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Radio Disney

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Radio Disney
TypeRadio network
Country
United States
AvailabilityNational; also distributed in Canada, Mexico, and Argentina.
OwnerThe Walt Disney Company
Launch date
November 18, 1996
Official website
radio.disney.go.com

Radio Disney is a radio network based in Dallas, Texas in the United States broadcasting music and other content targeted at children and young teenagers. As indicated by its name, it is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

History

Radio Disney was launched on November 18, 1996 (coincidentally with Mickey Mouse's birthday) at 4:58 A.M. EST with the song "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)." In 1997 Barrett Rakestraw helped launch RadioDisney.com with Disney Online

When Radio Disney first launched, Kids 12 and under were the only ones able to win a prize. In late 2000, the maximum age to win was increased to 14. In 2002 the first Radio Disney Music Awards premiered. It is a music awards ceremony that has been held every year since.

In 2004, Disney paid the former Children's Broadcasting Corporation (which operated Aahs) $12.4 million. Disney had collaborated with Radio Aahs for a time prior to the launch of Radio Disney as a direct competitor to Minneapolis-based company which reached about 30 stations at its height and former Aahs owners sued for damages because of a breached agreement.

2006 marked the 10th year that the station was on the air, the rebroadcast of its first hour of broadcasting was aired on June 6, 2006 at around 4:58pm EDT on select markets such as WQEW. Also, as part of the 10-year anniversary, the concert "Totally 10 Birthday Concert" was held on July 22, 2006 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California.[1] It also included a simultaneous live broadcast on the Radio Disney website. A second one was held in Dallas, Texas on November 18, 2006 at the Dallas Convention Center.[2]

In February 2006, the Walt Disney Company announced that it will be keeping Radio Disney and its owned-and-operated stations while divesting much of its radio holdings to Citadel Broadcasting. Radio Disney will be reporting to the Cable Networks Group. This unit takes care of Disney's cable holdings, except for ESPN.

In April of 2007, Radio Disney completely dropped the word "Ears" (from their first slogan; We're all ears!) from their phone number, ear mail, and from Playhouse Disney programming. The call-in number was originally spoken aloud as 1-888-EARS-018, although for the last few years Ernie D. has been announcing it as 3277 instead of EARS. Now all DJs read it as 1-888-3277-018.

  • It has recently been discovered that a market airing on HD Radio may have an 8 second delay in its AM broadcast, which makes that station fall behind other Radio Disney stations on AM. A winner of a contest may be chosen before or while the contest details are announced. (In order to keep the analog/digital signals in sync, it is standard practice for Hybrid Digital Radio to delay all content by a few seconds.)

Availability

The network primarily uses AM stations and it is also available on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio (both on channel 115), as well as via Music Choice on most digital cable-TV systems. Effective Sept 18, 2007, Music Choice will replace Radio Disney with Kidz only!, similiar to Radio Disney, but with a non-stop music format. [1] Radio Disney is also available via satellite on XM on DirecTV (channel 867) – the Sirius package on Dish Network currently does not carry Radio Disney. KDIS in the Southern California Los Angeles area is the network's flagship station. The station is also streamed at RadioDisney.com and is also available on iTunes. Well-known Digital Cable Providers with Radio services may offer Radio Disney as a live radio broadcast selection to the listings.

Slogans

These slogans have been said to still be used, however no proof has been produced yet.

  • "We're All Ears" (1996-2000)
  • "Music And Prizes That Rock!" (2000-2001)
  • "Your Music, Your Way!" (2001-Present)

Programming

Music

Songs currently/recently on the pop charts that are usually popular with pre-teens and younger teenagers (if the song has a minor amount of "adult" lyrics, such as "Get the Party Started" by Pink, "My Happy Ending" by Avril Lavigne, or "1985" by Bowling for Soup, the song simply gets edited rather than lose airplay). Some good examples include music from Hilary Duff, Rihanna, All American Rejects, Usher, Pretty Ricky, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Black Eyed Peas, Hawthorne Heights, Lostprophets, Elliott Yamin, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Pussycat Dolls, Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne, Maroon 5, Kanye West, Linkin Park, Shop Boyz, Akon, Fall Out Boy, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and JoJo. Other songs not on the pop charts that are popular with pre-teens, such as "The Hampster Dance" theme song or Axel F., by Crazy Frog.

