Radio Disney

Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California.
The network broadcast music programming oriented towards children, pre-teens and teenagers, focusing mainly on current hit music and a heavy emphasis on teen idols (particularly those signed with Disney Music Group record labels, such as Hollywood and Walt Disney); compared to most CHR stations, Radio Disney was far more aggressive in playing only current hits and eschews recurrent rotation.
For many years Radio Disney affiliated with stations in markets of varying size, mainly large and mid-sized markets; however, by the early 2010s, Disney had begun to phase out the network's affiliations with terrestrial radio stations, and sold its owned-and-operated Radio Disney stations (with the exception of KDIS in Los Angeles) to third-parties, in order to focus more on its programming, marketing, creating revenue producing events and distribution of Radio Disney as an internet radio outlet on digital platforms.
In 2015, Radio Disney partnered with iBiquity to distribute the network terrestrially via its HD Radio platform, and with iHeartRadio for further digital distribution. In the same year, Radio Disney launched a spin-off service, Radio Disney Country, which carried a country music format catered towards a similar audience. The network also lends its name to the Radio Disney Music Awards, an annual music awards presentation broadcast on television since 2014 by Disney Channel.
On December 3, 2020, Disney announced that Radio Disney and Radio Disney Country would be shut down in the first quarter of 2021. On April 14, 2021, Radio Disney ceased broadcast when its last remaining terrestrial station, KRDC, was quietly changed to a simulcast of KSPN 710 AM, an ESPN Radio frequency.
Background.
Disney had for a long time been involved in the music business, building off its success in movies and TV shows, which later became Disney Music Group. However, with radio, Disney was not committed to the medium only doing a few shows. Radio Disney is Disney's third foray into radio. In late 1955, Walt Disney started "The Magic Kingdom" radio show—running Monday through Fridays and which was heard on ABC Radio. Even before the 1996 Disney-CC/ABC merger, Disney and ABC Radio considered as early as 1992 planned for a children's radio network but dropped the idea. Starting on July 31, 1994, Disney started a weekend radio show, "Live From Walt Disney World", that originated from both Disney World and Disneyland on Radio AAHS.
In November 1995, ABC Radio Networks and Children's Broadcast Corp. reached an agreement for ABC Radio to provide marketing and sales to Radio AAHS. After Disney's acquisition of CC/ABC, Disney had ABC Radio cancel the agreement in August 1996 plus announced the start of its own children's network and ended AAHS's Disney World broadcasting rights.
History.
ABC Radio Networks.
Radio Disney was test launched in November 1996 in four markets, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Salt Lake City and Birmingham, Ala., by ABC Radio Networks. 
Pleased with the results in those four test markets, ABC Radio Networks announced in May 1997 that Radio Disney would begin a nationwide rollout, with the network having 13 affiliates by the end of the year. On August 26, 1997, Radio Disney was launched in Los Angeles on KTZN/710.
By August 1998, 28 stations had affiliated with Radio Disney, with an expected 63 stations by the end of 1999. Radio Disney purchased KAAM (AM) (Plano, Texas) for $12 million and switched the station to the network in July. In 1998, the network was based out of its Dallas station.
Other than music, the network in 1998 had "Mickey & Minnie's Tune Time," a two-hour weekday toddler program, and two 60-second features per hour which included contests, "ABC News for Kids" and "Gross Me Out." The network ran its Radio Disney Project Family Initiative from July 1 to September 15, 2003 with family-themed programming and events to get family to sign on to the Radio Disney Family Pledge.
Radio Disney would later begin being carried on XM Satellite Radio in 2001, with the station launching on Sirius Satellite Radio in 2002. 
Disney entered a joint venture to launch Capital Disney digital radio channel in Britain and operated from 2002 until June 29, 2007. In 2004, Disney paid the former Children's Broadcasting Corporation (which operated children's radio network Radio Aahs) $12.4 million in a lawsuit settlement.
On July 30, 2003, ABC Radio Networks founded the Radio Disney Group, who took over operations of most of Radio Disney's stations. 
