The channel launched as part of a new licensing agreement between Corus Entertainment and the Disney–ABC Television Group (now known asWalt Disney Television), which succeeded a previous program supply agreement between Disney andFamily Channel (owned byWildBrain). Its launch marked the first time that a Disney Channel-branded television service has operated in Canada.
At the time of its launch in 1988,Family Channel, owned by DHX Media, held Canadian rights toDisney Channel's programming library.[1][2][3] As such, it operated licensed Canadian versions of Disney Channel's spinoff brands,Disney XD andDisney Junior, as sister networks.[1]
On April 16, 2015,Corus Entertainment announced that it had reached a "landmark" agreement with theDisney–ABC Television Group to acquire long-term, Canadian multi-platform rights to Disney Channel's programming library; the cost and duration of the licensing deal were not disclosed. Corus also announced that it would launch a Canadian version of Disney Channel on September 1, 2015; the service consists of a linear television channel, along withTV Everywhere apps (Watch Disney Channel Canada), andvideo-on-demand services for television platforms. This marks Corus' second Disney/ABC-licensed service behindABC Spark – a localized version ofABC Family.[4][5] At launch, Corus stated that Disney Channel was available in 10 million households, with carriage across most major Canadian cable providers includingRogers,EastLink, andAccess Communications,IPTV providersBell MTS,Bell Fibe TV,Telus Optik TV,SaskTel,VMedia, andExeculink Telecom, and national satellite providersBell Satellite TV andShaw Direct.[6]
Corus stated that it would transition "select Disney branded kids linear television offerings" to new properties under its ownership in the future;[4] and brand new Corus-operatedDisney Junior andDisney XD services launched on December 1, 2015.[7][8][9] In the meantime, Disney Channel aired blocks featuring selected Disney Junior and XD programs.[6] Until the Disney XD and Junior blocks were finished on this channel, and for the 2015–16 television season, DHX consequently re-branded its Disney XD and Junior networks as Family CHRGD (laterWildBrainTV) andFamily Jr. respectively, and began phasing out Disney programming from the two channels and Family; DHX Media's licensing agreement with Disney formally ended at the beginning of January 2016.[1][5][10]
Disney Channel originally operated as an "exempted"Category B service:[11] under new policies implemented in 2012, channels that would otherwise meet the definition of a Category B service are exempted from licensing by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), provided that they submit a formal application for licensing after they reach 200,000 subscribers.[12] On September 1, 2017,[13] the channel became a regularly licenseddiscretionary service.[14]
In December 2022, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD were added to the streaming bundleStackTV, to accompany Teletoon (nowCartoon Network),Treehouse, andYTV.
On July 10, 2025, Corus Entertainment announced that due to existing financial pressure occurring at the company, they would close down Disney Channel's sister networks, as well asABC Spark and the unrelatedNickelodeon at midnight on September 1, 2025, leaving Disney Channel to be the only remaining Disney-branded networks, alongsideRogers-ownedFX andFXX, to continue operating in Canada.[15]
Disney Channel primarily airs animated, live-action series, and movies from itsU.S. counterpart. It also airs programming from sister channelsDisney XD andDisney Jr., interstitial programs such asMovie Surfers, a look at the latest movies fromThe Walt Disney Company, and special previews of new shows. In order to fulfillCanadian content requirements, Disney Channel also airs programming from other Corus-owned networks.
Disney Jr. (branded as Mickey Mornings on-air) – a weekday morning programming block featuring programming fromDisney Jr..[6] The block was originally discontinued after December 18, 2015, due to the launch of the new Corus-operatedDisney Jr. channel.[16] However, the 2-day special preview of the new Disney Junior show,Mickey and the Roadster Racers, premiered on January 21, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. EST across all English-language Disney channels in Canada as a simulcast and aired the preview on Disney Channel andDisney XD until January 22, 2017. The block returned in April 2018. It became the permanent home for Disney Jr. programs on September 1, 2025, after the Disney Jr. Canadian channel permanently shut down.
Disney XD on Disney Channel – a late Friday night/early Saturday morning (formerly weekend afternoon, then Thursday night) programming block featuring programs from Disney XD that are targeted at children's ages 6 to 15. The block was put on hiatus after November 29, 2015, due to the launch of the new Corus-operatedDisney XD channel.[8][17] The Disney XD on Disney Channel block also aired occasionally on weekends to show special episodes such as theLab Rats: Elite Force premiere episode.[18] The block returned on November 3, 2016, after an 11-month hiatus and began airing on Thursday evenings from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST/PST. The block was put on hiatus again after May 25, 2017, but then returned on September 2, 2017, withSpider-Man,Milo Murphy's Law: Missing Milo, andWalk the Prank.
Famalama DingDong – a four-day block with former sister channelsYTV andTeletoon (still owned by Corus). It showed the world premiere of Disney Channel's newest showStuck in the Middle along with movies likeInvisible Sister and new episodes ofGirl Meets World on February 12, 2016. It was the last channel to air on February 15, 2016, after YTV and Teletoon. It returned as a YTV-exclusive since 2019.
^"Disney XD".disneychannel.ca Buzz Blog. Corus Entertainment. November 1, 2015. Archived fromthe original on November 17, 2015. RetrievedNovember 2, 2015.
Some of the assets listed above are majority-owned, wholly-owned, by Corus Entertainment, or are under license. Refer to fullasset list for detailed information.
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