Disney Is Planning To Close Disney Channel, Star Channel, FX, Cinecanal, National Geographic And BabyTV In Brazil By February 2025

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The renowned Brazilian journalist Ricardo Feltrín announced for the first time that Disney Channel, Star Channel, FX and National Geographic would be discontinued in Brazil in February 2025. This information was verified and complemented by journalist Pablo Simoes from the PortalTVeStreaming site, to whom it was also confirmed the end of Cinecanal and BabyTV, along with the official closing date of all these channels in the country: February 28, 2025.

Although it has not been confirmed whether these broadcast cessations will apply to the rest of Latin America, Pablo stated that Disney assured him that these changes will apply only to Brazil, although certainly the outlook is not entirely encouraging for those who still tune in to these channels in our region. . TVLaint attempted to get a direct response from Disney on the issue, but at the time of publishing this entry it has not received an official communication.

So far, the only thing that is known is that the decision will not impact the six ESPN channels present in Brazil. Sports signals will, for now, be Disney's only presence on Brazilian pay TV.

Although the measure is not surprising since Disney has been getting rid of its television signals around the world for more than four years in search of boosting its Disney+ streaming platform, it occurs in an ironic context considering that Disney Channel is usually the second children's channel most tuned in in Brazil, and Star Channel is the channel with the largest general audience only behind ESPN itself, according to Pablo's statements on his Twitter/X account.

It is a sad week for Disney Channel fans, since a few days ago it was announced that it would cease broadcasting in Spain after 27 years on the air, leaving fewer and fewer signs of the channel that gave so much joy around the world.

This massive closure of signals in Brazil is the most significant in Latin America since the beginning of 2022, when Disney discontinued the operations of the Star Premium suite and the basic TV channels Disney XD, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Kids, FX Movies and Star Life, all in a period of less than three months. Curiously, on that occasion Disney stopped broadcasting Disney Junior in Brazil, but the channel continues to broadcast in the rest of Latin America to this day, with no plans to end. The contents of the preschool channel have since remained in a block on Disney Channel, which is not present in other countries.

A peculiar case is that of Cinecanal, which, although it already existed in Latin America, debuted in Brazil as a replacement for Star Life during the "massacre" of channels in 2022. Now, it will be one of the channels that will cease operations after almost three years in the air.

All content present on Disney Channel, Star Channel, FX, Cinecanal and National Geographic will remain exclusive to Disney+ in Brazil. BabyTV's content is the exception to the rule, which has an official and active channel on YouTube.

Development Alert: FOX Turkey Will Also Be Rebranding This February Most Probably To FX As Seen In Parts Of Europe

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During the week, it was reported that the FOX channels residing in Portugal, Mozambique and Angola would fold under Star. Following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Studios, they had to retract the FOX trademark which is set to expire soon.

This brought on various questions regarding the future of the FOX brand in Turkey. Unlike other FOX feeds, it established itself as one of the leading brands in Turkey having produced various content seen on eExtra including Doodsondes (Yasak Elma) and Dokter Ali (Mucize Doctor).

According to a story on Birsenal Tuntas, the FOX brand will be retracted in Turkey by February. Of course, a name or a date has yet to be announced for the channel but we can only assume that Disney will most likely fold the channel under the FX trademark.

There's already a local broadcaster referred to Star unless Disney wants to infringe on another broadcaster's trademark. FX will most likely replace FOX as Disney's remaining linear offering in the region are headed by the offices in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Disney EMEA manage brands like Disney Channel, Disney Junior, National Geographic and National Geographic Wild alongside FX. I don't see Disney trying to create new trademark after the performance of Star on Disney+ and decline in linear consumption.

It would make more sense to expand the footprint of FX to Turkey giving it a more broader range of content. Unlike Star, FX has longevity establishing itself as Disney's HBO with shows like American Horror Story, Fargo and Legion. 

Another issue pertaining to that would be the current existence of FX in the region. Maybe, Disney could look into merging both channels and another would be expanding of the FX trademark perhaps the current FX could rebrand to FX Premium while FOX becomes simply FX.

Development Alert: FOX And FOX Life Will Become FX And FX Life Across Baltics And CIS By January 2024, More International Disney Channels Are Expected To Close

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FX returns to the Nordic and Baltics region

The Nordic and Baltic branches of The Walt Disney Company will adopt a new name and a striking visual identity on January 24, 2024, when FOX and FOX Life become FX and FX Life. FX and FX Life continue to deliver familiar and beloved content, bringing premium entertainment, including the best international series, to local audiences. 

“When FOX and FOX Life become FX and FX Life, our overall entertainment content will align with the Disney+ streaming platform while continuing to offer fans their favorite stories. This includes global hit series such as Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, This is Us, Castle, 9-1-1 and more. 

We look forward to bringing new shows and high-quality entertainment to our Estonian audience next year," said Hans van Rijn, SVP and Head of The Walt Disney Company Nordic & Baltic. He added, "Linear television remains a priority for us, enabling our audiences to experience exciting content from the many world-class studios in the Disney family." 

The FX brand has been refined and adapted to meet the needs of local television, while maintaining the bold and confident legacy created by FOX.

Disney is pulling the cord of more TV channels

Since Disney+ inception back in 2019, Disney has closed various Disney Channels across the UK, Asia and Italy while a majority of channels still reside within Europe and Africa. Part of which still have no access to Disney+ and are therefore just losing out on content.

Theoretically, it was estimated that Disney could close their remaining linear offering by 2025 but Disney+ is still not sustainable in some of the areas launched. The linear offering is one way to help sustain the streamer and if possible lure potential audiences.