Although "classic" Disney songs are (now) rarely played on this radio network, songs from recent cartoons/movies made by Disney or one of its subsidiaries get played. Sometimes, fairly old songs that wouldn't normally play on Radio Disney get airplay for this reason (for example, various Elvis songs played in Lilo & Stitch) (although, back in the network's early years, oldies were a regular part of the format). Disney Channel stars songs such as music from Lizzie McGuire, High School Musical and Hannah Montana , Jason Collyns , and music by Jonas Brothers, Vanessa Hudgens, Corbin Bleu, Aly & AJ, Hilary Duff, Ashley Tisdale, Kayla, Keke Palmer, Everlife, B5, Jesse McCartney, Lucas Grabeel, and The Cheetah Girls.

Older artists that are very rarely played now, but were big in the network's early years include *NSYNC, 2gether, 3 Doors Down, 3LW, 98 Degrees, A*Teens, Aaron Carter, B*Witched, BBMak, Backstreet Boys, Bon Jovi, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Creed, Donna Lewis, Dream, Dream Street, Hanson, Hilary Duff, Jessica Simpson, Jump5, LFO, Lil' Bow Wow, Lil' Romeo, M2M, Mandy Moore, Mariah Carey, No Secrets, Nobody's Angel, Play, S Club 7, Savage Garden, Stacie Orrico, MC Hammer, Stevie Brock, Vitamin C, Weird Al Yankovic, Will Smith, and Youngstown.

Playhouse Disney

Playhouse Disney (originally "Mickey and Minnie's Tune Time" between 1996-2001) airs on Radio Disney weekdays during the school year at 12:00 ET and ends at 2:00 ET and has been hosted almost exclusively by BB Good since its inception. Like Playhouse Disney on Disney Channel, it is designed for preschoolers. Songs from Playhouse Disney shows, Disney movies, and songs from other shows such as Sesame Street get played, along with contests with preschool related questions, and questions about Disney characters. At 1:00 ET, a story is heard on air during "Circle Time Story" time. (Originally "Mickey And Minnie's Storytime Theatre" between 1996-2001). Stories are usually from Disney movies and films. During Playhouse Disney, many of Radio Disney's old liners and jingles are played. Mainly the ones that have the first slogan, "We're All Ears."

Current features

  • Laugh Shack - Call in and leave jokes.
  • Secret Sound - A sound is played on air, and callers try to guess what the sound is.
  • What’s Cool - Call in and leave a message about the coolest stuff around.
  • ESPN Sports for Kids - Sports news and some health tips.
  • Sound File - The news on what's new. Talks about new artists. (New entries weekly during Top 30 Countdown)
  • The Insider - Originally called the Juicy Scoop. Get the inside scoop about the coolest and hottest artists.
  • 60 Seconds With - DJ's talk with the hottest artists.
  • Radio Disney Review - What was cool in the past years of Radio Disney.
  • Playback
  • Code Word of the Day - The Code Word of the Day is given out about 5 times an hour. If you know the word when they ask for it, (usually around 6:30 PM ET) you can win an awesome prize.
  • Snipp it Clip - They play a small part of 3 songs and the person who guesses all three wins
  • The Radio Disney Top 30 Countdown - The longest running program. Susan Huber is the host. Songs that got the most requests during the week were on the countdown, starting from 30 to the most requested song of the week. (Number 1) At the end of the year, the same thing was done, only it was the most requested songs of the whole year. The Top 30 Countdown now has new airtimes (effective June 3rd, 2007): Saturdays - 7am to 10am PT, 10am to 1pm ET and Sundays - 11am to 2pm PT, 2pm to 5pm ET.
  • Connect Family - Originally "Family Fun Day" but re-branded early in April 2007 under the "Connect Family" title, Blake hosts the only show on Radio Disney where kids and adults play games and contests together for the entire duration of the show. Connect Family airs every Sunday afternoon after the Top 30 Countdown.
  • Music Mailbag - Every Saturday during this segment of Radio Disney, Aaron K introduces a new song and listeners call in to the station or vote online to "Pick It" or "Kick It".
  • Radio Rewind:This is the same as Backwards Bop.

