Disney goes free-to-air in Spain

The Disney Channel is launching on Spain’s digital terrestrial TV (DTT) service, marking the first time it will have been made available to viewers free-to-air.

The channel is currently only available on pay TV where it is the most popular kids offering. Disney has started to shift its main channel from premium to basic tiers, but it has never before gone completely free-to-air.

Vocento, the Spanish media group that controls pay DTT channel Net TV already had a deal with Disney for a branded block, but the deal announced today means the full Disney Channel gets full coverage across all of the DTT network.

The ad-supported channel will launch on DTT on July 1, Disney bosses said in a presentation to advertisers given in the Spanish city of Madrid. Demi Lovato, the star of the upcoming Jonas Brothers’ Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock, was on hand to entertain the assembled ad folk with a musical number.