As Disney+ continues to grow in subscribers globally, traditional Disney Channels around the world have slowly been closed down, moving content over to the new streaming service.   Some Disney Channels have been closed in Australia, Italy, Germany, Spain, the UK and more, with Singapore, being the latest country to see its channels shut down.

The Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, and Go Disney have been removed from cable providers, Starhub and Singtel’s. Disney has made a statement on their official social media accounts stating:

To our viewers subscribed to Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior and Go Disney on Singtel and StarHub, we are disappointed to confirm that the Disney Channels have been removed from their platforms. We worked hard to come to a fair agreement, and despite their decision, we will continue efforts to make our content available in Singapore.

With StarHub making a statement on the sitation:

We strive to do our best for customers and secure quality content at the right value, to avert any unsustainable cost increases to our customers. We regret that despite our best efforts to negotiate for a reasonable deal, we are not able to reach an agreement to continue the broadcast of Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD. We share our customers’ disappointment. We are committed to delivering the best variety of content to customers and channel cessations are always the very last resort.

Our customers can continue enjoying quality children and animated programmes on Animax, BabyTV, CBeebies, Cartoon Network, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. among others. StarHub is also continuously working on enhancing and offering new content to our customers. Besides delivering 20,000 hours of fresh content to our viewers every month, we have also partnered with Amazon and Netflix to bring an even greater selection of programmes to our customers. StarHub Entertainment Pass customers can also enjoy the flexibility of switching to any of the other six entertainment passes at any time, to enjoy a different variety of programmes, without any extra charges nor limit to the number of times of switching.

And Singtel, stating:

“We are no longer able to air Disney XD (CH 232), Disney Channel (CH 234) and Disney Junior (CH 236) on Singtel TV from 1 June 2020. Our priority is to ensure that quality content remains affordable for our customers and despite our best efforts, were unable to reach an agreement with Disney on an acceptable renewal offer for its channels.

We remain open to resuming discussions to reach an equitable agreement. We thank our customers for their understanding and patience and will update them should there be new developments. In the meantime, we hope subscribers will enjoy the newly launched family entertainment channel, DreamWorks (CH 233), as well as Cartoon Network (CH 226), Boomerang (CH 228), Nick Jr (CH 238), Nickelodeon (CH 240) and Baby TV (CH 244) on Singtel TV.”

This has led many to speculate that Disney+ will be launching in Singapore soon, especially with their comment about making content available.   Back at last years Investors Day event, Disney revealed they would be launching in Asia throughout 2020 and 2021.

With Japan getting Disney+ later this month on June 11th, so more launches in Asian countries are likely soon.

For years, children have been quick to adopt “Video On Demand”, leaving traditional TV channels in droves, which is why Disney+ is so vital to the Walt Disney Company.  No Singapore Disney+ release date has yet been officially announced, but hopefully it won’t be too much longer.

Are you going to miss the Disney Channels in Singapore?

 

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Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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2 Comments

  1. A June 4, 2020

    It’s disappointing that the channels are no longer available even though Disney+ is not yet available. Which is strange because it seems like the other territories with Disney Channel shut down happened only when Disney+ arrives. Maybe time will tell. But the closure is not without precedence. Costs have been rising too, and not too long ago Discovery pulled their channels from StarHub TV because of inability to come to an agreement over pricing. So I believe it likely due to Disney wanting to increase the price of carrying the channels rather than Disney+ coming soon in Singapore. But who knows. This outcome could also accelerate the arrival of Disney+.

  2. MustardOrMayo June 21, 2020

    I'm still disappointed that they decided to just kill off the channels AND pull their content from Netflix here BEFORE launching D+ here, instead of doing so after for a smoother transition. If Disney Plus does eventually launch here, I seriously hope they have "Wander Over Yonder" there, as well as a number of classic Disney animated movies including some of the old and forgotten ones, AND hopefully support for older LG "Smart TV" (not just the newer "webOS" models). Ugh. I'm now less inclined to subscribe to the "kids" category on StarHub TV even though that's just an additional $4.28 a month, but the value to me feels less diluted now without Disney Channel and Disney XD. Yes, Disney did pull their content from Netflix's Singaporean library, but last I saw before they pulled them, it was mainly just a bunch of their modern movies, which I feel may just be a drop in the lake in relation to what D+ could theoretically offer, if they were to actually listen to content suggestions from subscribers.