Disney XD

Disney XD is an American pay television channel which is owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Channels Worldwide. Aimed primarily at children ages 6–15, Disney XD mostly airs action-oriented children's animated television series, with some live-action programming and movies aimed at ages 2 to 14 and ages 6 to 14.

Disney XD airs original content, such as *Zeke and Luther*, *Kickin' It*, *I'm in the Band*, and *Pair of Kings* and some of Disney Channel's most popular programming, including recent and archived original series, such as *The Suite Life of Zack & Cody* and *Phineas and Ferb* its programming consists of original first-run television series, current and former original series and made-for-TV films from sister network Disney Channel, theatrically-released films, and acquired programs from other distributors, including *Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon* and *Beyblade Burst*.

It is offered with Spanish language audio, either via a separate channel as part of a Spanish language network package sold by cable and satellite providers or a separate audio track with the SAP option, depending on the system. The channel also offers a video-on-demand service to digital cable and IPTV subscribers, offering free programming.

## Overview

The network launched on February 13, 2009 at 24:00 (EST) on (technically, it started replacing Toon Disney on February 12, 2009 it premiered at Midnight on EST), replacing Toon Disney and its evening programming block Jetix, the latter of which targeted a similar audience as Disney XD. Its target market is from 2 to 15, though it also airs programming aimed at older audiences.

Like its predecessor Toon Disney, yet unlike sister network Disney Channel, Disney XD is advertiser-supported and runs commercials for mostly non-Disney branded products during breaks, as well as network promos. Despite Disney XD's relationship to Disney Channel and airing some Disney Channel series, there is little cross-promotion of Disney Channel shows on the channel, though Disney Channel cross-promotes Disney XD programming within their promo breaks and has aired some of Disney XD's original programming. However, cross-promotion is more common for networks such as ABC or ESPN.

According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for anything" and was chosen simply because it looked "cool." Marsh notes that "the letter X has many cool associations" and that "the beauty of it is the audience can imbue it with all sorts of positive attributes." Coincidentally though, the name "Disney XD" was previously used as the name for an online media player and interactive web portal on the Disney.com website, which in that case stood for Disney Xtreme Digital. "XD" is also an emoticon for laughter.

Since Disney XD's launch in the U.S., localized versions have launched in other countries, typically replacing international versions of Toon Disney or Jetix, depending on which network was available in the particular market.

## Programming

*Main article: List of programs broadcast by Disney XD*
Disney XD broadcasts original series such as *Aaron Stone* and *Zeke and Luther*, as well as reruns of older Disney Channel and Jetix shows, such as *American Dragon: Jake Long* and *Recess*, as well as some from other channels. A large amount of the channel's schedule consists of action-oriented animated series, like *The Spectacular Spider-Man*, and several others. The channel airs a limited amount of Disney Channel series, particularly *Phineas and Ferb* (for which Disney XD had aired premieres of first-run episodes before Disney Channel, though Disney Channel Original Productions still produces the series, however, as of the episode "Wizard of Odd", first-run episodes went back to Disney Channel, and later became on XD in 2014 for most eps), *Cory in the House*, *The Suite Life of Zack & Cody* and its spinoff *The Suite Life on Deck* had also been run. Original series include the Marvel Comics-produced animated series *The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes* or *Crash & Bernstein*, and later Season 2 eps of *Gravity Falls* and episodes of *Wander Over Yonder* (despite them starting as a DCOS).

A notable aspect of Disney XD's original series is that they tend to feature predominately male casts, and as such, its original programs feature very few females as main characters (with most live-action originals typically featuring only one female in its main cast) in comparison to Disney Channel's original programs, which tend to feature an equal or nearly equal amount of main characters of either gender. New episodes of live-action original series are usually aired on Monday nights, while new episodes of animated original series air on Saturday mornings. In addition, Disney XD airs movies, but unlike Disney Channel, movies are typically not aired in primetime; instead, films generally air at 5 pm ET with double features airing a few times a week. The channel's first made-for-TV movie, *Skyrunners*, premiered on November 27, 2009. The second wasn't made until November 9, 2014 with *Pants on Fire* - nearly five years later.On April 1, 2012, Disney XD launched a block called "Marvel Universe", as a result of Disney's 2009 acquisition of Marvel Entertainment.

On November 17, 2016, it was announced that the *Pokémon* anime series would be moving to Disney XD from its previous broadcaster, Cartoon Network. The twentieth season, *Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon*, was the first season to air and was first broadcast as a sneak peek on December 5, 2016. *Pokémon* began its regular broadcast on May 12, 2017.

