Radio Disney is a radio network based in Burbank, California, from where it has been based since November 2008. Prior to that, the network was based in Dallas, Texas. Radio Disney broadcasts music and other content targeted at children and young teenagers; its format can be described as a youth-friendly contemporary hit radio. It is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

Radio Disney is formatted like a traditional radio station, featuring prize giveaways (in which viewers can enter via phone, online and since 2008, also by text message) and occasional in-studio interviews, called "Takeovers" (which usually occur during the weekday late afternoon timeslot).

History

1996-2001: The Beginning

Radio Disney was launched on November 18, 1996 (coinciding with Mickey Mouse's birthday) at 5:58 A.M. EST with the song "Get Ready For This." Their slogan was "we're all ears" that was used heavily on jingles. Radio Disney started with songs that were played on Top-40 stations as well a popular oldies and songs from various cartoon shows. Artists included Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, N'SYNC, Backstreet Boys, and Hanson, to name a few.

In 2000, artists such as Aaron Carter, and Dream Street became popular. Their new short-lived slogan was changed to "music and prizes that rock!" Later in 2000, Radio Disney increased the age limit for winning prizes and sweepstakes from 12 to 14. The Radio Disney World Tour also debuted in 2000 which continued on until 2001.

2001-2007: Disney Channel Stars

Near the end of 2001, Radio Disney has been closely tied with singers/actors from original Disney Channel shows starting with Hilary Duff and Raven-Symone, and more recently with Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Mitchel Musso, and others. It also marked the start of their current slogan, "your music, your way".

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 first went 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. 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.

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.

2007-Present: Various Changes

In April 2007, Radio Disney completely dropped the word "Ears" (from their first slogan, "We're all ears!") from their (old) phone number, ear mail, and from Playhouse Disney daliy programming. The call-in number was originally spoken aloud as 1-8-8-8, E-A-R-S, 0-1-8; then, all DJs read it as 1-888-327-7018.

Since 2008, Radio Disney has been adding more songs from Disney Channel original shows as well as music produced from other teen music groups, several of which are associated with Walt Disney Records or Hollywood Records. Playhouse Disney programming has been cut back and hour. (originally a 2 hour block).

In November of 2008, Radio Disney moved their headquarters from Dallas, Texas to Burbank, California.

In late May 2009, Radio Disney completely changed their phone number. Their current phone number is 1-877-870-5678.

In June 2009, Radio Disney again increased the maximum age for winning prizes, this time to 16 years of age.

In November 2009 it was reported that Radio Disney is selling six radio stations.

Programming

Music

Radio Disney plays a large selection of songs from stars and shows on Disney Channel along with popular songs found on a typical radio station with a Top 40 being Lou Bega's cover of "Mambo No. 5", with the Radio Disney version having the chorus "A little bit of Minnie in my life, A little bit of Mickey by her side", with all the other names similarly replaced by Disney characters.

Songs from Disney Channel stars

Disney Channel star songs such as music from Camp Rock, Cheetah Girls, Cheetah Girls 2, Cheetah Girls 3, Hannah Montana, Hannah Montana 2, Hannah Montana 3, Hannah Montana: The Movie, High School Musical, High School Musical 2, High School Musical 3: Senior Year and JONAS are played. 78violet (Formerly Aly & AJ), Ashley Tisdale, B5, Carrie Underwood, The Cheetah Girls, Chris Brown, Colbie Caillat, Coldplay, Corbin Bleu, David Archuleta, Demi Lovato, Emily Osment, Everlife, Jesse McCartney, Jonas Brothers, Jordan Pruitt, Jordin Sparks, Justin Bieber, Kristinia DeBarge, KSM, Lucas Grabeel, Meaghan Jette Martin, Miley Cyrus, Mitchel Musso, OneRepublic, Raven-Symoné, Savannah Outen, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, The Fray, Tiffany Thornton, Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron are among the artists heard today on the Disney radio.

Artists that were popular in the network's early years

Artists that are very rarely played now, (or retired from the playlist), but were popular in the network's early years include 'N Sync, 2gether, 3 Doors Down, 3LW, 98 Degrees, A*Teens, Ace of Base, Aaron Carter, B*Witched, BBMak, Backstreet Boys, Bon Jovi, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Creed, Donna Lewis, Dream, Dream Street, Hanson, Hoku, Kylie Minogue, James Brown, Jessica Simpson, Jump5, LFO, Lil' Bow Wow, Lil' Romeo, M2M, Mandy Moore, Mariah Carey, No Authority, No Secrets, Nobody's Angel, Play, Queen, S Club 7, Stacie Orrico, Sugar Ray, MC Hammer, Stevie Brock, Technotronic, Vitamin C, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Will Smith, and Youngstown.