Retired features

  • ABC News For Kids - Kid friendly, and informational news with Jim Hickey.
  • ABC Notebook
  • Aptitude Dude
  • Backwards Bop - A snippit of a song was played backward and callers would try to guess the name of that song
  • Battle Of The Cities - A trivia game that retired DJs, Mark and Zippy hosted. Two contestants from different cities would call in and the caller with the most answers wins.
  • Bumbling Bill’s Safety Spotlight - Bumbling Bill and his friend Sally talk about what's safe and unsafe. Bumbling Bill can never seem to get Sally's name right. This program ended near the beginning of 2006.
  • Frequency Jam - A program which started around 2002/2003. Every Friday night, three songs would be played. The song with the most votes (via Radio Disney's website) would be the next song that will get played. Frequency Jam ended in February of 2007 when Disney redesigned their website.
  • Grandma Nature
  • Gross Me Out - Gross Me Out was a long time program that talked about gross things which kids often like to hear.
  • Karaoke - A contest by retired DJ, Kara. She would sing one line of a song and the correct caller would sing the other.
  • Lets Make A Deal - Another game/contest hosted by Mark and Zippy. This was also parody of the television game show of the same name.
  • Theatre Of The Bizarre - a program that ended around mid 2006. Dr. B and a hair-ball like creature named Critter talked about strange and creepy things.
  • The Adventures of Bud and Iggy - Bud and Iggy always get lost. Clues are given out about what city they are lost in. This long-time contest ended near the end of 2003.
  • The State Game - Three clues about a state were given out (the state nickname and two facts) and callers would try and guess what state it is.

DJs

Radio Disney has had a number of different DJ's since its launch in 1996. A list of current DJ's and a schedule can be found here on Radio Disney's website. Below are a number of DJ's along with their years of employment.

Above are two retired Radio Disney DJ's, "Just Plain" Mark & Zippy.
  • “Just Plain” Mark (1997 - 2001)
  • Aaron K. (2001 - Present)
  • B.B. Good (1998 - Present)
  • Blake (2005 - Present)
  • Brian (Your Boy Brian) (1997 - Present)
  • Candice (2005 - 2007)
  • Giel (? - Present)
  • David Jordan (2001 - 2005)
  • Dean Wendt (1996 - 2001)
  • Don Crabtree (1996 - Present)
  • Ernie D. (1999 - Present)
  • Kara (1997 - 2001)
  • Kim Stewart (1997-2000)
  • Lee Cameron (1996-1999)
  • Lenny (2005- Present)
  • Penny Nichols (2001 - Present)
  • Sherry Rogers (1996 - Present)
  • Sheryl Brooks (1996 - Present)
  • Squeege (1996 - 2005)
  • Susan Huber (1996 - Present)
  • Terri (2004 - Present)
  • Tina (1997-1998)
  • Web Fingors (2001-2003)
  • Zippy (1997 - 2001)

Stations

The listing below is accurate as of May 2007. Despite their current standing, many of these stations have diverse histories. Many of the current call signs of Radio Disney stations are variations on the Disney name and that of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. At least one appears to be named for Goofy.

