Tiger Town is a 1983 American made-for-television sports drama film and is the first television film produced for the Disney Channel . It was awarded a CableACE Award in 1984 for Best Dramatic Film. The film stars Roy Scheider as Billy Young, an aging baseball player for the Detroit Tigers , and Justin Henry as Alex, a young fan who believes in him. Tiger Town originally aired October 9, 1983 on the Disney Channel .
40-624: The episode list for the Disney Channel sitcom Phil of the Future . The series premiered on June 18, 2004 and ended on August 19, 2006 with 43 episodes spanning two seasons. Phil and his family are stuck in the 21st century. Not knowing when they'll return to their homes, Pim and Phil go to school. Pim becomes her class' chalk monitor, while Phil tutors Keely in algebra and teaches her to be accepting of people outside her clique; Pim runs against Debbie in an election for chalk monitor. Phil
80-719: A National Hockey League (NHL) game—known as the Big City Greens Classic— as part of ESPN's coverage of the league . The broadcast was themed around the Disney Channel animated series Big City Greens , visualizing data from the league's player and puck tracking system with 3D animated players. Disney Jr. is a daily morning program block aimed at preschoolers, spiritually succeeding Playhouse Disney which launched on April 6, 1997, as part of Disney Channel's morning lineup. On May 26, 2010, Disney-ABC Television Group (now Walt Disney Television ) announced
120-431: A base of more than 611,000 subscribers by December of that year. In October 1983, the channel debuted its first made-for-cable movie, Tiger Town , which earned the channel a CableACE Award . The channel had reached profitability by January 1985, with its programming reaching 1.75 million subscribers by that point. In September 1990, TCI 's Montgomery , Alabama , system became the first cable provider to carry
160-581: A basic cable record for the single most-watched television program until December 3, 2007, when corporate sister channel, ESPN , surpassed it with the telecast of an NFL game between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens on its Monday Night Football programme by 0.3 million viewers more (17.5 million viewers). The Cheetah Girls media franchise was also notably successful in terms of merchandise and sales for its concert tours and soundtrack albums. Its debut film from 2003, being
200-403: A celebrity or figure from one of its programs holding a wand and drawing the then-current form of the Disney Channel logo on the screen. This celebrity will introduce their name, the program they are featured on, and finish with the line "And you're watching Disney Channel." Dubbed a 'Wand ID' by fans, this format typically ends in a variation of the mnemonic. For a period, ESPN 's broadcasts of
240-473: A home run. Thanks to Young's rejuvenated play, the Tigers start winning again. But there is a price. Alex, who now believes that if he doesn't go to the games, the team will lose (explaining the Tigers' pitiful road trips); finds himself the subject of ridicule by classmates, since he often sneaks out of school early to watch the Tigers play. Nevertheless, thanks to Billy Young, the Tigers claw their way back into
280-630: A little girl for her bike and hanging onto the back of a city bus gets Alex to the stadium in time for the ninth inning, where Young is up and the Tigers are trailing. Young makes contact with the ball just as Alex gets to the front of the stadium aisle, and Young ends up clearing the bases, giving the Tigers the American League East title and securing a chance to play in the American League Championship Series , thus one step closer to Young's wish to play in
320-427: A localized channel feed already exists in that country. Some critics disapprove of the Disney Channel marketing strategy led by Anne Sweeney , president of the Disney Channel from 1996 to 2014. Under Sweeney, the Disney Channel's programming was geared mainly towards preteen and teenage girls, with a decrease in animated programming. Criticism was also aimed at removing almost all Walt-era and pre-1990s material from
360-515: A premium channel at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time on April 18, 1983, under the name The Disney Channel . The channel's development with help from its founding president Alan Wagner , and formally announced the launch of its family-oriented cable channel in early 1983. The channel – which initially maintained a 16-hour-per-day programming schedule from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time – would become available on cable providers in all 50 U.S. states by September 1983, and accrue
