It’s The End Of An Era As Radio Disney Announces That Its Shutting Down
It’s the end of an era Disney friends. The news has just come out that Radio Disney and Radio Disney Country are the latest casualties when it comes to The Walt Disney Companies continued cut. The news came out today via DEADLINE that both will cease operations in the first quarter of 2021.
This sad news but not surprising given that Disney has been moving more toward their branded television and increasing content for kids and families both across Disney+ and on the Disney Channel.
Disney’s radio network launched in 1996 starting with terrestrial broadcasts and then expanded to satellite radio. According to the piece in DEADLINE, by 2005, the network was reaching 97% of the US and put many a Disney Star on the map including Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and more.
The station even expanded the reach of major label artists like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, N’Sync, One Direction and more.
According to reports there are currently 36 full and part time Radio Disney employees that will be impacted by the closure. The official statement from Disney is below:
Radio Disney and Radio Disney Country will cease operations in the first quarter of 2021. The announcement was made today by Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Branded Television, who today addressed the 36 full- and part-time employees who will be impacted by the closure early next year.
Radio Disney in Latin America is a separate operation and is not impacted by the announcement today.
The difficult decision to close these two radio networks coincided with Disney’s recently announced structural changes that call for Disney Branded Television to sharpen its focus on increasing production of kids’ and family content for Disney+ and Disney Channels. Division leaders also took into account the fast evolving media environment that provides more personalized music choices than ever to a generation of young consumers, and the ongoing public health crisis that continues to affect in-person music events.
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