Playhouse Disney

Playhouse Disney (originally "Mickey and Minnie's Tune Time" between 1998-2001) airs on Radio Disney weekdays during the school year at 12:00 ET and ends at 1:00 ET and has been hosted by Robin, Tina, B. B. Good and Susan Huber since its inception. It is now currently hosted by Betsy. Playhouse Disney was once a two hour block, but has recently been cut back an hour, along with Circle Time Story, (Originally "Mickey And Minnie's Storytime Theatre" between 1998-2001) which featured read-along stories from Disney movies and films. Like Playhouse Disney on Disney Channel, it is targeted towards 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. Classic Disney songs are also played during Playhouse Disney.

Radio Disney World Tours

In 2000 and 2001, Radio Disney launched 2 separate "world tours" that traveled to large markets across the United States. In 2000, the tour featured up and coming talent (No Authority, Myra) and then Radio Disney DJs, Mark and Zippy. The tour traveled to the following cities: Atlanta, New York, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. It played in theatrical venues and had audiences of up to 2,000 people per show (there were 4 shows each weekend in each market).
See Also: Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour

Features and contests

Radio Disney carries a number of features from interactive contests to informational programs.

Current features

• 60 Seconds With (actor/actress name) - DJ's (normally Ernie D.) talk with the hottest artists.

• Celebrity Take with Jake - Jake chats about the newest celebrity news everyday at 7:35AM PST, 1:35PM PST and 4:35PM PST.

• 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.

• Family Portrait - The radio show for the whole family. Callers call in to Radio Disney Ear Mail (1-888-MAIL-018) and describe their family traditions.

• Music Mailbag - Every Saturday during this segment of Radio Disney, a new song is introduced by Brian or Candice and listeners call in to the station or vote online to "Pick It" or "Kick It". Squeege, Kara, and Aaron K. use to host this.

• NBT (Next Big Thing) - A part of the show when they air new songs by new stars and listeners can vote. It is very similar to Incubator, a retired feature.

• Planet Premiere - A music artist sits down with Ernie D. as their newest album is played on Radio Disney. Before each song plays, the artist tells the listeners how the song came about, and the meaning of the song. Susan Huber use to host this.

• Park Pop Question - An on air game played by Blake (usually during the "Wakey Blakey" morning show) that relates to The Walt Disney Company's Parks and Resorts division.

• Power Prize - This happens at least six times a day. A winner of a contest will not only win a super entry, but also a really cool "power" prize. This started when Radio Disney quit giving prizes to every contest winner.

• Radio Rewind - A segment of a song was played backward and callers would try to guess the name of that song.

• Saturday Night Move It Party - Jake and Hali dance (move it) along with Radio Disney listeners to remixes of their favorite songs. Brian and Cherami use to host this.

• Snipp it Clip (In the Mix) - They play a small part of 3 songs and the person who guesses all three wins.

• Sound File - The news on new music and artists. (New entries weekly during Top 30 Countdown)

• Super Entry - Winners of a contest get one-hundred (100) entries into the grand prize drawing. When first started, the winner would get forty (40) entries.

• The Dot Com Top 3 - The .com Top 3 airs every night at 9:30 p.m. ET, 6:30 p.m. PT. Brian, Candice, or Hali play the top 3 most requested songs of the day, and after, a caller with all three songs will win a prize or super entry. Aaron K, Blake, Squeege,and David Jordan use to host this.

• Top 30 Countdown - The longest running program originally hosted by former D.J. Susan Huber. Jake is now 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. At the end of the year, the same thing was done, only it was the 50 most requested songs of the whole year. The Top 30 Countdown airs (effective June 3, 2007): Saturdays - 7am to 10am ET, 10am to 1pm PT and Sundays - 11am to 2pm PT, 2pm to 5pm ET.

• Word to the Wise - Played as fillers during commercial breaks, word to the wise talks about topics such as safety & good habits. Later installments were labeled as "A message from Radio Disney, because we care about kids".

Retired features

• ABC News For Kids - Kid friendly, and informational news with Jim Hickey.

• ABC Notebook

• Aptitude Dude

• Backwards Bop - A snippet 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.

• Connect Family - Originally "Family Fun Day" but re-branded early in April 2007 under the "Connect Family" title, formally hosted by Ernie D. and Blake. Parents and kids would hang out and play contests on Radio Disney. ("Call with your Mom or Dad to win now! 1-888-EARS-018. It's Family Funday on Radio Disney!")

• Frequency Jam - A program which started around 2002/2003. Every Friday night, three songs would be played by Ernie D. or Brian. 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 2007 when Disney redesigned their website.

• Grandma Nature

• Garage Door Derby - This contest was ran with D.J. Aaron K. Two callers would call in and race their garage doors. The first to say, "It's open!" or "It's closed!" would win a prize.