400-502: Is High School Musical 2 , which debuted on August 17, 2007, to 17.2 million viewers and set a current longstanding record for the highest-rated television premiere in the history of the channel. Following High School Musical 2 , the movie that had the second highest-rated Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) premiere was Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie , followed by Camp Rock , Descendants 2 , Princess Protection Program , Teen Beach Movie , and Jump In! . It also set
440-483: Is aging star Billy Young (Scheider), who is having a sub-par season, which is also his last. His only remaining wish is to play in the World Series before retiring. Alex's father dies unexpectedly, but not before he tells Alex that he should always believe. Consequently, Alex decides to visit every Tiger home game. Every time Young comes to the plate, Alex closes his eyes and wishes hard, and Young ends up hitting
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#1732787487482480-574: Is available to approximately 70 million pay television households in the United States—down from its peak of 100 million households in 2011. The channel's international footprint , once encompassing 46 channels available in 33 languages, has also diminished in parts of Europe and most of the Asia-Pacific due to the launch of Disney+ and competition from other streaming and social media platforms. Disney Channel launched nationally as
520-546: Is blackmailed by Andy Baxley ( Orlando Brown ), a rival from 2121, when Phil refuses to pull a prank on Mayor Da Luca ( Terry Rhoads ) jeopardizing his family's chance of returning back to their own time. Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television , a unit of the Disney Entertainment division of The Walt Disney Company . Launched on April 18, 1983, under
560-716: Is said that the "XD" in the channel's name does not have an actual meaning. Also known by its trade name, " Disney Channel Animation ", it is the television animation production studio division of The Walt Disney Studios and based in Glendale, California , providing original animated programming for the three main Disney-branded children's channels. A live-action production studio based in Studio City, Los Angeles , California , that provides original sitcoms and comedy programs primary for Disney Channel. Despite being
600-499: Is when they stopped using the "Premiere Films" label and renamed it the " Disney Channel Original Movies " (DCOM) thereafter. The first movie to be released under the Disney Channel Original Movie category was Under Wraps , a Halloween themed movie that aired for the first time on Disney Channel on October 25, 1997. The most successful original film under the banner in terms of popularity and accolades
640-568: The Little League World Series baseball tournament frequently featured cross-promotion with music-related Disney Channel properties, with past editions having featured collaborations with High School Musical , the Jonas Brothers , Camp Rock , and Phineas and Ferb . In March 2023, Disney Channel broadcast a live professional sporting event for the first time, carrying a youth-oriented alternate broadcast of
680-461: The blind . This is accompanied by an on-screen mark at the beginning of certain scheduled programming indicating to viewers that the service is available. Some episodes of Gravity Falls , Austin and Ally , Good Luck Charlie , and Phineas and Ferb show the AD))) mark and a 2-tone sound repeated 3 times at the beginning of the episode to give notice of the audio description track available through
720-842: The SAP feed. Disney Junior displays the AD)) mark and the intended SAP track on newer episodes of Little Einsteins . (ABC positions this mark in the bottom-left corner of the screen.) Disney Channel has established presence in various regions across the Americas, most of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and Japan. Channels were also available in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey, but ceased broadcast in
760-471: The World Series. In real life, the Tigers would win the World Series the very next year ( 1984 ). Several Detroit broadcasters and celebrities appear as themselves in the movie. Tigers manager Sparky Anderson appears frequently in the movie. Mary Wilson , a former Supreme , sings the national anthem before the final game. Also appearing are Ernie Harwell , the legendary play-by-play radio voice of
800-575: The channel also maintains rights to films from other studios. Some films released by Bagdasarian Productions (such as The Chipmunk Adventure and Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein ) have also aired on Disney Channel, although most of them are not currently owned by any of The Walt Disney Company's divisions. In between regularly scheduled programming and advertisement breaks, Disney Channel features bumpers . These bumpers have varied in content substantially throughout
