturday and she keeps sulking.
Well, take away her TV for a month, enroll her in a volunteering program for the needy, make her work for everything she gets in life, and always make her do her homework before she gets any cake. She should grow up to be a very happy person indeed!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top