AM stations
Callsign Frequency Location HD Broadcast
KMIK 1580 Phoenix, Arizona Green tickY
KKDD 1290 Riverside, California Red XN
KMKY 1310 San Francisco, California Red XN
KIID 1470 Sacramento, California Green tickY
KAVT 1680 Fresno, California Red XN
KDIS 1110 Pasadena/Los Angeles, California Green tickY
KDDZ 1690 Denver, Colorado Green tickY
WDZK 1550 Hartford, Connecticut Red XN
WBWL 600 Jacksonville, Florida Red XN
WDYZ 990 Orlando, Florida Green tickY
WMYM 990 Miami, Florida Green tickY
WWMI 1380 Tampa, Florida Red XN
WAJD 1390 Gainesville, Florida Red XN
WMNE 1600 West Palm Beach, Florida Red XN
WDWD 590 Atlanta, Georgia Red XN
WPGA¹ 980 Macon, Georgia Red XN
WNEX¹ 1400 Macon, Georgia Red XN
WRDZ 1300 Chicago, Illinois Green tickY
KQAM 1480 Wichita, Kansas Red XN
WDRD 680 Louisville, Kentucky Green tickY
WBYU 1450 New Orleans, Louisiana Green tickY
WMKI 1260 Boston, Massachusetts Green tickY
WDSS 1680 Grand Rapids, Michigan Red XN
WFDF 910 Farmington Hills/Detroit, Michigan Green tickY
KDIZ 1440 Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota Red XN
KPHN 1190 Kansas City, Missouri Red XN
WSDZ 1260 St. Louis, Missouri Green tickY
KOIL 1020 Omaha, Nebraska Red XN
KALY 1240 Albuquerque, New Mexico Red XN
WAMF¹ 1300 Syracuse, New York Red XN
WWLF¹ 1340 Syracuse, New York Red XN
WALL 1340 Middletown, New York Red XN
WEOK 1390 Poughkeepsie, New York Red XN
WDDY 1460 Albany, New York Red XN
WOLF 1490 Syracuse, New York Green tickY
WQEW 1560 New York, New York Red XN
WCOG 1320 Greensboro, North Carolina Red XN
WGFY 1480 Charlotte, North Carolina Red XN
WWMK 1260 Cleveland, Ohio Green tickY
KMUS 1380 Tulsa, Oklahoma Green tickY
KOCY 1560 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Red XN
KDZR 1640 Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington Red XN
WWJZ 640 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Green tickY
WWCS 540 Canonsburg/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Red XN
WDDZ 550 Providence, Rhode Island Red XN
WOWW 1430 Memphis, Tennessee Red XN
KRDY 1160 San Antonio, Texas Red XN
KMIC 1590 Houston, Texas Green tickY
KMKI 620 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Green tickY
KWDZ 910 Salt Lake City, Utah Red XN
WDZY 1290 Richmond, Virginia Red XN
WHKT 1650 Norfolk, Virginia Red XN
KKDZ 1250 Seattle, Washington Red XN
WKSH 1640 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Green tickY
FM stations
Callsign Frequency Location HD Broadcast
KDIS 99.5 Little Rock, Arkansas Red XN
WRDZ 98.3 Indianapolis, Indiana Green tickY
WDZN² 100.1 Cumberland, Maryland Red XN
¹ indicates multiple Radio Disney outlets in a single city
² W263AJ 100.5 is a broadcast translator for WDZN
Decommissioned Radio Disney stations
Callsign Frequency Location
WBBQ 1340 Augusta, Georgia
KDEF 1150 Albuquerque, New Mexico (affiliate moved to KALY).
WMKI 850 Birmingham, Alabama (1997-1999, call letters reused for Boston affiliate and call letters reverted back to WYDE)
WYNK 1380 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
KMAP 1050 Bakersfield, California
KRYS 1360 Corpus Christi, Texas
WDDZ 1500 Zion, Illinois
KADZ 1690 Denver/Boulder, Colorado
KXTP 970 Duluth, Minnesota
WMYR 1410 Fort Myers, Florida
WKEW 1400 Greensboro, North Carolina (affiliate moved to WCOG in 2001)
KQMQ 690 Honolulu, Hawaii
KORL 690 Honolulu, Hawaii
KDYS 1520 Lafayette, Louisiana
KRNN 1380 Little Rock, Arkansas (affiliate moved to FM dial KDIS-FM)
WGSM 740 Long Island, New York (when WQEW became Radio Disney, this affiliate ceased being Radio Disney)
WQUA 102.1 Mobile, Alabama
WVAB 1550 Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia
WKYG 1180 Parkersburg, West Virginia
WJDY 1470 Salisbury, Maryland
KBEE 860 Salt Lake City, Utah (affiliate moved to KWDZ in 2001)
KSON 1240 San Diego, California (station became a Vietnamese/ethnic station in 2004)
WBHR 660 Sauk Rapids/St. Cloud, Minnesota
WCHY 1290 Savannah, Georgia
KWTX 1230 Waco, Texas
WOLF 96.7 Syracuse, New York (Now known as MOViN' FM)

Albums

In 1999, Radio Disney released their first CD, Radio Disney Kid Jams, containing the top song from Radio Disney's playlist. Over time, Radio Disney released more volumes of the Kid Jams series. (Commonly known as "Jams" since there was not enough room to put "Kid" and "Vol" on the jams sequels.) Radio Disney also released two Holiday Jams CDs, an Ultimate Jams with select songs from Jams 1-6, Jingle Jams (Series 2004 & 2005), Move It, and Party Jams from their tenth birthday concert.

Available Radio Disney CDs

International

Internationally, Radio Disney can be heard in Japan, Poland, Argentina, Paraguay, Guatemala, Uruguay, and the Dominican Republic. It plans to resume broadcasting in the UK in 2008. It plans to broadcast in the Philippines, Sweden, Mexico, Canada, and Australia in the near future.

South America

Radio Disney is available in South America via terrestrial broadcast. Similar to Radio Disney in the US, it broadcasts in Spanish to Argentina[2], Ecuador[3], Guatemala, Paraguay[4], Uruguay[5] and the Dominican Republic.

Europe

Radio Disney will 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, Chrysalis, Carphone Warehouse and UBC, has been awarded a license to run a new digital radio multiplex which will include Radio Disney as one of ten new national radio stations.

A similar station (if edgier), Capital Disney began broadcasting in 2002 on the DAB digital radio network, on Sky Digital (Digital Satellite) and various digital cable TV operators in the UK. Capital Disney ceased broadcasting and closed down on June 29, 2007.

See also

  1. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/04/AR2006080400223.html
  2. ^ http://radio.disney.go.com/mystation/dallas/whats_hot.html
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