840-418: The channel as a basic cable service. Between 1991 and 1996, a steadily increasing number of cable providers began shifting The Disney Channel from a premium add-on offering to their basic tiers, either experimentally or on a full-time basis; however, Walt Disney Company executives denied any plans to convert the channel into an ad-supported basic service, stating that the premium-to-basic shifts on some providers
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#1732787487482880-613: The channel in 2002 with the removal of the late-night "Vault Disney" block devoted to this material, which used to make up the majority of the channel's programming since its inception in 1983. In 2008, Sweeney explained that Disney Channel, resulting from its multi-platform marketing strategy using television and music, would become "the major profit driver for the [Walt Disney] Company." The channel has also pulled (and sometimes re-shot) episodes that have featured subject matter deemed inappropriate for its target audience, due either to humor or to timing of real-life events. On June 13, 2023,
920-619: The channel space held by Soapnet – a Disney-owned cable channel featuring soap operas – due to that genre's decline in popularity on broadcast television and the growth of video on demand , online streaming , and digital video recorders negating the need for a linear channel devoted to the soap opera genre. After a period during which cable providers unwilling to drop the network immediately retained it to prevent subscriber cancellations, Soapnet ceased all operations on December 31, 2013. The former Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel rebranded as Disney Junior on February 14, 2011, along with
960-469: The channel's various program franchises, including Kim Possible and Hannah Montana . In June 2012, The Walt Disney Company announced that it would stop advertising or promoting food or beverage products that do not meet strict nutritional guidelines. Disney Channel purportedly became the first media company to take such a stance on stopping the marketing of junk food products to kids. Due to its commercial-free format, such advertising appears only in
1000-530: The city of Detroit . One notable goof in the film shows Alex racing his bicycle across a bridge over the Detroit River on the way to the stadium. The bridge is the one leading from the Detroit mainland to Belle Isle Park , an island park where there is no residential area. Alex (Henry) and his father ( Ron McLarty ) are devoted Detroit Tigers fans, even now as they are struggling. Alex's favorite player
1040-590: The early 2020s, with most content moving to Disney+ or Disney+ Hotstar . On December 14, 2022, Disney ceased its distribution of programs in Russia in response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine . Disney Channel also licenses its programming to air on certain other broadcast and cable channels outside the United States (formerly including Family Channel in Canada), regardless of whether or not
1080-582: The existing international channels. Disney-ABC Television Group once planned to launch a Playhouse Disney Channel in the United States in 2001, however it never happened despite launching internationally. Launched on February 13, 2009, as the successor to Toon Disney, Disney XD is a cable and satellite television channel which was originally aimed at young male audiences aged 6 to 14, but has since included girls in its programming. The channel showcases action and comedy programming from Disney Channel and
1120-588: The expansion of the block in to a 24/7 cable and satellite channel which debuted on March 23, 2012. The channel would be commercial-free channel and compete with other preschooler-skewing cable channels such as the Nick Jr. Channel and Sprout (now Universal Kids ). The channel features programs from Disney Channel's existing preschool programming library and films/movies from the Walt Disney Pictures film library. On its launch, Disney Junior took over
1160-902: The first Disney Channel original musical television film, premiered to over 84 million global viewers and its sequel premiered to 8.1 million American viewers and in the process became the most successful of the film series. An 86-date concert tour featuring the eponymous girl group was ranked as one of the top 10 concert tours of 2006, smashing the record at the Houston Rodeo previously set by Elvis Presley in 1973, selling out with 73,500 tickets in three minutes at one point. In addition to its original television films, Disney Channel has rights to theatrically released feature films, with some film rights shared with sister network, Freeform . Alongside films released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (mainly consisting of releases from Walt Disney Pictures , Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar ),
1200-469: The form of underwriter sponsorships during promotional breaks. On July 1, 2012, Disney Channel began providing Descriptive Video Service audio in compliance with the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, which required network owned-and-operated stations and affiliates in the 25 largest television markets as well as the five highest-rated cable and satellite channels (including Disney Channel) to offer audio descriptions for
