In September 1990, TCI's Montgomery, Alabama, system became the first cable provider to carry

the channel as a basic cable service.[10] Between 1991 and 1996, a steadily increasing number of
cable providers began shifting The Disney Channel from a premium add-on offering to their basic
tiers, either experimentally or on a full-time basis; however, Walt Disney Company executives
denied any plans to convert the channel into an ad-supported basic service, stating that the
premium-to-basic shifts on some providers was part of a five-year "hybrid" strategy that allowed
providers to offer the channel in either manner