Disney Channel Russia will reportedly stop broadcasting later this month, with the network being replaced by a non-Disney owned children’s channel.
What’s Happening:
- According to reports, Disney Channel will stop broadcasting in Russia starting on December 14th, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Friday, while also reportedly citing other media.
- Also in the report, it states that Disney Channel will be replaced by a new children's channel called "Solntse", which means "sun" in Russian.
- The Walt Disney Company said in March that it was pausing all business in Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, including content and product licensing, but that some channels would take time to pause due to contractual nuances.
- Disney Channel was first granted approval to broadcast in Russia in 2010, and aired Disney shows, animations and films.
- The original news comes from Reuters, who could not independently verify the reports, and the Walt Disney Company was not immediately available for comment at the time.
- Back in March of this year, Disney TV Animation shared: “The Walt Disney Co. is pausing all of its business in Russia in light of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Disney had previously paused all theatrical releases in Russia, but the new move takes things a step further. The company says that it will be pausing “content and product licensing, Disney Cruise Line activities, National Geographic magazine and tours, local content productions and linear channels broadcasting.”
- At the time, the report from Disney TV Animation emphasized that this is similar to what Cartoon Network and Discovery Networks were doing at the time, which was a pause and not a shutdown. Today’s news changes that, and marks the end of Disney Channel Russia, which shuts down on December 14th.