1240-414: The former Jetix block from Toon Disney, alongside some first-run original programming and off-network syndicated shows. Disney XD, unlike its sister channels Disney Channel and Disney Junior, operates as an ad-supported service, similar to its predecessor Toon Disney. The channel carries the same name as an unrelated mini-site and media player on Disney.com , which stood for Disney Xtreme Digital , though it
List of Phil of the Future episodes - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-481: The history of the channel, created using a broad array of artistic methods such as traditional animation , digital animation , claymation , live action , and puppeteering . They have been praised for their high quality composition and ingenuity. However, they became especially iconic in September 2002, when Disney Channel underwent a major rebranding, including in its bumpers and logo. These bumpers highlighted
1320-504: The iconic 'mouse ears' logo throughout them, featuring various videos that culminated in both the appearance of the logo, alongside a newly introduced theme song, which is regarded as its most recognizable and is still used to this day. This theme song consists of a four-note mnemonic jingle composed by the late Alex Lasarenko, former executive of Tonal Sounds and creative director at Elias Arts . In addition to its logo and jingle, Disney Channel's most recognizable bumper format consists of
1360-559: The name The Disney Channel as a premium channel on top of basic cable television systems, it originally showcased programming towards families due to availability of home television sets locally at the time. Since 1997, as just Disney Channel , its programming has shifted focus to target mainly children and adolescents ages 6–14. The channel showcases original first-run children's television series , theatrically-released and original television films and other selected third-party programming. As of November 2023 , Disney Channel
1400-530: The opening sequence of the series Primos , which premiered on the Disney Channel in July 2024, was released by Disney Branded Television , with a mixed reception to the sequence on social media , including from Latinos and Mexicans . Some viewers argued that the sequence had various negative stereotypes , complained about names of some characters, and claimed the Spanish pronunciation of some characters in
1440-466: The pennant race. The final game of the season, against the Baltimore Orioles , would decide the pennant. Alex has his ticket and school lets out early so kids can watch the game, but as Alex leaves school, he is detained by a gang of bullies who take his ticket and his money. Only when Alex gets his principal's attention is he released and forced to run all the way to Tiger Stadium . Bribing
1480-642: The prime production source of Disney Channel shows, many of its projects are still co-produced and financed by The Walt Disney Company . Walt Disney EMEA Productions Limited is the network's European production studio located in London , England, which co-produces original programs within Europe alongside other companies. Disney Original Documentary is a banner from Disney Branded Television for documentary -based programs broadcast on Disney Channel and released on Disney+. In 2010, Disney Channel All Star Party
1520-489: The sequence was incorrect. Tiger Town The film was written and directed by Detroit native Alan Shapiro and executive produced by Susan B. Landau . It was subsequently aired on ABC 's Disney Sunday Movie , and had a limited theatrical release in the Detroit area in June 1984, which (coincidentally) was during Tigers’ best season in franchise history . Most of the film was shot on location at Tiger Stadium and in
1560-474: Was part of a five-year "hybrid" strategy that allowed providers to offer the channel in either manner. On April 6, 1997, the channel officially rebranded as Disney Channel , although occasionally marketed as " Disney " from 1997 to 2002. Television films have also been produced for broadcast on Disney Channel since its launch under the banner of Disney Channel Premiere Films , with the first film released being Tiger Town in 1983, until October 1997, which
1600-526: Was released for the Nintendo Wii . The four-player mascot party game, in which the stages resemble board games , features characters from Disney Channel programs such as Sonny with a Chance , Wizards of Waverly Place , and JONAS L.A. Several video games based on the Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb were released by Disney Interactive Studios . The Disney Channel website also featured various Flash games incorporating characters from
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