Publisher's Synopsis
"The first unauthorized look at the inner workings-and ultimate breakdown-of the Disney Channel machine. For many kids growing up in the 2000s, there was no cultural touchstone more powerful than Disney Channel, the most-watched cable channel in primetime at its peak. Today, it might best be known for introducing the world to talents like Hilary Duff, Raven-Symoné, Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Zendaya. It wasn't always destined for greatness: when The Disney Channel launched in 1983, it was a forgotten stepchild within the Walt Disney Company, forever in the shadow of Disney's more profitable movies and theme parks. But after letting the stars of their Mickey Mouse Club revival -among them Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling -slip through their fingers, Disney Channel reinvented itself as a powerhouse tween network. In the new millennium, it churned out bi