2006 marked the network's 10th anniversary; Radio Disney rebroadcast its first hour of programming from November 18, 1996, on June 6, 2006, at around 4:58 pm. ET on stations in select markets, such as WQEW. Also, as part of the 10th anniversary, Radio Disney held the "Totally 10 Birthday Concert" on July 22, 2006, at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. It also included a simultaneous live webcast on the Radio Disney website. A second concert was held in Dallas, Texas, on November 18, 2006, at the Dallas Convention Center.
On June 12, 2007, Disney spun off and merged its ABC Radio Networks with Citadel Broadcasting into Citadel Communications while retaining its ESPN Radio and Radio Disney networks and stations.
Disney Channels Worldwide.
Operational duties of Radio Disney were transferred to the company's Disney–ABC Cable Networks Group (currently d.b.a. Disney Channels Worldwide), which otherwise operates Disney's cable television properties, except for ESPN.
In March 2008, Radio Disney and Gracenote signed a licensing agreement starting immediately that allow the lyrics be seen along with the song online on Radio Disney Internet Radio Player. The channel began streaming live on iTunes Radio Tuner in August 2008. In November 2008, Radio Disney relocated its main operations from Dallas to Los Angeles. The former radio studio that housed Radio Disney in Dallas began to be used by The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show in 2008.
The network launched on October 8, 2008 the Next Big Thing feature which allows listeners vote on young unsigned artists' songs to be played. In 2013, the Radio Disney Music Awards began airing on the Disney Channel.
Sometime in 2009, in September at the latest, Radio Disney changed its logo to the one they still used until their closure.
By 2009, Radio Disney was starting to reduce its station footprint to the larger markets to make the network more profitable. In January 2010, Radio Disney Group requested permission from the FCC to "silence" five of its owned-and-operated stations (along with a sixth station operating under a local marketing agreement with another company) while the stations were being sold. Disney sold six AM stations and one FM station that year. In June 2013, Disney announced the sale of seven owned-and-operated stations in medium-sized markets, in order to refocus Radio Disney's broadcast distribution on the top-25 radio markets.
On April 10, 2014, it was announced that Radio Disney's "Top 30 Countdown" would become a syndicated radio show, distributed by Rick Dees' Dees Entertainment. Aha Radio, Slacker and ShowMobile signed online carriage agreements with the network in mid-2014.
Shift to HD Radio and digital.
On August 13, 2014, Radio Disney's general manager Phil Guerini announced plans to sell all but one of its remaining owned-and-operated stations on or before September 26, 2014, in order to focus more on the network's programming, co-branded events, and digital outlets. Listenership reports indicated that the majority of Radio Disney's audience listened to the network via satellite radio and other digital platforms, and only 18% via terrestrial AM/FM radio. KDIS remained operational to serve as the originating station for the Radio Disney network, while the remaining stations would continue carrying Radio Disney programming until their respective sales were completed. The last five Radio Disney owned-and-operated stations for sale were sold on September 15, 2015 to Salem Media Group (who was the largest purchaser of the stations) for $2.225 million.
On April 13, 2015, Disney announced that the Radio Disney network would move to HD Radio subchannels; the network will be distributed by iBiquity, with ad sales handled by its HD Radio Digital Network unit. A network representative that the move was intended to target families as in-car listeners. On August 6, 2015, Radio Disney was made available for listening on iHeartRadio.
It was announced that on November 25, 2019, Disney has secured a deal with Entercom to bring Radio Disney and Radio Disney Country to the company's Radio.com platform.
Closure.
On December 3, 2020, Disney announced that both Radio Disney and Radio Disney Country would shut down in the first quarter of 2021 as part of its restructuring plan to focus more on producing content for the television networks and Disney+, with KRDC being put up for sale. Radio Disney began to wind down operations on December 31, 2020 as their DJ's hosted their final shows, and was discontinued on SiriusXM on that same date. Radio Disney Country was completely shut down at noon Pacific Time on December 31; KRDC subsequently returned to the main Radio Disney feed. On January 1, the station ceased its Top 40 format and switched to an automated throwback playlist which mainly consisted of songs from throughout the 24-year history of the network. The Radio Disney app and website shut down on January 22, 2021, while the station continued to broadcast on iHeartRadio until it was removed sometime during March. At that point, the station was only heard in the Greater Los Angeles Area and San Diego County on terrestrial radio until April 14, 2021 at 10 am PT, when it was quietly discontinued and switched to a simulcast of sister station KSPN. The final song Radio Disney played prior to being switched was “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield.