• Gross Me Out - Gross Me Out was a long time program that talked about gross things which kids often like to hear.

• Hairbrush Karaoke - Similar to the game "Karaoke" with D.J. Kara. D.J. Susan Huber would get a caller to sing karaoke on the radio, and then they would win a prize. This ended when Susan Huber left Radio Disney.

• Hogwarts or Hogwash - A game played by Aaron K. The correct caller must answer three out of four questions from the popular Harry Potter series as true or false, by saying 'Hogwarts' for being true and 'Hogwash' for being false. This game is no longer being played, as Aaron K. is no longer on air.

• Karaoke - A contest by retired DJ, Kara. She would sing one line of a song and the correct caller would sing the other.

• Laugh Shack - Kids would call in and leave jokes (via 1-888-MAIL-018). Jokes would then later be aired on the radio.

• Let's 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 B-zarre - 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. This game was played by B.B. Good and Sherry.

• Thinkenstein: 2000 - Dr. Thinkenstein, a wild, hyperactive scientist with a Karloff-esque voice, examined technologies and breakthroughs that other scientists were currently working on to improve the future. He frequently discussed his findings with his computer assistant, "I.gor" (nicknamed "E-dot").

• Your Music, Your Way a.k.a Your Music & Your Stars, Your Way

DJs

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

• Blake (2005)

• Brian (1997)

• Candice (2009)

• Ernie D. (1999)

• Hallie (2009)

• Jake (2008)

• Morgan (2009)

Former DJs

• Aaron K. (2003–2008)

• B. B. Good (1998–2008)

• Betsy (2008-2009)

• Candice (2005–2007)

• Cherami (2007-2008)

• David Jordan (2001–2005)

• Dean Wendt (1996–2001)

• Don Crabtree (1996–2007)

• Giel (2003-2008)

• Jim Hickly (2001?-2005?)

• Just Plain Mark (1997–2001)

• Kara (1997–2001)

• Kim Stewart (1997–2000)

• Lee Cameron (1996–1999)

• Lenny (2006)

• Penny Nichols (2001)

• Robin Jones (1996-1997)

• Rita (2007)

• Squeege (1996-2005)

• Sherry Rodgers (1996-2008)

• Sheryl Brooks (1996-2008)

• Susan Huber (1996-2008)

• Tina (1997–1998)

• Terri (2004–2008)

• Web Fingors (2001–2003)

• Zippy (1997–2001)

Availability

Online Stream

Radio Disney is streamed at and is also available under the pop section of the iTunes radio tuner.

Radio Disney is also available as a special feature on the Blu-Ray release of Hannah Montana: The Movie via Disney BD-Live

From 1997 up until 1999, the network was streamed digitally in RealAudio format from Disney's website. The service was pulled in 1999, only to resurface a short time later as a pre-installed streaming channel on QuickTime 4's streaming media list. The service disappeared again around 2000 when Quicktime 5 was released. In March of 2006, The stream resurfaced again in a Windows Media Player format as Radio Disney 2.0. It was then later revamped in a flash format complete with lyrics and previously played songs.

Subscription Radio and TV

Radio Disney is available on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio in digital audio quality in both the United States and Canada, both on channel 115. It was carried previously on Music Choice on most digital cable-TV systems. However, on September 18, 2007, Music Choice replaced Radio Disney with their own channel, Kidz Only!, similar to Radio Disney, but with a less interrupted music format. Radio Disney is also available via satellite on XM on DirecTV (channel 867) and is also currently carried on the Sirius package on Dish Network (channel 6115). A few Digital Cable providers with radio services offer Radio Disney as a live radio broadcast selection to the listings.

Stations

Despite being music oriented, the network uses primarily AM stations, with a few FM 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. Another is named for Walt Disney World (WDW).

Markets 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.)

¹ Station not owned by the Walt Disney Company

² Indicates a clear channel station

³ W260BP 99.9 is a broadcast translator for WDZN

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, and the Dominican Republic. There are plans to resume broadcasting of a Disney branded radio station in the UK, but this time under the 'Radio Disney' brand, aimed at a younger audience than its predecessor in the UK. It plans to broadcast in the Philippines, Sweden, Mexico and Brazil in the near future.

Latin America

Radio Disney is available in Latin America via terrestrial broadcast. Similar to Radio Disney in the US, it broadcasts in Spanish to Argentina, Chile Nicaragua, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Panama,
and Costa Rica

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 , 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 . 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 TV operators 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 ceased broadcasting and closed down on June 29, 2007.

See also

• Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks)

• ESPN Radio

• Bubblegum pop

• Teen pop

• Hip hop music

• Rock music