Fox Kids (TV channel)

Fox Kids is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Fox International Channels, a division of 21st Century Fox. The network primarily features programming targeted at children 6-14 years old; its programming largely consists of first-run television series, current and former original series and made-for-cable films, theatrically released movies, and some live-action and animated programming from other distributors.

The network was founded by The Walt Disney Company in 2009 as Disney XD, a sister network to Disney Channel which served as a replacement for a previous sister channel known as Toon Disney and was targeted mainly - but not exclusively - to boys. On August 25, 2020, Disney XD was sold to 21st Century Fox, although the deal excluded Disney Television Animation. The channel was rebranded as Fox Kids on September 28 of that year. The Fox Kids brand was previously used for a programming block that ran on the Fox Broadcasting Company between 1990 and 2002.

As of January 16, 2021, Fox Kids is available to approximately 80 million pay television households in the United States.

2009-20: Early history
The channel was launched on February 13, 2009 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time as Disney XD, with the Phineas and Ferb episode "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together!" as its first program. The channel debuted its first original series, Aaron Stone, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time that day; the first part of the two-part premiere episode aired simultaneously on Disney XD and Disney Channel. New animated series included in the channel's initial lineup were Kid vs. Kat and Jimmy Two Shoes.

The network took over the channel space of Toon Disney, an animation-focused channel that debuted on April 18, 1998, which eventually launched a live-action/animation block called Jetix in 2004; Jetix channels outside of the United States were relaunched under the Disney XD brand starting with the France-based service on April 1, 2009. Many of the channel's programs – particularly animated series – previously aired on Toon Disney, mainly as part of the Jetix program block, which ran on Toon Disney until that channel's shutdown. Disney XD carried the same name as an unrelated mini-site and media player on Disney.com, which stood for Disney Xtreme Digital, though it has been stated that the "XD" in the channel 's name does not have an actual meaning.

The channel's first original television movie, Skyrunners, premiered on November 27, 2009. On April 1, 2012, Disney XD launched a block called "Marvel Universe," as a result of Disney's 2009 acquisition of Marvel Entertainment. In mid-2012, Disney created Disney Shows, a YouTube channel that hosts episodes of Disney Channel and Disney XD series and shorts (Disney XD series available on the channel include Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, Kickin' It, Pair of Kings, and Zeke and Luther).

2020-present: Sale to 21st Century Fox and rebranding as Fox Kids
Disney XD was sold to 21st Century Fox for $1.8 billion on August 25, 2020; the sale to 21st Century Fox included most of the acquired programming that was then currently-airing on Disney XD, as well as all of the live-action original shows like Zeke & Luther and Lab Rats. The network was officially rebranded as Fox Kids on September 28, 2020. The Fox Kids name originates from a programming block of the same name which ran on the Fox network from 1990 to 2001.

Programming
Fox Kids's schedule currently consists largely of live-action and animated programs aimed at pre-teens and young teenagers, primarily original series as well as imports of shows from other countries. In addition to full-length live-action and animated original series. When it was known as Disney XD, the channel also debuted short series similar to those seen on former sister network Disney Channel during commercial breaks (such as Team Smithereen, Run, Alien, Run! and Marvo the Wonder Chicken), which served as filler for programs scheduled to end during the half-hour and last usually around two to three (and sometimes as much as fifteen) minutes. This practice lasted until Disney's sale of the channel to Fox. The channel also airs a youth-oriented "plays of the week" countdown segment called Fox Sports High-5, which is produced by Fox Sports and airs periodically between shows. During the Disney XD era, it aired a short series featuring edited segments of ABC's Wipeout. Often, these shows are televised in the last two minutes of the program, with the exception of the Disney XD Shortstop (now Fox Kids Shortstop), or following the ending of a movie.