Despite the setback, Disney was still able to close it's remaining linear offering in Asia who also handle operations in the Middle East and North Africa. Since then a majority of international feeds are aligned/managed within Southern Africa (also known as Europe, Middle East and Africa).

Although there's no official confirmation, National Geographic People (Nat Geo People) and FOX Action Movies are anticipated to go dark by 2024 across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) seeing as these were handled in Asia whose offering is being migrated to Disney+. 

As mentioned, most international territories (including MENA) are being handled by Disney EMEA who only supply children brands Disney Channel and Disney Junior alongside factual brands National Geographic and National Geographic Wild.

In Portugal, all the FOX channels are being folded under the Star brand by 2024 (i.e. FOX Life becomes Star Life). This includes consumers in Angola and Mozambique for which MultiChoice operates their service and also supply the affected brands like FOX, FOX Life and FOX Comedy.

FX To Be Revived As A Linear Channel In Poland A Year After It Returned To South Africa On Disney+

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Fox Extended (FX) was a general entertainment channel that was operated by The Walt Disney Company. It served as a sister channel to the defunct FOX brand alongside current entertainment channels National Geographic and Wild alongside Disney Channel and Junior.

Some of the shows seen on the channel included American Dad, Family Guy, The X-Files, Tyrant and The Bridge. Most of which were reverted to FOX brand after the channel was replaced by female based channel FOX Life in 2016.

FX was revived last year when Disney+ launched in South Africa with its own tile under the streaming service. Literally a year after we got the Disney XD of FOX, it was reported that more FOX channels in Europe would be axed.

Folks in Poland were alerted by The Walt Disney Company that FOX would be axed out not like what was seen in Africa and most parts of Europe where it was a complete annihilation. Instead, the brand would be supplemented by FX and not Star as seen in most Portuguese territories.

By November, these channels FOX and FOX Comedy would be known as FX and FX Comedy which just brings out a lot of mystery behind the future of The Walt Disney Company's remaining linear offering viewed in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

As some are aware, most of the companies remaining linear offering reside within these regions with Africa expected to retain these channels through 2024 as announced in 2021. Could it be possible that these channels will stick around for a while longer maybe?

If there's anything to learn about from their business in Latin America, don't trust that a simple change in paint secures the future of these channels. Unlike Africa, FOX was rebranded to Star with a lineup of content from Disney+ available to view and after a year that was ripped away.

After 14 Years, FX Returns To South Africa + e.tv Fills The Decks With More Repeats + tvN Expands Their Offering With A Music Channel

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FX returns to Africa after 14 years

Disney has announced that FX is now being classed as its own global brand across Television, Hulu, Star+ and on Disney+ internationally.

Now all FX content — original to streaming or second window to cable — will be organized in an “FX” section on any Disney streaming platform inside and outside of the U.S.

The change has come into effect and will include new original scripted content, in addition to any library titles from FX., which currently contains more than 170 seasons and 1800 episodes of television.

In a statement, FX’s John Landgraf said:

“We realized a decade ago that FX would soon no longer be primarily a location, but a rather branded mark of quality that would travel across multiple distribution platforms. For 20 years, we have worked tirelessly to make the FX mark synonymous to the consumer with original programming that is distinctive and excellent as well as entertaining. This change furthers the natural evolution of FX and we are grateful to the company and our partners at DMED for their belief and investment in FX branded programming. We are confident that the FX brand, wherever the consumer finds it, will continue to deliver the highest quality programs any service has to offer.”

In the statement, Rebecca Campbell, chairman of Disney’s direct to consumer and international said:

“With more than a billion hours of FX programming viewed on Hulu since the launch of the FX hub, we’ve further cemented Hulu as the home for stories that impact culture, inspire conversation, and connect with viewers in meaningful ways and we’re excited to see the brand evolve to connect with international audiences on Disney+ and Star+. FX’s award-winning adult programming is vital to our services both domestically and internationally and we want to shine a brighter light on the brand within our excellent and rapidly growing portfolio of general entertainment programming for adult audiences.”

FX is going to continue to double down on creating new original programming, with a target of 30 shows (25 scripted and five unscripted) in 2022. Many of which will be exclusive to Hulu and internationally on Disney+.

Alert: e.tv makes a U-turn

As eMedia set of channels except eToonz for some reason gear up for the big day. It's become a tradition for them as well as several brands across the world to halt their primetime selection as several viewers are on holiday.

While other channels continue regular viewing e.tv on the other hand will make several adjustments:

• Deur Dik En Dun is set to conclude on the 23rd of December and on the final days. The show is set to start an hour early (16:45) replacing Days Of Our Lives.
• Movies are set to replace the Deur Dik En Dun as viewers gear up for the launch of Droom Velore on 10th of January.
• S.W.A.T. concludes 21st of December with Beat Shazam, The Big Bang Theory and movies taking up 20:30 - 23:00. Imbewu is not affected by the changes.
• Mzansi Magic's Our Perfect Wedding replaces Ultimate Braai Master at 18:00 everyday Saturday from 8th of January.

tvN becomes a music channel

tvN's parent company in Asia expanded their set of channels earlier this month with a dedicated Korean music channel, tvN Music while is likely home to acts such as BTS, Twice and BLACKPINK.

Earlier in the year, tvN made their debut on DStv as a pop-up channel and featured a selection of Korean content ranging from drama series to reality shows.

Despite only existing as a pop-up, the brand managed to attract an array of fans. Should it return one would hope to see more variety not that there was anything with wrong with this version.

More linear channels have extended their primetime offering to weekends. With that in mind perhaps they could slot in tvN Music alongside tvN Movies. Let's face it repeats are not a necessity on top of not getting high ratings so all this would benefit the channel in the long run.

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