Disney Channel Springs Into April With 70 Million Subscribers

Disney Channel Springs Into April With 70 Million Subscribers
Network's Transition From Premium to Basic Service Nears Completion

Disney Channel, the leader in television for kids and families, today announced that the network will be in more than 70.3 million households as of April 2, 2001, according to the latest figures from Nielsen Media Research.

Since 1996, the network has grown by +317 percent, representing a gain of 53.5 million subscribing homes. Over the past five years, Disney Channel has averaged an impressive +33 percent year-to-year growth.

"Our transition from a premium to a basic cable service is nearly complete, and with surging ratings and an increased emphasis on original programming, our strategic goals continue to converge," said Anne Sweeney, president, Disney Channel Worldwide, and president, ABC Cable Networks Group.

"Disney Channel's steady subscriber growth is reflective of our affiliates' commitment to bringing their customers the highest-quality programming available," said Ben Pyne, Disney Channel's senior vice president, affiliate sales and marketing.

The network's success in producing quality original programming has brought with it a significant boost in ratings performance. Bolstered by the success of its latest original movie, the network ranked No. 1 in prime time among all basic cable networks in household ratings (1.9, tying with Lifetime and TBS) for the week of March 5-11, 2001. Disney Channel's dominance in the burgeoning tween demographic is illustrated by its 10-consecutive-month winning streak as the No. 1 network among kids 9-14.

Disney Channel's last three original movie premieres have attracted record total viewers, including "The Luck of the Irish" (5.2 million), "Zenon the Zequel" (3.7 million) and "Motocrossed" (3.5 million).

The success of the original movie franchise is complemented by the network's Internet strategy and its popular Zoog Disney Web site, which features original content, including games, personality quizzes, behind-the-scenes and biographies. Traffic to ZoogDisney.com has more than doubled in the past year.

The network's successful preschool programming block Playhouse Disney continues to attract kids 2-5, their parents and caregivers. Fueled by the debut this year of "The Book of Pooh" and the continued popularity of series like "Bear in the Big Blue House" and "Rolie Polie Olie," the Playhouse Disney programming block has increased kids 2-5 delivery by 19 percent year-to-year, as of March 2001.

ABC Cable Networks Group also includes Toon Disney, the 24-hour all-animation network for kids, which boasts 20,671,000 subscribers; and SoapNet, the 24/7 network devoted to soap operas and soap fans, with 8,376,000 subscribers.

-- Posted April 5, 2001

Source: Company press release