Little Disney

Little Disney (formerly called Disney Junior) was a children's television channel in Kuboia owned by The Walt Disney Company. Aimed at children aged ten and under, it broadcast a mixture of Disney-produced content as well as its own original programming. The channel launched in April 2013 replacing Playhouse Disney Kuboia.

Little Disney ended its run on 27th December 2020 at 11:59p.m. A majority of its content has since been transferred over to streaming service Disney+.

Pre-launch
Little Disney had its origins as Playhouse Disney Kuboia, which launched on 18th February 2002 as a joint-venture between Disney-Fox Television Group and Telesketch Media. The channel ultimately closed on 14th April 2013 after the contract with Telesketch was not renewed.

As Disney Junior (2013-2017)
On 15th April 2013, Disney Junior was launched, airing in Playhouse Disney Kuboia's old EPG slot. Around this time, the channel also began to attempt to appeal to a slightly older audience as well as pre-school children. In order to compensate for the new programming, the channel increased its broadcasting hours two weeks after its launch, now ending broadcast every day at midnight.

As Little Disney (2017-2020)
In June 2017, promos for Little Disney, a supposedly new television channel, began appearing. At the time, it was not stated to be a replacement for Disney Junior, but was confirmed to be a replacement channel the following month. Disney Junior officially rebranded as Little Disney on 23rd October 2017. According to Little Disney's Twitter page, the decision to rebrand the channel under a new name was decided since it had enough differences to other Disney Junior feeds internationally to justify a different change in name.

Closure
In June 2020, following the launch of Disney+, it was revealed that all Disney channels in Kuboia would close sometime later that year, but no exact date was given out. On 11th November, it was later revealed that Little Disney would be ending all operations on 27th December 2020.

The channel ended its run at 11:59p.m. that day, with the 1977 film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh being the last thing to air on the channel. After the film ended, the channel played its "Bedtime" song as usual, and then cut to a screen explaining that the channel has now closed. The signal suddenly cut off a minute later.

Programming
Like its predecessor, Playhouse Disney Kuboia, Little Disney targeted younger children. At launch, the channel aired everyday from 6:00a.m. to 10:00p.m.. This was changed two weeks later, with the channel airing until midnight each day. During weekdays, the 9:00a.m. to 3:00p.m. timeslot was targeted towards children who do not attend school, whilst the 3:00p.m. to 7:00p.m. timeslot targeted children who had just returned from school. In addition, the channel aired a two-hour block every night at 7:00p.m. which featured programming designed to help children get ready for bed. This was followed by a three-hour block that solely aired older programming (especially programmes carried over from Playhouse Disney Kuboia) until the channel closed for the night.

Original programming
Due to broadcast regulations, Little Disney was expected to air a "reasonable amount" of Kuboian-produced programming. As such, it aired several original programmes.
 * Play School
 * Pop-Up Theatre
 * Veronica

Acquired programming
Little Disney acquired and aired most of the Disney Junior original programming that aired in the United States. The show Jake and the Never Land Pirates saw its Kuboian premiere on the day the channel launched. Little Disney had exclusive broadcast rights to episodes of Sesame Street, with new episodes typically airing shortly after their US premiere.

Other programmes acquired by the channel include Clangers, Dora the Explorer, In the Night Garden, Lazy Lucy, Louie, Molang, Numberjacks, Sonic Underground and Winx Club. The channel also aired reruns of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, though only late at night.

Presentation
When Little Disney launched as Disney Junior in 2013, it used its own set of idents that were unique to other versions of the channel worldwide. The idents featured an aesthetic similar to that of the one CBeebies in the United Kingdom was using at the time, featuring alien creatures who interacted in an open tunnel-like environment.

The channel saw in-vision continuity, with pre-recorded links provided by Annika van Halen, who would announce what show was about to air and occasionally do other activities, such as reading birthday cards and making arts and crafts. In-vision continuity was retired on 18th June 2018 following budget cuts and van Halen's decision to leave the role.

A special ident played during the channel's graveyard slot from 9:00p.m. to midnight, which featured the Disney Junior logo popping in and out, with sound effects sampled from Playhouse Disney Kuboia's previous soundtrack. This ident was retained when the channel rebranded as Little Disney.

Mobile app
A mobile app for the channel was launched in July 2015, initially under the name Disney Junior Play It acted as both an on-demand service, featuring new episodes of shows for a limited time, and a collection of minigames and stories. It was rebranded as Little Disney Planet in October 2017. The app was discontinued in December 2020 following the channel's closure, though those who previously downloaded it can still play the games and read the stories on it.

Little Disney in Dutch
An additional service, titled Little Disney in Dutch, was available on some television providers. It followed an identical schedule to the main Little Disney channel, except all of the programmes were in the Dutch language. It was originally launched in July 2004 as Speelhuisje Disney, and was also rebranded to Disney Junior in Dutch in 2013 before changing to its final name in 2017.

Website
A website for the channel was launched in 2013. It featured a seven-day week schedule and information about the channel's programming. After the channel closed, it redirects to a singular page explaining that the channel has closed and that its programming has moved to Disney+. Since early 2022, it has redirected to the Disney+ website.