[5] The flagship channel in the United States intended to replace Soapnet, a Disney-owned channel featuring daytime soap operas seen on the major broadcast networks (including sister network ABC) and reruns of former primetime drama series, due to the continued decline in popularity and quantity of soap operas on broadcast television, along with the growth of video on demand services (including the online streaming availability for soap operas) and digital video recorders that negated the need for a linear channel devoted to the genre.

Disney Junior's 24-hour subscription channel counterpart officially launched the following day on March 23,[8] at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

[citation needed] Programming featured on the channel's initial lineup included Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and freshman original series Doc McStuffins; the channel also had new episodes of the short-form series A Poem Is.

[6] The channel also premiered its first Disney Junior Original Movie, Lucky Duck during Magical World on June 20, 2014.

Since its launch, Disney Junior became initially available to subscribers of Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Bright House Networks, and Verizon FiOS;[12] other providers would sign carriage agreements to run the network following its launch: Disney Junior Night Light is the former name of Disney Junior channel's overnight programming block, running daily from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific.