Diz Jr. Builds Late Night Schedule for Moms, Dads

Disney Junior, further seeking to establish itself as the premier parental assistant when it comes to locating healthy, knowledge-building content, from television or elsewhere, is making a move in the after hours. Going on-air in early September 2012, "Disney Junior Night Light" will be an evening-to-after hours segment broadcasting short-form content for parents and guardians who happen to be up with their kid late into the night. The new segment, which will be populated with both original and co-broadcasted materials, looks to shift the Disney Junior brand deeper into the comfort zone of parenting adults.

Since it's launch, the 24/7 Disney Junior network (as well as its early morning counterpart on Disney Channel, proper) has embarked on a quest to reach parenting groups as much as it reaches its "core audience" (Kids 2-8). Moms, in particular, have become an increasingly invaluable component of this commitment to content expansion. Whereas Disney Junior (on Disney Channel) recorded ratings highs in Q2 2012 for Kids 2-5 (521,000/3.1 rating) and Girls 2-5 (246,000/3.0), the numbers were also plentiful representing Women 18-49 (279,000/0.4). The numbers from July 2012 were even better, for Women 18-49 (332,000/0.6).

But reaching moms, dads, and other parental guardians, whether through co-viewing approaches or other means, takes a bit of skill. Disney Junior Night Light (September 4th; 9:00pm - 4:00am, ET/PT) hopes to represent that particular skill shot: an inspirational cooking show hosted by chef Helen Cavallo ("That's Fresh"); a finger puppet series that provides quick caricatures of classic storybook fairytales ("DJ Tales"); and an original series ("Picture This!") guided by guest artists and animators, discussing (and drawing) classic and contemporary Disney characters. These short-form programs, sponsored by Babble (YouTube), will buttress existing Disney Junior content currently populating the airwaves.

Additional content currently in the works include a brand new series targeting stay-at-home dads; a chronicle of vignettes about parents bringing their children home for the very first time; and a program by professional child and family photographer Me Ka Roh, in which Ms. Roh shares her photo tips and skills for viewing parents.

These short-form programs are all currently in development; no timetable was provided.

Disney Junior admirably pledges to "reflect the emotional connection generations of consumers have to Disney storytelling and Disney characters, both classic and contemporary." But the brand doubtlessly pursues this mantra in an effort to muscle out the ongoing efforts of NICKMOM TV, whose similarly scheduled late night position on Nick Jr., though focusing less on co-viewing content parents, targets the same demographic with a mix of long-from and short-form original programming.