On August 12, 2017, Disney XD premiered a reboot of *DuckTales*.

In 2018, through a series of promos and news announcements, Disney announced that four of Disney XD's most popular original series, *Star vs. the Forces of Evil*, *Milo Murphy's Law*, *DuckTales*, and *Big Hero 6: The Series*, would be moving their premieres over to Disney Channel, while Disney XD would continue to air re-runs.

In addition to full length live-action and animated original series, the channel also debuts short-series similar to those seen on Disney Channel during commercial breaks, such as *Moises Rules*, *The Next X*, and its spinoff *The Next Winter X*. These shows often follow other network shows and last about two to three minutes or sometimes fifteen minutes, with the exception of a few short-form series. Often, these shows are televised in the last two minutes of the program, with the exception of the Disney XD Shortstop, or following the ending of a movie. ESPN's *SportsCenter* provides youth-oriented sports updates periodically between shows. Edited segments of ABC's *Wipeout* are also broadcast.

When Disney XD originally launched, re-runs of archival content that were shown on predecessor Toon Disney (such as *Gargoyles*, *Kim Possible*, and *Recess*) were carried over, and continued to air in the network's graveyard timeslots until 2011, with some shows continuing to air until 2013.

### Sports

The channel also airs a youth-oriented "plays of the week" countdown segment called *SportsCenter High-5*, which is produced by ESPN's *SportsCenter* and airs periodically between shows. On January 27, 2019, the 2019 Pro Bowl aired on Disney XD, with the event becoming the first long-form sporting event that the network ever aired (it was also simulcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ABC).

## Programming blocks

### Anime Block

On February 18, 2017, Disney XD launched Anime Block which showcased the various anime programs that were featured on the channel. Series include *Pokémon*, *Beyblade Burst*, and *Yo-kai Watch*. Anime Block airs on Saturdays.

### Marvel Universe

On April 1, 2012, Disney XD launched a block called Marvel Universe, with the premiere of *Ultimate Spider-Man*, followed by the returning *The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes*. The block is a result of Disney's 2009 acquisition of Marvel. The block also includes new short-form animation series and live-action interstitials.

Marvel Animation announced in May 2013, that its new shows, *Avengers Assemble* and *Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.*, would shown on Disney XD as part of the Marvel Universe block and would be a part of the same fictional universe.

## Programming blocks

### Anime Block

On February 18, 2017, Disney XD launched Anime Block which showcased the various anime programs that were featured on the channel. Series include *Pokémon*, *Beyblade Burst*, and *Yo-kai Watch*. Anime Block airs on Saturdays.

### Marvel Universe

On April 1, 2012, Disney XD launched a block called Marvel Universe, with the premiere of *Ultimate Spider-Man*, followed by the returning *The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes*. The block is a result of Disney's 2009 acquisition of Marvel. The block also includes new short-form animation series and live-action interstitials.

Marvel Animation announced in May 2013, that its new shows, *Avengers Assemble* and *Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.*, would shown on Disney XD as part of the Marvel Universe block and would be a part of the same fictional universe.

#### Other blocks

* ***Randomation Animation*** – *Randomation Animation* was a morning animation block on Saturdays from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, which debuted on July 13, 2013. Programs featured in the block include *Packages from Planet X*, *Camp Lakebottom*, *Max Steel*, *Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja*, and *Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown*.
* ***Animacation*** – *Animacation* was a morning animation block and programming stunt used in the summer of 2014 to advertise new episodes of original animated programming, as well as the premieres of *Doraemon: Gadget Cat from the Future* and *The 7D*.
* ***D | XP*** – a prime-time block that featured video gaming-related programming aimed at teens; the block was introduced on July 15, 2017, and ran from 9:00 p.m. to. 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The block draws upon resources from sister properties, such as the Disney-owned multi-channel network Maker Studios (who produced the weekly *Polaris Primetime*, and curates content from its member personalities for other programming on the block), ESPN (for e-sports coverage), and Vice Media's *Waypoint*, as well as outside producers and sources such as IGN. On July 16, *DXP* presented coverage of the finals of the *Super Smash Bros. for Wii U* and *Street Fighter V* tournaments at Evo 2017, complimenting coverage of the event across ESPN networks and Twitch. On July 11, 2018, ESPN announced a multi-year deal with Blizzard Entertainment to air Overwatch League matches on ABC, Disney XD (as a part of the *D | XP* block) and the ESPN networks, beginning with the 2018 playoffs.

## Trivia

* According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for anything" and was chosen simply because it looked "cool".
* Allegedly multiple shows have been pulled from this network and will air on the Disney Channel. Example; Star vs the Forces of Evil.