Disney Junior ratings expected to surpass Nick Jr. for first time

I just blogged about watching 3 shows on the Disney channel over Spring break, when I saw a link on Elizabeth Sweet’s Twitter feed to an article on these three shows from today’s New York Times:

On Tuesday Nielsen data for Disney Junior will be revealed for the first time; the new channel is expected to beat its rival, even though Nick Jr. is available in 75 million homes, 25 percent more than Disney Junior.

Disney now has the top three preschool cable programs, led by what appears to be a monster-size new hit, “Sofia the First,” a cartoon that stars a pint-size princess and her zany animal friends.

The 3 programs, the ones I just wrote about, are Doc McStuffins, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Sofia the First. That’s the Disney Junior morning line up.

In my blog, I called the home of these 3 shows the Disney Channel. Apparently, the channel is actually called Disney Junior. The goal is to hook kids while they’re young on Disney Junior and then transfer them to the Disney Channel for 6 – 14 yr olds.

“These children are the Walt Disney Company’s most important audience,” Ms. Sweeney said. “They’re the future, and this is their first introduction to our brand.”

I’ve got to admit, out of those three choices– PBS, Nick Jr, and Disney Junior, the latter has the best shows for female protags. The NYT article states Dora is getting dethroned by Sofia. Physically, I prefer Dora’s appearance, especially since both girls are supposed to be Hispanic. Dora actually looks the part. But Dora lost her coolness when she morphed into a princess herself and then was eclipsed by her cousin, Diego. I agree, though for different reasons, Dora has fallen from grace.

PBS’s morning line up is terrible for female characters.

Is the good news about the high Disney Junior ratings that female characters sell?

4 thoughts on “Disney Junior ratings expected to surpass Nick Jr. for first time

  1. I find shows like doc mcstuffins refreshing. With jake the white characters are mainly idiots. I love the multi cultural aspects coming from Disney. But there is no need to demean white people in the process.

    • Hi jim,

      Huh? I have not seen any demeaning of “white people,” white people are not mocked as a group or race or ethnicity. Your comment makes no sense to me.

      Margot

  2. I’m Spanish, and I have always found very confusing how you (in the USA) use “Hispanic” (I’m not sure if Spanish, Portuguese or Italian people are Hispanic or not), but I thought that Hispanic was about your origin, not about your etnicithy. I mean, I understand that it’s a problem that only white people is represented in media, and there should be more variety. That it’s a problem that even if you aren’t white, you can only appear in TV if your skin is not too dark and you have the right hair. But I don’t think that it’s fair to deny that you can be white, or black, or from asian descent and be Hispanic, it’s still your culture. Bebo Valdés was Hispanic, and so is Fernando Olvera, or Fernanda Takai. Maybe they don’t “look the part”, but that don’t mean that they aren’t from their countries.
    And I’m not defending Sofia I, I have a real monarchy in my country, and I hate it with passion, I couldn’t care less about a fake spanish princess. “Right of birth” it’s not something that should give you any kind of authority over millions of people.

  3. I agree! Despite the proliferation of purple and pink, we love Doc Mcstuffins. There is a stay at home dad, kids of all genders and colors playing together, and a little girl, being creative, taking pride in her skills and thinking power. Jake and his crew give us a fun and silly show that while not long on female characters, at least has pretty good ones. Sofia, is not allowed in our house. My girls deserve a better story. They backtracked on her being Hispanic and little ones get enough princesses as it is. We like Rapunzel and Merida, and even the classics in moderation, but Sofia was a disappointment to me after Doc McStuffins. And one that I watched even felt a little racist, with the animals portrayed as kind of a slave class. I’m was MORTIFIED at the idea that because her mother married someone important, that NOW this girl’s story will be told. And what is told is how she is trying to incorporate being herself with this NEW person (a princess) that is supposed to improve on everything she was. UGH. No thanks. We love us some Disney in this house, but when you really love something, you love it warts and all. So every time Charlotte asks why she can’t watch it, which she does less and less despite RELENTLESS advertising, I tell her that it’s because she deserves a better story. When I ask her what she would want to be if she could be anything, she never says princess. Frankly, some of her ideas are shows I would love to watch, but they don’t involve manners and twirling. She already learns those at home. 🙂

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