Disney boosts Asian line-up with Studio D

The show launches on July 5 and is broadcast in English in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei and is subtitled in Korea.

The new hosts, Azura Zainal from Malaysia, Nicole Muller from the Philippines and Michael Lee from Korea, were selected from around the region through a long audition process as Disney wanted a genuine representation and cultural diversity for Studio D. The hosts will be assisted by a puppet, Miru, who is expected to appeal to viewers across the region.

The three-hour programme is aired on Saturday and Sunday from 9 am to 12 pm and is targeted at children aged seven to 12. The first season line-up includes three Disney series produced in the US - That's So Raven, Disney's Fillmore and Proud Family.

That's So Raven is a live-action situation comedy starring Raven, a psychic teen whose ability to glimpse flashes of the future often gets her into hot water.

The Proud Family is an original animated comedy that follows the adventures of Penny Proud, a 14-year-old African-American girl who does her best to navigate through the early years of adolescence.

Disney's Fillmore is an animated educational and informational programme about safety patrol officer Cornelius Fillmore, a seventh-grader trying to stop crime in his school-age tracks. Studio D will also run new seasons for popular Disney shows, Lizzy McGuire, Totally Spies and Extreme Ghostbusters.

The show incorporates interactive segments on location and in the studio when audience will take part.

"These segments will reflect the lives and interests of children around Asia, providing them with a voice and mode of expression as well as enabling them to learn about the lives and experiences of their contemporaries throughout the region," said Raymund Miranda, managing director of Walt Disney Television International, South East Asia/Korea.

"Studio D is a truly local property from its reflection of the lives of children throughout the region to its multicultural team of hosts," he said.

Studio D will be marketed through an integrated campaign comprising on-air, off-air, online and onground activities. As a subscriptions-only channel, Disney does not accept commercials.