• Forbes, Friday, February 13, 2009 9:30 AM

Disney has the 'tween girl market cornered. Now the company wants to dominate the male 6-to-14 market by rolling out Disney XD, a cable channel and Web site. The Toon Disney replacement will offer original action-adventure and comedy series, movies, animation and sports-themed shows developed with corporate cousin ESPN.

Disney Channels President Rich Ross says the new channel is significantly different from rivals Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. "We're not launching an animated network, so by definition Cartoon Network, is in a different world. And Nick has always had a gender-neutral service," rather than being boy-centric, he says. "Importantly, we're part of Disney -- the biggest brand name in entertainment--and we don't just work on one TV channel."

Ross goes on to explain what wasn't working at Toon Disney, which focused on animated shows. "Boys were starting to look in other places -- animation was just one part of their world. Ratings for animation weren't really burning up, whether it was on Toon Disney or our competitors, so I think boys were voting with their remote controls, and we had to listen."

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