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Disney Junior is an American digital cable and satellite television network that is owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit of the Disney–ABC Television Group, itself a unit of the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly at children under 8 years of age, its programming consists of original first-run television series, theatrically-released and made-for-DVD movies and select other third-party programming. Disney Junior also lends its name to a morning and early afternoon program block seen on sister network Disney Channel, branded as "Disney Junior on Disney Channel", airing weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (6:00 to 10:30 a.m. during the summer months and designated school break periods) and weekends from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. As of February 2015, Disney Junior is available to approximately 74,972,000 households (64.4% of those with television) in the United States. ==Background== The Walt Disney Company first attempted to launch a 24-hour cable channel for preschoolers in the United States in 2001,〔(Play nice now; Walt Disney Co. plans to introduce Playhouse Disney Channel ), ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (via HighBeam Research), June 25, 2001.〕 when the company announced plans to launch the Playhouse Disney Channel, a television offshoot of Disney Channel's daytime programming block Playhouse Disney, which debuted on the channel on May 8, 1997 (airing during the morning hours seven days a week, with the Monday through Friday blocks lasting until the early afternoon). Plans for the United States network were ultimately shelved, however dedicated Playhouse Disney Channels were launched in other countries internationally.〔(SOAPnet Will Go Dark to Make Way for Disney Junior ), ''Entertainment Weekly'', May 26, 2010〕 The development of Disney Junior began on May 26, 2010, when Disney-ABC Television Group announced the launch of the channel as a digital cable and satellite service, which would compete with other cable channels targeted primarily at preschool-aged children such as Nick Jr., Qubo and PBS Kids Sprout; in addition, the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel would also be renamed under the Disney Junior banner, prior to the launch of the channel of the same name. The announcement also called for the 22 existing programming blocks and cable channels outside of the United States bearing the Playhouse Disney name being rebranded as Disney Junior.〔(Disney/ABC Television Group Announces Disney Junior, a New 24-Hour Channel for Preschoolers and Their Families ), ''The Futon Critic'', May 26, 2010〕 The flagship cable channel in the United States intended to replace Soapnet, a Disney-owned cable channel featuring daytime soap operas seen on the major broadcast networks (including sister network ABC) and reruns of former primetime drama series, due to the continued decline in popularity and quantity of soap operas on broadcast television, along the growth of video on demand services (including the online streaming availability for soap operas) and digital video recorders that negated the need for a linear channel devoted to the genre.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Disney Junior」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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