The Walt Disney Company announced a partnership with Group W on November 11, 1981 to co-develop a cable network, to be named The Disney Channel. The earliest dated advertisement this logo appeared on was for that of Group W's subsidiary cable service Teleprompter Cable TV on March 17, 1982.
1982–1986
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Handel Gothic
Launched:
late 1982 (reveal) April 18, 1983 (on-air)
The Disney Channel debuted on April 18, 1983 as a premium cable channel. Its first on-screen logo, which made its first appearance on marketing materials in late 1982, featured a rounded TV screen with horizontal lines and a Mickey Mouse silhouette.
1986–1997
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Custom wordmark (Disney logo) Times New Roman
Launched:
April 1986
The lettering below the logo was changed by April 24, 1986[1] to resemble the wordmark of the newly-renamed The Walt Disney Company. The wordmark was sometimes seen without the TV screen with the silhouette of Mickey Mouse's head or vice versa.
Custom wordmark (Disney logo) Helvetica Rounded Black Triplex Sans Extra Bold (on-air)
Launched:
April 6, 1997
To reflect its transition from a premium channel to a commercial-free basic cable service, the Disney Channel's presentation was dramatically overhauled on April 6, 1997, removing the word "The" from its name and becoming simply Disney Channel (the original name continued to be used for corporate reasons until 2004, as well as some international versions of the channel). This logo, a "Mickey TV" featuring the classic 1930's Mickey Mouse, was often seen without the word "CHANNEL" underneath, and the channel was usually referred to as just "Disney". Alternate versions of this logo were used for the channel's three program blocks launched one year after the rebrand: preschool-oriented morning block Playhouse Disney, adult-oriented nighttime block Vault Disney, and preteen-targeted weekend block Zoog Disney. The new look was created by Lee Hunt Associates with help from Cuppa Coffee, Cherry Bomb Studios and English & Pockett. This logo was also shown with many other characters in it, an element that was dropped in 2000 (with the exception of Toon Disney, when its iteration of this logo was dropped in 2002), though the original variant of the logo continued to be used until 2002, during the Playhouse Disney and Vault Disney blocks, along with "Imagineer That" segments and Disney Channel Original Movies.
Custom wordmark (Disney logo) Helvetica Rounded Black Triplex Sans Extra Bold (on-air)
Launched:
September 1999
A restyled variant of the 1997 logo was introduced on September 1999, making the "Mickey TV" 3D, changing its color and removing Mickey Mouse. After Vault Disney was discontinued in September 2002, this logo also appeared during the late night hours until the following logo was introduced.
On September 30, 2002,[2] Disney Channel introduced a new logo still based on the Mickey Mouse silhouette (accompanied by a new, iconic four-note mnemonic jingle composed by Alex Lasarenko, set to the rhythm of the channel name, still in use today), which was rolled out to other countries the following year. Design agencies PMcD Design and CA Square were involved in the rebranding. In June 2003, the channel started using a series of celebrity bumpers still in use, featuring live-action or animated characters drawing the logo with a wand. Even though the logo was replaced in May 2010, it was still used as a secondary logo, primarily on Wand IDs until the redesign in May 2014.
On May 7, 2010, Disney Channel updated its on-air look and began using a modified version of the 2002 logo, which originally was introduced a month earlier in bumpers and promos for weekend evening programming. The Mickey Mouse head silhouette is inside a box resembling a smartphone application icon. Playhouse Disney also used a logo similar to this one, but it was short-lived as it soon became present-day Disney Jr.
On May 23, 2014, Disney Channel completely overhauled its logo for the first time in more than 11 and a half years. This logo incorporates the Mickey ears onto the dot of the "i" in the Disney script. As a result, the tube shape was removed and the stylized Mickey Mouse head shape was retired after 12 years. A version without the Mickey ears on the dot of the "i" was first used in Germany on January 17, 2014. This variant is still being used in India.
With the series premiere of Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, Disney Channel changed their logo to a 2D version of the previous logo on March 24, 2017, along with a major redesign of its graphics package. Despite this logo variant no longer being used in the United States as of 2019, it was used internationally until 2023.
This logo was introduced in their 25 Days of Christmas event in December 2018 parallel to the 2017 logo, and later used on promos for Sydney to the Max, featuring a white-to-teal gradient in the Disney script and a darker shade of blue for the logo shape. In February 2019, it replaced the latter as the primary logo, alongside a minor brand refresh. The screen bug animation from the previous logo was still used until February 29, 2020. Following the initial implementation of the below logo, this logo was still being used for general bumpers and watermarks, as well as the primary logo at many international markets. However, it fully ended usage on February 1, 2025.
2025–present
Designer:
MakinÉ Studios CLAUS
Typography:
Custom wordmark (Disney logo) Cobe Extra Bold ("CHANNEL", modified) Aktiv Grotesk Italic (on-air) Rama Gothic Medium Bold (on-air)
Launched:
August 29, 2024 (promos) September 24, 2024 (social media) September 30, 2024 (holiday) February 1, 2025 (official)
This logo was first seen in the first poster for Wizards Beyond Waverly Place in August 2024, then rolled out in the channel's social media pages on September 24, 2024, before officially taking effect on-air on September 30, 2024 during their Monstober 2024 event. On February 1, 2025, it became the primary logo and has officially rebranded.
Radio Networks American Contemporary Network | American Information Network | American Entertainment Network | American FM Network | ABC Rock Radio Network | ABC Direction Radio Network | ABC Talk Radio | Country Coast-to-Coast | ESPN Radio | Jack FM | Kool Gold | Radio Disney | Real Country | Rejoice! Musical Soul Food | Stardust | Starstation | The Classic Rock Experience | The Christmas Channel | The Touch | The True Oldies Channel | Today's Best Hits | Unforgettable Memories | Urban Advantage Network | Z-Rock
Notes
1
WFDF was originally in the Flint radio market before moving to Farmington Hills in the Detroit radio market in 2006. As a result of the station's move to Detroit, WFRO in the Toledo market as well as another station in Northern Michigan (also on 900) were taken off the air to allow WFDF to increase its broadcast power.
2
Disney/ABC never owned the station, but operated it under a Local Marketing Agreement. Birach Broadcasting has since taken complete, outright control of the station.
3
These stations are either silent or completely off the air at this time.
Disney manages film catalog created for ABC; remainder of library controlled by Bristol-Myers Squibb.
2
Disney manages certain film and television rights, rest of the Saban catalog is currently owned by Hasbro with several titles licensed in Japan to Toei Company.
Upcoming Disney Channel series: How We Became the Biggest Band in the World | Vampirina | Cookies & Milk | Alice in the Palace | Messi and the Giants | Coven Academy
Upcoming Disney Jr. series: Hey A.J. | Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+ | Iron Man and His Awesome Friends | Sofia the First: Royal Magic | Tiny Trailblazers | Dusty Dupree