On March 25, 2021, Disney launched its replacement service, Disney Hits, exclusively on SiriusXM. Unlike Radio Disney, Disney Hits will only include music from The Walt Disney Company's productions.
Programming.
Radio Disney plays a large selection of songs from stars and programs on Disney Channel, along with popular songs from mainstream pop and R&B artists that are found on conventional radio stations. The network airs edited versions of some Top 40 songs (which remove profanity and any other suggestive content) to make them appropriate for younger listeners. The specialized radio format favors music which often takes on a sound reminiscent of "bubblegum pop" of the 1960s and '70s.
Serial radio.
In July 2010, Radio Disney debuted its first scripted serial called "My Dream," a contemporary story utilizing a format reminiscent of serials from the 1940s. Unlike Depression-era radio serials that typically featured episodes lasting 15 to 30 minutes, episodes of "My Dream" runs for only 90 seconds and play multiple times throughout the day. "My Dream" stars Daphne Blunt as a 14-year-old girl trying to make a name for herself in the music industry while dealing with the usual struggles, responsibilities and emotional ups and downs of an everyday teen.
Features and contests.
Radio Disney carried a number of features from interactive contests to informational programs.
Radio Disney Music Awards.
Since 2001, Radio Disney has held an annual awards ceremony, the Radio Disney Music Awards, to honor popular music artists featured on the network. Similar to the Teen Choice Awards and Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, teenagers vote to select the winner of each category including Best Female Artist, Best Male Artist, Best Music Group, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Fiercest Fans, Artist with the Best Style, Most Talked About Artist and more. Hilary Duff is the biggest winner with 21 awards and 35 nominations. There were no awards between 2009 and 2012.
TV Show.
Radio Disney had a television series on Disney Channel that aired from March 1, 2001 to March 17, 2005. The series was still on "Disney Channel on Demand", the channel's video-on-demand service until 2013.
Radio Disney World Tours.
In 2000 and 2001, Radio Disney launched two separate "world tours" that traveled to major U.S. cities including Atlanta, New York City, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. In 2000, the tour featured up-and-coming talent (No Authority, Myra) and then Radio Disney DJs, Mark and Zippy. The tour played in theatrical venues and had audiences of up to 2,000 people per show (there were four shows each weekend in each city).
Other networks.
Radio Disney Networks.
Radio Disney Networks is an American radio network that is owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, Inc., a subsidiary of Walt Disney Television, a primary component of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Media Networks segment. Radio Disney Networks broadcasts three separated digital channels, Radio Disney, Radio Disney Country and Radio Disney Junior, via radio station's HD channel or by online stream sites. The original Radio Disney network play music and other content aimed at preteens and young teenagers; it can be described as a youth-targeted contemporary hit radio format with heavy emphasis on teen idols. Recently Radio Disney has become a Mainstream Top 40 Indicator reporter on Nielsen-BDS eventually being upgraded to monitored status with Nielsen-BDS. Radio Disney is also a monitored reporter on the Mediabase 24/7 Top 40 panel. The network is headquartered in Burbank, California.
Radio Disney Junior was available via the Watch Disney Junior app in August 2014. On November 4, 2015, Radio Disney Networks launched a country music-focused internet radio station, Radio Disney Country. Disney Channels Worldwide replaced its Watch app series with the singular, DisneyNow, which combines its TV and radio channels the week of September 29, 2017. On November 13, 2014, Radio Disney and Radio Disney Junior became available on Slacker Radio with Radio Disney's Top 30 Countdown starting on November 15, 2014.
Radio Disney Country.
Radio Disney Country is a defunct country music focused internet radio network that launched on November 4, 2015, and was initially exclusive to Radio Disney's own digital platforms. The service focused upon current songs, current and past material from popular artists, and pop songs featuring country musicians. Guerini explained that the format of the channel was meant to allow it to draw from a wider range of songs than traditional country radio stations, owing to the format's "embrace" of rock, hip-hop and pop-oriented songs (with "Rolling Stone" noting its airplay of Lil Nas X's Western-trap song "Old Town Road" in 2019 as an example of this strategy). The network's launch coincided with the 2015 CMA Awards. Like its sister station, Radio Disney Country emphasized current hits and used little recurrent rotation.
