Bonjourno, Mickey! The Italian version of THE DISNEY CHANNEL will begin broadcast on October 3, launching with the country's first TV broadcast of the animated feature, "The Lion King." All programming will be dubbed in Italian. The channel is being transmitted daily from 6 a.m. to midnight, as part of a digital bouquet of channels offered by Telepiu. Disney Channel Italy is headquartered in Milan and headed up by vice president and managing director Janet Scardino. The former Sunbow Entertainment VP joined the company in March 1998. An additional 40 people, mostly Italians, will staff Disney Channel Italy. Programming will start out with 15% Italian-produced acquisitions combined with 85% Disney productions. This is the seventh country in which Disney Channel has launched, following Australia, France, Malaysia, the Middle East, Taiwan and the U.K.
