Tonight, I bring you something we may never see again – a cable channel broadcasting for the first time. On April 18th, 1983, the Disney Channel went on the air. Here is the initial sign-on of the channel. The video does raise questions. Doesn’t it feel weird that it’s Ron Miller and not Michael Eisner? If the channel wasn’t officially on-air, how was this broadcast? Did Mickey abandon Donald and Goofy to live lonely lives on a satellite before dying in orbit? How many children were traumatized by the Pooh Corner animatronic costumes like I was? But it’s a cool artifact nonetheless.

Bonuses – two versions of the channel’s sign-off for the night, one from 1983 with the Mickey satellite and one from 1986 with a shot of Spaceship Earth and…someone typing live?

Have fun posting!