On June 9, 2017, Disney announced that it would expand the network's distribution to include other digital platforms, such as iHeartRadio and TuneIn, as well as curated playlists on Apple Music and Spotify, and terrestrial radio with the flip of KDIS to the network as KRDC 99.1 FM and AM 1110 (the main Radio Disney network continued to be carried locally on a subchannel of KRTH until late 2018 when its contract to carry the network expired).
The station's "Let the Girls Play" segment premiered on December 5, 2018. In July 2019, Radio Disney Country opened a Nashville Music Row based studio. In July 2019, Disney agreed to license Radio Disney video content to Sheridan Broadcasting Corporation to telestream via a patented process the content to the web and the audio to a radio station, WIGO-AM, as "The Radio Disney Hour" (working tile).
Radio Disney Country's targeted audience was women aged 18 to 34 years old. The network's mix of music would be every thing with 60% popular artists and 40% up and coming artists. It ceased in the afternoon of December 31, 2020.
Radio Disney Junior.
On February 14, 2011, a Radio Disney Junior block was launched in tandem with the Disney Junior on Disney Channel block. The hour long block focused on music for the preschool age plus fun "audio theater" with Disney Junior characters.
Stations.
Despite being music-oriented, the network was carried primarily on AM stations. The Walt Disney Company owned most of the network's affiliates, though some stations were operated through local marketing agreements that had varying degrees of local management. The last separately-owned Radio Disney affiliate, WOLF in Syracuse, New York, left the network on February 1, 2014.
On August 13, 2014, it was announced that all of Radio Disney's remaining stations, excluding KDIS, were to be sold in an effort to focus more on digital distribution of the Radio Disney network. KDIS would be retained to serve as the originator of Radio Disney's programming, and its operations was assumed by the network's national staff. However, Disney later announced that it would syndicate Radio Disney through affiliations with HD Radio subchannels.
Many former Radio Disney stations have diverse histories prior to the network affiliation. The call signs of Radio Disney stations (particularly those owned by The Walt Disney Company) were variations on the Disney name and that of Mickey and Minnie Mouse; at least one appeared to be named for Goofy (WGFY), and another after Walt Disney World (WDW).
<br>
Radio Disney History of #1s.
These songs hit No. 1 on Radio Disney's Top 50 Songs from 1997 to 2020.
Albums.
The Radio Disney Jams series CDs are various artists compilations of music featured on Radio Disney.
International.
Internationally, there are Radio Disney stations in Australia, Chile, Japan, Poland, Argentina, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Peru. There are plans to resume broadcasting of a Disney-branded radio station in the United Kingdom, but this time under the 'Radio Disney' brand, aimed at a younger audience than its predecessor in the UK. On October 21, 2010, Radio Disney launched in Brazil. Since October 1, 2013, Radio Disney is available in Russia via Disney.ru. It plans to broadcast in the Philippines and Sweden in the near future.
Latin America.
Radio Disney is available in Latin America via terrestrial broadcast. Similar to Radio Disney in the U.S., it broadcasts in Spanish to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru and in Portuguese to Brazil. Radio Disney Latin America is a separate operation and won't be affected by the decision to shutter Radio Disney in the United States.
Europe.
Radio Disney planned to begin broadcasting on the digital radio platform in the United Kingdom by the end of 2008. On July 6, 2007, Ofcom, the communications regulator of the United Kingdom, announced that the 4 Digital Group, a consortium headed by Channel 4 and featuring Emap, UTV, British Sky Broadcasting, Global Radio, Carphone Warehouse and UBC, had been awarded a license to run a new digital radio multiplex which would include Radio Disney as one of ten new national radio stations. On October 10, 2008, Channel 4 withdrew plans to launch 4 Digital, ending the probability of Radio Disney launching on the service.
A similar station, Capital Disney began broadcasting in 2002 on the DAB digital radio network, on Sky Digital (Digital Satellite) and various digital cable television providers in the UK. The station was a joint venture between the UK's Capital Radio Group and Disney. The idea being to use Capital Radio's programming experience to assist Disney in launching a radio station in the UK. In early 2007, both Capital Radio (by now called GCap Media) and Disney agreed to pursue different goals, and as a result, Capital Disney closed down on June 29, 2007.